It's Time for the Reindeer Dance!

“And David danced before the Lord with all his might.”

2 Samuel 6:14a

I don’t know what possessed us.  It happened three or four Christmases ago.  We were at Ben’s home.  One morning Kyah was wearing fake antlers on her backside.  I had some on my head.  Music was playing.  I don’t remember if the song was “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” or some other tune.  All of a sudden, Kyah and I started hopping around, jumping up and down, just generally acting goofy to the music.  Pictures were taken.  You can see one as the cover for this blog.  It was the kind of thing that if Kyah and I did it out in public, we would be told to stop.  But that Christmas season my granddaughter and I were just having fun… celebrating in a very silly way.  It became known as “the reindeer dance” and Kyah still talks about it. 

In fact she mentioned it the other day on skype.  That got me to thinking, what is it about Christmas that got us dancing and acting silly?   In my serious pastoral mind I wondered, “Is there any precedent for this in the Scripture?  Well in fact there is.  There is the passage that is the text for today’s blog.  In 2 Samuel 6:14 we are told that “David danced before the Lord with all his might.”   David didn’t do this dance in private.  He did it right out in public.  In fact his wife Micah was so embarrassed by his dancing that the Bible says that Micah “despised him in her heart.”

Why was David dancing?  What was he celebrating that filled him with such joy that he was willing to make a fool of himself?  Quite simply it was the fact that the Ark of the Covenant was coming to Jerusalem.  The ark was God’s throne on earth!  This is where the High Priest would once a year offer the sacrifice of atonement.  This was the mercy seat of God.  The coming of the ark to David’s capital city was the coming of God to David’s capital city. As the Ark would dwell there so the people could be assured that God was dwelling in their midst.  This was so important that when Micah confronted him with how silly he looked, David answered her, “It was before Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord – and I will make merry before the Lord.”

My friends, as we celebrate Christmas, we have even more reason to make merry before the Lord!  Something greater than the Ark has come to us!  A child was born in Bethlehem.  This child was not just any child.  He is Jesus the son of Mary, the Son of God.  He is the savior, Christ the Lord.  He is the Word of God made flesh and dwelling among us.  He is Immanuel, God with us!  Yes God has come into our world to save us from our sin, from death, from all sadness.  He will never leave us. He has come to turn our mourning into dancing! 

So this week grab yourself a pair of fake antlers and make merry before the Lord!  Jesus has been born for you.  God Himself has come!  It’s time for the reindeer dance!  Merry Christmas!  Amen!