David Danced

July 12, 2009
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

David Danced
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12-19 and Ephesians 1:3-14

David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might... – 2 Samuel 6:5

My sermon outline:

• Smattering of professional sports superstitions:

1. John Henderson, Jacksonville Jaguars. Has asst. coach slap him as hard as he can before each game.

2. Kevin Rhomberg, 1982-84 Cleveland Indians. Refused to turn right on the field. Had to touch a person back if he got touched.

3. Jason Terry, basketball player (Dallas Mavericks), wears team shorts the night before a game.

4. Moises Alou (NY Mets) instead of wearing a batting glove, uses urine to condition his hands...

5. Turk Wendell, MLB (did play for Phillies 8 yrs ago). “The eccentric reliever pitched for four teams between 1993 and 2004 and posted some solid seasons in that span. However, he’s most remembered for his vast collection of bizarre superstitions. Among Wendell’s more notable quirks was his requirement that he chew four pieces of black licorice while pitching. At the end of each inning, he’d spit them out, return to the dugout, and brush his teeth, but only after taking a flying leap over the baseline. Wendell, an avid hunter, also took the mound wearing a necklace adorned with trophies from animals he had harvested, including mountain lion claws and the teeth of wild pigs and buffalo. When compared to these superstitions, Wendell’s other little oddities (drawing three crosses in the dirt on the mound, always throwing the rosin bag down as hard as he could, and insisting figures in his contract end in 99 as a tribute to his jersey number) don’t seem so strange.”

6. there’s even a movie (haven’t seen it) about superstition in baseball (specifically the red sox), called The Joy of Sox

We knock on wood. Some don’t leave the house by a different door. Get nervous if a mirror is broken. Make odd deals to bargain with God...

“When you believe in things you don’t understand then you suffer, superstition ain’t the way.” (Thank you, Stevie Wonder)

Unfortunately it’s hard to define difference between superstition and religious belief. Easier when you’re closer to the source, as God’s people were to God in Moses’ day.

Ark of covenant. God’s presence among. When it was with them, they were victorious. When it was not, they were not.

Now for 20 years it’s been in hand of foreigners. God allows David the honor of bringing it back, which David does with Pomp and Circumstance.

• If David being anointed King was Israel’s Declaration of Independence, then bringing the Ark home was their Constitution, a few years later. Both are revered symbols of national heritage... David, the Ark. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution

• David danced. Not influenced / held back by what others think. (like a sports fan. let’s just praise the Lord)

• Presence of the Lord (ark) is to be celebrated, and it is for the people.

• May our relationship with God be celebratory. And may others be blessed by our relationship with God.

(Read Ephesians passage.)

• Let us confess what we believe: as found on page 80
• Hymn 126 Sing Praise to God

- Pastor Kerry

This Sunday: 62 in worship.
Second week of nine in Fellowship Hall