# The Dance Day 6 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *My God and Father, Lord of the dance, allow me to see this day and this moment for what it really is—an invitation to dance the dance of life and faith with the One who made me. May I dance this day with joy and passion, knowing that there will never be another one just like it. In the name of Jesus I Pray. Amen. (JLB)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 149 #### Sing to the Lord a New Song *149 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4 For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.5 Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples,8 to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron,9 to execute on them the judgment written!This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the Lord!* #### Scripture for the Day: 2 Samuel 6:1-23 #### The Ark Brought to Jerusalem *6 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. 2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. 3 And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio,[a] the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart,[b] 4 with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.* *Uzzah and the Ark* *5 And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs[c] and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 6 And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah[d] to this day. 9 And David was afraid of the Lord that day, and he said, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” 10 So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.* *12 And it was told King David, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 13 And when those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.* *David and Michal* *16 As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart. 17 And they brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts 19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat,[e] and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house.* *20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 And David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince[f] over Israel, the people of the Lord—and I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your[g] eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.” 23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.* #### Reading for Reflection: *The universe is dancing. And the smallest bit of matter knows, unerringly and interiorly, the dance. Let there be no more talk of flashing signal lights. No more solitary figures sending out messages in quantum bottles to be picked up light years later on some distant star. No more cumbersome cosmic intelligence network dependent on the measurable flight of photons. The timing of this dance must take into account something more than the speed of light. It must take in to account a “knowing” universe. (And the Trees Clap Their Hands by Virginia Stem Owens)* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: Canticle of the Sun *The heavens are telling the glory of God* *And all of creation is shouting for joy* *Come dance in the forest, come play in the field* *And sing, sing to the glory of the Lord* ### Closing Prayer *Lord God, draw me out on the dance floor of life this day and fill my ears and heart with the beautiful music of Your great affection. Give me such an awareness of your presence that my feet just can’t be still. Dance with me as I dance with you. Amen. (JLB)*