2 Samuel 6:5
And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the LORD with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.
Dorothy L. Sayers once remarked that modern culture regards God as something one uses a “certain tone of voice” to speak about. Secular people have the curious notion that Christians believe everything must be prim, solemn, and rather pricklish. There appears to be idea that if you are a “devout Catholic” you must more or less stand around disapproving of everything. As H.L. Mencken observed of puritanism, so many people today believe a pillar of Catholicism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having fun. In reality, however, it is Catholic faith that has at its inmost heart sheer merriment. We believe that, in the end, love wins and the Universe consummates, not with a bang or a whimper, but with a big party called the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. David anticipated this cosmic whooptidoo with a little party of his own, celebrating the homecoming of the Ark of the Covenant just as we shall one day celebrate the Homecoming of the Bridegroom. Today, take some time and make merry before the Lord.
