Memory of the Mother of the Lord
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
2 Samuel 6,12-15.17-19
King David was informed that Yahweh had blessed Obed-Edom's family and everything belonging to him on account of the ark of God. David accordingly went and, amid great rejoicing, brought the ark of God up from Obed-Edom's house to the City of David. When the bearers of the ark of Yahweh had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fat sheep. And David danced whirling round before Yahweh with all his might, wearing a linen loincloth. Thus with war cries and blasts on the horn, David and the entire House of Israel brought up the ark of Yahweh. They brought the ark of Yahweh in and put it in position, inside the tent which David had erected for it; and David presented burnt offerings and communion sacrifices in Yahweh's presence. And when David had finished presenting burnt offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh Sabaoth. To all the people, to the whole multitude of Israelites, men and women, he then distributed to each a loaf of bread, a portion of dates and a raisin cake. Then the people all went back to their homes.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
After having made Jerusalem the capital of the kingdom, David decides to transport the ark of the covenant there. From the time of Moses, the ark was the sign of the Lord's presence among his people. It contained the tablets of the Law with the "ten words," a vase in memorial of the miracle that occurred in the desert, and Aaron's staff, which blossomed as a confirmation of his high priesthood. Even after the people had entered the land of Canaan, it was not permanently kept in one place. Consequently, David decided to move it to the new capital of the kingdom. Aware of the importance of this entrance, he gathered "chosen men" from all of Israel. Everything was done with solemnity and joy. But the place where God is present must be respected. Uzzah broke the commandment not to "touch holy things," and "reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it." But "God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God." The lack of holy fear of things related to God always leads to ruin. David was saddened by this death and himself "was afraid of the Lord." All of Scripture attests to the "fear" of God as a necessary condition for recognizing God's holiness. The ark continues its pilgrimage, but following a new ritual. It is no longer carried in a cart, according to the Philistine custom, but, as Moses had commanded (Num 4:5-15), on the shoulders of the Levites. Along the route of the pilgrimage, people offered sacrifices of thanksgiving and sin offerings. David was so enthusiastic that he stood in front of the ark and "danced before the Lord with all his might." His wife Michal, the daughter of Saul, not only does not understand this enthusiasm, she is scandalized by it. David responds that if he uncovered himself like a "vulgar man" before the Israelites, it was only in recognition of the one who had chosen him as king and before whom he was ready to make himself even more contemptible. This "lowering" of David is another prefiguration of the Messiah, who lowered himself taking on the condition of a servant.