Then David, girt with a linen apron,
came dancing before the LORD with abandon,
as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD
with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn.
David and Israel are right to celebrate in the presence of the ark of the LORD. This is the place where the LORD dwells among his people. They not only sacrifice to the LORD, they do so with great joy because he is worth so much more than all they could ever offer. When they first offer what they have to the LORD they then receive back from him what they need.
Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.
Much more than the ark, Jesus is the presence of God among us. We should rejoice like the crowds to be near him. Even more than David and Israel celebrating the ark we have reason to celebrate the presence of God in Jesus. The ark itself was a separation. It was placed behind a veil. Not so with Jesus. He unites us even more to God than nearness to the ark could offer, making us his own brothers and sisters. God was like a father to David. But now, in Jesus Christ we can all call God our Father. There is such cause for joy here. And yet it is so easy to just take for granted the blessings of being near to Jesus. This is why Jesus emphasizes the need for transformation.
whoever does the will of God
If there isn't joy in us because of the presence of the LORD we should check to see if we are allowing him to transform us. Do we receive the grace from him to do the will of the Father and to live as good citizens of the household of God? Mary is not only the mother of God biologically. She perfectly obeys the will of God and so is perfectly mother to Jesus, bearer of his presence to the world, in the spiritual sense as well. Mary wants to help us open ourselves to the transformation and obedience. Our old sinful nature rebels at the thought of obedience. We want to be our own masters. But only Mary's way leads to festivities and shouts of joy in the presence of the king.
Who is this king of glory?
The LORD of hosts; he is the king of glory.
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