Shaking with Joy
Dr. Jeremy Godwin
Do you ever get so excited, so joyful that you shake? I can think of a few times that has happened to me, but apparently it was such a common occurrence when my wife was little that her parents called it the “Elizabeth shake.” To be honest, she still does it sometimes, but you didn’t hear that from me. Joy can be a difficult emotion to contain.
The first psalm appointed for Christmas is Psalm 96. It’s a great psalm to close out this devotional, because it connects the theme we’ve been working with during Advent of awe with the resultant joy of Christmas. The middle part of the Psalm is clear that being in the presence of God is awe-some, awe-full, and awe-inspiring. The response to all of that awe is shaking (v. 9) that turns into praise—and it’s not just people. All of creation joins in.
One of my favorite texts of Christmas is the chant, “O magnum mysterium”:
O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the newborn Lord,
lying in a manger!
It’s a text that reminds me of Psalm 96, for as God comes into the world, all creation joins again in adoration. Even the animals approach the presence of Emmanuel—God with us—with awe and wonder.
Biblical scholar Sigmund Mowinckel theorized that this psalm had a particular liturgical function in the Temple, where the drama of God’s enthronement was enacted somehow within worship. This enabled the congregation to join in with the resulting praise of all creation. Though there is no way to know for sure if this vision is accurate, it does, at the very least, accord with our own experiences of worship as Christians. Think of the Christmas Season, which is being ushered in today. We’ll sing songs, hear stories—and not just in the Pageant—that help us to actively remember and “bring to life” anew the birth of Christ in our midst. When we sing “O Come, All Ye Faithful” in procession, we join with generations who have come before us in approaching the manger to behold the miracle of the Incarnation. When we hear the story of the shepherds, we hope our own fears are allayed by the words of the angels who bring a message of peace. When we light candles and sing “Silent Night,” it’s not just a moment of nostalgia; we join our flames with the Light of the World.
I don’t know about you, but that’s enough to make me shake with joy!
