Known and Loved; Song of Solomon 3-4, Proverbs 11

May the mumbling commence!

How well do you know your beloved one?  How well do you know the ones you love?  If you think you know them well, then do you still hold them to be blemish-less and perfect in your sight?  Do we still love the ones that we know well – blemishes and warts and imperfections and all?

God sees us well.  Our Lord and our Creator knows us better than we know ourselves.  And God still loves us.  Jesus loves his Bride, the Church, as if she has no blemish.  Jesus seeks to wash the stain of sin from her. 

Can we love one another so deeply that we not only look past any imperfections but also seek to cleanse one another of the stain of sin – in a way that is uplifting and upbuilding rather than a way that embarrasses and tears down?  We thank God for this love that he shows us – a love that is reflected in marital love, deep and enduring.  Read of that intimate knowledge and love from Song of Solomon chapter four:

Behold, you are fair, my love!

Behold, you are fair!

You have dove's eyes behind your veil.

Your hair is like a flock of goats,

Going down from Mount Gilead. 

Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep

Which have come up from the washing,

Every one of which bears twins,

And none is barren among them. 

Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,

And your mouth is lovely.

Your temples behind your veil

Are like a piece of pomegranate. 

Your neck is like the tower of David,

Built for an armory,

On which hang a thousand bucklers,

All shields of mighty men. 

Your two breasts are like two fawns,

Twins of a gazelle,

Which feed among the lilies. 

Until the day breaks

And the shadows flee away,

I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh

And to the hill of frankincense. 

You are all fair, my love,

And there is no spot in you. (Verses 1-7)  

Fair are the ones that we love.  Love consumes our every waking thought and our every dream.  For those of us who have been married for some years, these words may remind us of our first days of love.  You know, she may ask: “Why don’t you stay up into all hours of the night to spend time with me?” 

Why?  Because love matures.  Love provides and sustains.  Love never is fully spent.  Love endures.  Love chooses for the benefit of others.  Our love shows a faulty reflection of the perfect love of God. 

Thank God, even as we enter into this time of Lent and penitence and mourning and acknowledgement of our own mortality.  Let us retain our honor like a gracious woman.  Read from Proverbs chapter eleven:

A gracious woman retains honor,

But ruthless men retain riches. (Verse 16)

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out