May the mumbling commence!
The love between husband and wife is to be
celebrated. It’s akin to the love of God
for all humanity. It’s a love that
encompasses sexual love… though it is much deeper than that.
And there is a book of the Hebrew Bible that celebrates
that sexual dimension of love in song.
Sometimes it’s called the Song of Solomon. Sometimes it’s called the Song of Songs.
It’s enough to make me blush. Sexual love is the source of all life. In the seasons of the world, it’s
spring. Read a passage from chapter two:
"My lover said to me,
'Rise up, my beloved,
my fair one, and come away.
For
the winter is past,
and
the rain is over and gone.
The
flowers are springing up,
and the
time of singing birds has come,
even the
cooing of turtledoves.
The
fig trees are budding,
and the grapevines are in blossom.
How delicious they smell!
Yes,
spring is here!
Arise, my beloved,
my fair one, and come away.'" (Verses 10-13)
The imagery is sensual.
Our senses are nearly overwhelmed.
There’s the beauty of the flowers before our eyes… the fragrant perfume
of the flowers. There’s the singing of
the birds… the gentle cooing of the doves.
And there’s the promise of fruit… fruit of fig trees and
grapevines. Again there’s that wonderful
aroma… and the promise of the sweet taste of fruit bursting within our mouths.
In the Song of Songs, there is a repeated refrain: I’m
my lover's, and s/he is mine. It’s total
surrender wrapped within total possession.
That’s the way of godly sexual love within the marriage covenant.
I am reminded of my own marriage ceremony. This passage from the Song of Songs has been
set to music, and it was sung at my wedding.
It acknowledges a marital love that is so deep and strong that it
existed before the ceremony. It endured
throughout the ceremony. And only death
can harm this human marital love.
This love echoes the love of God for us. Nothing is stronger than God’s love for
us. Not even death!
Let’s rejoice in this love. Let’s rejoice in our spouses.
My wife is mine.
I am hers. Amen.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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