Intimacy

Advent: 21 December 2018

Song of Songs 2:8-14 (or Zephaniah 3:14-18). Psalm 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21. Luke 1:39-45.

“See my lover–here he comes

springing across the mountains,

leaping across the hills.

My lover is like a gazelle,

like a young stag.”

Today's first reading is from the book of the Song of Songs (also known as The Song of Solomon), a collection of about 25 poems or parts of poems about human love and courtship, suitable for singing at weddings. The protagonists are a bridegroom (Lover), bride (Beloved) and chorus. Although it is called ‘The Song of Solomon’ the actual author is unknown.

Strangely enough, the book has no obvious religious content compared to other books in the Bible and it can only be given such an interpretation by finding a deeper symbolism in its highly graphic language. Its inclusion in the Old Testament can be explained by the Lord being called the “husband” of his people (Hosea 2:16-19). In the Christian tradition, it has been understood as an allegory of the love of Christ for his bride, the Church (Revelation 21:2,9), or as symbolising the intimate experience of divine love in the individual soul. The links between mystical experience and sexual ecstasy are not so far apart. We should be grateful that such a beautiful work has been included in our collection of God’s Word.

The choice of the reading for today is obviously linked to the Gospel account of the Visitation of Mary and Jesus to Elizabeth and John. Perhaps we do not use this kind of passionate language when speaking to God but there have been mystics who have not hesitated to do so. One thinks of John of the Cross or Ignatius of Loyola and even more of Teresa of Avila.

As the passage opens, it is the Beloved, the girl who is speaking. She is living with her parents in the city. Not unlike the lover in one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, the Lover appears at the Beloved’s window. The door is closed and there is a forbidding wall. “He looks in at the window, he peers through the lattice.” He urges her to come away with him to the countryside. “Come then, my love, my lovely one, come.”

The cold of winter, which is also the rainy season is past. It is now spring, the time of new life. Nature is bursting out in leaf and flower and the migrant birds have returned to make their nests. The cooing of turtle doves is heard, the first figs are appearing and the vines are in fragrant flower. And, of course, for humans, too, it is the season of love.

The Beloved is hiding in the clefts of the rock, a euphemism for her home, a place inaccessible to the Lover. “Show me your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and your face beautiful.”

Jesus, too, is still hidden in the womb of his mother. His mother’s voice is enough to create a joyful reaction in John, in Elizabeth’s womb. He knows that where the Mother is, the Son must also be close by.

It is important to realise that our Christian faith is not just a list of intellectual doctrines. Ultimately it is a life based on love, intimacy and affection for our brothers and sisters, and also for our enemies. For many of us, faith seems to be a matter of agreeing or disagreeing with a set of statements and doctrines. Without an experience of the mysteries involved, the doctrines could be harmless and fruitless words. We could say all the prayers, follow all the rules, but still have our heart missing in the process. Without the heart, without love and intimacy our religion is empty and meaningless.

At the centre of our religion lies the love of a Person, not a statement. At the centre of our lives there needs to be an experience of love, not merely doctrines and dogmas. And you cannot fall in love with an idea or a doctrine, but only with a Person who calls us His Beloved.

For a reflection on the gospel passage, please see “Love is the first evangelization,” https://anthuvanmaria.blogspot.com/2018/06/love-is-first-evangelization.html.