From the Pastor’s Desk…

This past summer an interesting scripture was prescribed by the lectionary for us to read. It was from the Song of Songs. Deep in the Old Testament between the heavy philosophy of Ecclesiastes and the calls to repentance in the Prophet Isaiah is this little book that just won’t behave. It is an ode to the joys of romantic love. It is giddy, unashamed and it revels in the intoxicating charms of sensual love. It’s a lot like young lovers you see kissing at the mall or Elizabeth Park; it doesn’t care at all what others might think. The Song of Songs is composed of the love songs sung by a man and a woman who can see only each other. It can get pretty steamy as they look and linger over every inch of each other. To be in love with someone is to find your whole being tied up with the beloved, to want to be wherever the beloved is, to want good things for him or her. No one else will do. We concluded that this powerful poem provided a fleeting glimpse of the love God has for God’s beloved. God loves Israel that much. Jesus loves the church that much. Christ loves each of us, as if we were the only one! Perhaps it can give us a glimpse of the love of which we are capable, too!

In Chapter 1:15-16 the man says to the woman, “Ah, you are beautiful, my love, ah, you are beautiful!” And the woman replies, “Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly lovely.” Their words of love are a good prescription for our autumn days: try using these words for everything you see – “Ah, you are beautiful, my love, you are beautiful.” What will happen when we approach our world with these words? What will we hear or feel when we praise the beauty all around us? It is the kind of prayer we can utter when we are sitting at a stop light, waiting our turn in a grocery line, making a meal, sitting in a meeting. It can be directed to a dreary autumn day, an unwanted task, even someone who irritates you! ‘Ah, you are beautiful, my love, you are beautiful.’

The lovers in the Song of Songs see beauty everywhere they look. They let no beauty go unnoticed or uncelebrated. Every time they say their praise, they connect themselves to the God who said that same thing, who created all things and called them good—“Ah, you are beautiful, my love, you are beautiful.”

As autumn deepens and Thanksgiving looms, try imitating these lovers. If you do, you will receive the world anew, with love and awe and praise. Ah, you are beautiful, my love, you are beautiful!

Your pastor,

W. Charles Naugle