Reading
Song of Solomon 8:6
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its zeal is unyielding as the grave. It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame.
Devotion
This week's art was created by Noel, at a recent "Prayer in Color" event at our church. Noel was shy when talking about her creation. I find it an enchanting piece. A couple, in a sensuous embrace, close, yet apart, perhaps looking toward beautiful colors in the background. What do they see I wonder? The colors are bright and hopeful. Their light enfolds the two figures in shadow. There is an energetic flow to the colors.
I was reminded of one of the least publicly read books of the Bible as I gazed upon this painting. The Song of Solomon, also known as Song of Songs. Unlike every other book of the Bible this book is erotic love poetry. The poem narrates an intense, poetic love story between a woman and her lover through a series of sensual dialogues, dreams, and metaphors. Historian and rabbi Shae J. D. Cohen writes, "What is a collection of erotic poems doing in the Hebrew Bible? Indeed, some ancient rabbis were uneasy about the book’s inclusion in the canon" (20 Notes.pages).
Is it perhaps an allegory? A reinterpretation of an older story that is used to describe the longing between humanity and God, possibly? Or, perhaps, between Christ and the Church? Gregory of Nyssa wrote fifteen sermons on the Song of Songs, which are considered the pinnacle of his biblical exegesis. In them, he compares the bride to the soul and the invisible groom to God: the finite soul is incessantly reaching out towards the infinite God and remains continually disappointed in this life due to the failure to achieve ecstatic union with the beloved, a vision which enraptures and can be achieved fully and perfectly only in life after death.
Take a moment this week to ponder this painting and think about where you find love, find zeal, find zest for living, dear reader. Then ponder how it is that your soul might grow closer to God.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I ask that You cultivate a deeper understanding of love within my heart. Teach me to recognize both the joys and challenges of love, to see them as part of the same divine tapestry that You weave. Grant me the ability to forgive freely, to nurture patience in moments of frustration, and to always seek reconciliation over division. Help me to cherish the relationships You have placed in my life, fostering bonds that are rooted in mutual respect and understanding. Amen. (from Song of Solomon 1:1 Prayer: A Devotional Prayer Inspired by the Song of Songs | Bible Art)