Homily, To Be Loved
The Fifteenth Sunday after the Pentecost, Proper 17B, 2024
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church
Plant City, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
Song of Solomon 2:8-13
Psalm 45:1-2, 7-10
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
What does it feel like to love and to be loved?
Can you remember? Whether it be the romance of meeting your spouse, or the holding of a child for the first time, or the longs walks you go on with a friend, what does it feel like to love and to be loved?
I fell in love with my wife, LauraAnn, fourteen years ago this month. She was the cute, curly-haired barista at the coffee shop down the road and I was the grungy, quirky college student that played in the local rock band. And while I wasn’t at all a morning person, I found myself getting up early before I had to go class, just so I could get a cup of coffee and a smile from her face. It wasn’t long before her coworkers noticed and pointed it out to her, and it wasn’t long before we started dating. Two years later, twelve years ago this month, we got married.
I still remember the giddy feeling I had back then; I often still get it today. And to think, she loves me back. It’s good to love and to be loved.
This morning we hear a very unusual text from Scripture. It is a passage from the Song of Songs, and in our three year lectionary cycle of Scripture, it is the only passage we hear from this book. It’s perhaps the least read and the least understood book of the Bible. It’s one of the only books that does not once mention the word God, and it’s also probably one of the only books that is often prohibited from being read by children because of its sensuality. The passage we hear today is a love poem.
It is a love poem between two people, a woman who calls another “beloved”, and a man who calls another, “my love.” It is a poem that speaks about their desire for one another. The beauty they see in one another. Their longing to be together. Their love.
Scholars don’t know what to do with this book. For centuries they’ve debated why it is included in the canon of Scripture. Theologians and intellectuals have fought back and forth about its meaning and purpose.
And yet, there have also been those through the centuries who have not only treasured this book but have gone so far as to say that it is the heart of all Scripture. The mystics. Mystics like Teresa of Avila and Bernard of Clairvaux. In the first century Rabbi Akiva is even to have said about it, “The whole world is not as worthy as the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel; for all the writings are holy but the Song of Songs is the holy of holies.”
But why? How could this seemingly secular book of romance be the holy of holies in Scripture? Because it is about love.
It is about love. And while on the surface it seems to be solely about the love between two people, the mystics have always recognized that that love is a reflection of the love of God for Israel, or the Church, or for all humanity. The love in the Song of Songs, reflects the love of God and God’s desire for God’s people. “Arise, my love, my fair one,” God speaks to us, “Come away. Come away from that which divides us and join me in the beauty of this world. Arise, my love, and come away.”
The love of God in the Song of Songs reflects not some kind of mild fondness nor a vaguely patronal love from afar, but a deep love. The kind of love that drives you out of bed early in the morning just so that you can see the face of your beloved. That’s how God loves us.
And while there are a lot of important aspects of faith, there is nothing more important or more central than the affirmation of God’s love for humanity. The entire witness of Scripture hinges on the affirmation of God’s love for humanity. The Scriptures are all holy. The stories of creation, the law of Moses, the history of Israel, the words of the prophets, the teachings of Jesus, the instructions of Paul—they are all holy, but the holy of holies really could be the Song of Songs because the Song of Songs portrays what it is to love and to be loved. Which is really the foundation of what all the other books are about.
The beating heart of faith is love.
And specifically to be loved. To be loved by God. Which we are not very good at hearing. Even when we talk a lot about love, we have a hard time actually being loved. Deep down, we have a hard time believing that we could be loved. And so we like to focus on believing the right things or doing the right things or saying the right things (and then maybe God will love us). But hear this: the measure of our faith is not how correct we have believed, nor how perfect we have practiced, nor how eloquent we have spoken; the measure of our faith is how well we have received God’s love. Because the more we receive God’s love, the more we are shaped by God’s love. And then everything else falls into place.
This is the problem Jesus pointed out with the Pharisees and scribes in our gospel passage. They had perfect practice, but had not fully received in the hearts God’s love. This is the admonition St. James speaks about in our second reading. They had spoken eloquently, but their actions were not fueled by the perfect gift of love from above. Faithful belief, action, and word flow out of how well we open ourselves to receive God’s love.
Here at St. Peter’s we say we are called to “love God and to share God’s love with the world,” but how can we possibly love God and share God’s love if we have not first received God’s love?
The measure of our faith is how well we have received God’s love.
So I invite you this morning to take a moment to measure your faith. How well do you receive God’s love? How much have you opened yourself to being loved? You may be a great practitioner of prayer, you may be profoundly theologically knowledgable, you may have given away your wealth to those in need. But how well have you received God’s love? How well have you listened to God say to you, “Arise my love, come away.”
The heart of our faith is to love and to be loved. So beloved, be loved. Amen.
Resources for Further Reflection
Song: “How Sweet it is to be Loved by You” by James Taylor
This song has been on my mind playing over and over this week as this homily came together. I wonder how it, like the Song of Songs, could reflect the love God has for humanity and for each one of us?
Book: Meditations on the Song of Songs by St. Teresa of Avila
I briefly mention Teresa of Avila’s high regard for the Song of Songs in the homily. Here is a free version of a collection of her meditations on the book (link above). St. Teresa of Avila was a 16th century Spanish Carmelite nun and mystic extremely significant to the life of the historical church. She was the first woman ever named a “doctor of the church” which means her writings hold a special status for being timeless and theologically astute. She is also the one from whom we get the phrase “Christ has no body now but ours” in our Prayers of the People.
Book: Sermons on the Song of Songs by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Again, I briefly mention Bernard of Clairvaux’s high regard for the Song of Songs as well. Here is a free version of a collection of his sermons on the book (link above). Bernard of Clairvaux was a 12th century French Cistercian/ Benedictine monk who was also named a “doctor of the church” by Pope Pius VIII in 1830.
Song: “Take it Easy” by the Porter’s Gate
Yet another song from my favorite contemporary worship group! The measure of our faith is how well we have received the love of God. Let this song be a prayer to help you internalize that truth.
Thoughts on Faith 