Tuesday 04 April 2017
- Bible Book:
- Song of Solomon
“I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not.” (v. 2)
Psalm: Psalm 133
Background
There is a game of hide and seek going on in these verses. Thewoman takes huge risks with her life and reputation in order tofind her beloved and becomes increasingly distraught (verses 1-3).She is not daunted by being a woman and limited by cultural norms.She knows what is hers and she puts all her time and energy intosearching for him.
Today's passage invites us to reflect on Jesus' love for theChurch. Jesus' love forces us to look beyond our comfort zone andnarrow self-interest, and encourages us to take risks and embracedifferent ways of thinking and doing, just as Jesus did. Ourability to love makes the Church more God-like as it learns how tolove to the uttermost all that God has made. The woman's search forher lover reminds us how precious love is, and when we find it wemust do everything in our power to keep it. God, who is love, hascreated the church, the Body of Christ, to love and to beloved.
The demands of this quality of loving are hard and will make theChurch unpopular and look out of step with society. Jesus madehimself so unpopular he was crucified, the ultimate example ofloving to the uttermost when the beloved runs away and hides.Nothing prepares us for the demands of love's journey. The rollercoaster ride of love requires enormous patience and hugecommitment. Easter promises that transformation will happen, but inGod's time, not ours. Until then the Church is called to lovebecause God is love.
To Ponder
- How far does the Church reflect her love of God? Where are thesigns of loving unity between Christ and his Church?
- What risks is your local church taking in order to love as Godloves?