Living in the Spirit

July 5, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Song of Solomon 2:8-13
The voice of my beloved!
  Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
   bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
   or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
   behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
   looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away;
for now the winter is past,
   the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
   the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
   is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
   and the vines are in blossom;
   they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away.

I blame it on the Puritans, the rather odd views we citizens of the USA have regarding sexuality. We function in polar opposition. We are caught between being Puritans or hedonists. We cannot seem to appreciate the gift of Eros as something to cherish and carefully tend.  Solomon’s poem above is filled with the true essence of Eros.

English uses the word love rather loosely, from describing our relationship with God to bragging about our favorite ice cream. The Greeks used at least three definitions of what we call love. Eros is sexual or passionate love and is most akin to the modern construct of romantic love.  Philia is usually translated as “friendship” or affection or sibling-like relationships. In Christianity, Agape is “the highest form of love, charity” and “the love of God for man and of man for God.” (Wikipedia)

Eros is the most individual and private of these three loves. It is the very source of our being and is a blessing when it results from deeply shared commitment. Love spreads from that start to loving others in community, Philia, and ultimately comes into full bloom when we experience loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. Love is powerful and we separate ourselves from God when we misuse our love in all its forms to our own detriment and the detriment of others.

Prayer: Lord, bless us with your guidance as we seek to love one another. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.