Fig Trees, Pleasure, and Canon - A Sermon on Song of Solomon 2:7-13
The Song of Solomon is right in the middle of our scriptures, amidst the wisdom books of Proverbs (a book of pithy sayings), Psalms (a book of worship songs), Job (an exploration of suffering), and Ecclesiastes (an exploration of what makes life meaningful). And then here is this book of romance poetry that can get down right racy. I think people struggle to know what it has to do with their faith lives. Sure, it’s beautiful with all its descriptions of fruits and flowers and leaping deer, but isn’t it kinda… inappropriate…especially for church?
Maybe because of this discomfort, preachers and theologians have been quick to turn the whole thing into nothing but an allegory. Then when you come to a particularly steamy passage, it’s okay because it’s just a metaphor – a symbol pointing you to something else.
I think we can hold together both possible ways of reading this poetry. I think we can love this book of scripture as romance poetry and allow it to have something to say about our faith.
To help us understand how, I want to talk a bit about a movie called “A Little Chaos.”
Click here to read the rest of the sermon at Fidelia Magazine, a digital publication of Young Clergy Women International where I am a Writer-in-Residence.
