Song of Songs 1:1-4:16
Heck. All this talk of lover-stuff is making me a little hot under the collar. I think I need to lie down with a cold flannel on my face. I mean does Jesus actually know that his book talks about breasts? And not in a disapproving way either! And that bit about the lover being a sealed fountain and a well of flowing waters - well I don't know if I could spot a more blatant euphemism for orgasms even if it bounded across the hills and bid me "arise and come with me". Is it really appropriate in Christian circles to talk about lovers "browsing among the lilies until the day breaks" (2:16) or a man refreshing his lover with his apples (2:5)?? Well, I think the answer is a pretty north-wind-awakening yes. Sex is a gift of God to married couples for them to enjoy and revel in and ravish one another by. So we should banish our embarrassment and be willing to speak of the mountain of myrrh and the choice fruits of the garden. And not only speak of it but to enjoy it. I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field - let us agree to speak about sex and to encourage one another not to awaken love until it so desires and then to awaken it like crazy. Speaking of which, I wonder where Lesley has got to...
1 Corinthians 12:1-26
What is the point in church? A lot of people have been asking that question recently. Some people answer it by saying that there isn't much point in meeting in an organised way on a Sunday morning - that doing so is just plain old-fashioned or even is buying in to institutionalism. They may say instead that their friends are their church or that they do church with their family. Others don't quite go that far but say that the point of church is to get a 'Holy Spirit boost' to empower and equip them to get back in to the busyness of life. Often times these people will come to church every now and then, say once or twice a month. Both answers have some merit but the problem I have with them, that I can't seem to shake off, is that they seem very close to what Paul calls ignorance in 12:1. Paul says that we can't choose who we do church with - it is the Spirit who chooses that. He determines how he is going to cobble the bumbling mass of believers together and he arranges us together, just as he wants us to be (12:18). He chooses what he wants the body to look like and he chooses what role he wants us to play. For us to opt out of that by staying away from our church seems to me like a dangerous step towards disobedience. And then, there is the question of the point of church which caused all these problems in the first place. And Paul gives a short a devastating answer - church is for the common good. We come not to get a Holy Spirit boost but to give a Holy Spirit boost to others. We come not to be empowered and equipped to get back into our busy life but to empower and equip others to get back into theirs. I mourn the denigration of the local church in our day. It is the place where the Spirit sends all his gifts - it is the place where God arranges us just as he wants us to be. Its the place where the Spirit works through us for others' good. And that is the most beautiful thing of all.
Psalm 99:1-9
"You were to Israel a forgiving God". It's still shocking, but it's still true.
No comments:
Post a Comment