Sermon 2: Various Meanings of the Kiss
Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.
Think of how earnestly the patriarchs longed for Christ to come, how this eagerness was metaphorically expressed as a maiden longing for the kiss of her husband. Are you not filled with shame over the dryness of your own heart?
To receive the living active word, or to receive to the earth the Word, this is to receive the kiss of his mouth. The request is not that he would kiss with his mouth, but with the kiss of his mouth. The mouth that kisses is the Word who assumes nature, and the nature he assumes (man's) receives the kiss. The kiss itself, being the union between the giver and receiver, is the person that is formed by this assumption, namely the Messiah or Christ. For God to kiss man, for human nature to receive the kiss, this is a supreme condescension on the part of God, that he should so join himself to human nature. This was the kiss that the pre-Christian divines so longed for.
The longing that is expressed indicates the great length of time for which the Patriarchs of the past waited for this kiss. The kiss they asked for and longed for was greatly delayed, though promised. While men tarried and waited for peace (for the kiss is the kiss of peace), their faith rose and fell, sometimes well-expressed, and at other times almost entirely failing. Yet still the kiss was promised, and still the kiss was coming.
The prophets could describe his coming and the life that he would bring, the kiss of peace to a divided and war-torn people, yet only in his coming could he bring the things itself, the kiss, eternal life. This was the request, If he will not revoke his given word, let him empty himself, let him humble himself, let him bend to me and kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. And so he did.
This is the summary. The holy kiss was of necessity bestowed on the world for two reasons: Without it, the faith of the weak would not be strengthened, nor the desires of the fervent fulfilled. And this kiss itself was the mediator, Christ Jesus, him who was God and man.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Bernard's Sermons on the Canticles, Sermon 1
What? You are going to give summaries of all 86 of Bernard's sermons on the Canticles?
Yes. Yes I am.
Sermon 1: On the Title of the Book
Before we can be properly taught about the surpassing mystery of intimacy with God through Christ, as described in beautiful metaphor in Song of Songs, we must be taught by the books that proceed it. There are two evils that attack our enjoyment of God: misguided love of the world, and excessive love of self. The remedies for these evils are presented in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The latter, by use of the enlightened reason, exposes the delusion and emptiness of hoping in the world. The former, by inculcating self-control, restrains those pernicious habits of body and mind which hinder our intercourse with God.
The title Song of Songs is appropriate because of the subject nature. This repeated formula is used in Scripture to denote the greatest or highest of a class. Thus, Christ is the "King of kings." This song, the song of intimacy with God, is greater than all other songs of the Bible. We are celebrating in this song holy love, "the sacrament of endless union with God." This is the marriage song of the soul, the highest and best pleasure of the human condition, and the life-giving hope of all who sojourn here.
Remember in your salvation, how your lips were taught to sing "a new song," the song of salvation, of being taken out of the pit and set on firm ground. This is a good song. Then there are songs of remembrance, songs that bring to mind the things of the past, even songs that remember the law, etc. But this song surpasses them all. Only the touch of the Spirit can inspire a song like this, and only personal experience can unfold its meaning. Let those who are versed in the mystery revel in it; let all others burn with desire rather to attain to this experience. For it is a song that reveals beauty only to the singer, as the joys of a husband and wife are theirs alone.
Yes. Yes I am.
Sermon 1: On the Title of the Book
Before we can be properly taught about the surpassing mystery of intimacy with God through Christ, as described in beautiful metaphor in Song of Songs, we must be taught by the books that proceed it. There are two evils that attack our enjoyment of God: misguided love of the world, and excessive love of self. The remedies for these evils are presented in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The latter, by use of the enlightened reason, exposes the delusion and emptiness of hoping in the world. The former, by inculcating self-control, restrains those pernicious habits of body and mind which hinder our intercourse with God.
The title Song of Songs is appropriate because of the subject nature. This repeated formula is used in Scripture to denote the greatest or highest of a class. Thus, Christ is the "King of kings." This song, the song of intimacy with God, is greater than all other songs of the Bible. We are celebrating in this song holy love, "the sacrament of endless union with God." This is the marriage song of the soul, the highest and best pleasure of the human condition, and the life-giving hope of all who sojourn here.
Remember in your salvation, how your lips were taught to sing "a new song," the song of salvation, of being taken out of the pit and set on firm ground. This is a good song. Then there are songs of remembrance, songs that bring to mind the things of the past, even songs that remember the law, etc. But this song surpasses them all. Only the touch of the Spirit can inspire a song like this, and only personal experience can unfold its meaning. Let those who are versed in the mystery revel in it; let all others burn with desire rather to attain to this experience. For it is a song that reveals beauty only to the singer, as the joys of a husband and wife are theirs alone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)