Enjoy Life - Help Others Do the Same Song of Solomon 2:8-13 7/29/18. Intro before prelude

Transcription

1 Enjoy Life - Help Others Do the Same Song of Solomon 2:8-13 7/29/18 Intro before prelude You will find in your bulletin the information about the special music today, which will occupy the prelude, the regular special music slot, and the offertory. It comes from German poetry and when Peter and I first reviewed the lyrics, we considered not having Hannah and Kell make use of it because it is a thoroughly secular piece. It is a romantic poem about pining after you love from afar. And then I thought about it more and realized that the words reminded me of a poem in scripture The Song of Solomon. That book has been scandalizing interpreters for quite a while. And all the attempts to clean it up through allegory and other hermeneutics have not been able to erase the underlying reality. The Song of Solomon is a poem fraught with romance and desire that pushes far more boundaries than Schubert does in this piece. The musical selections we will hear today speak to one aspect of how God made us. We were made to enjoy life in this world in all sorts of wonderful ways and that includes the love of other humans. Sermon Proper 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. May Tennyson fans forgive me, but he much less eloquently said, In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. And I think it only appropriate to add, that a young woman s fancy can turn in that direction as well. And frankly, Tennyson only including younger people fails to recognize that one s fancy can turn to love at any age. But this long aside is just avoiding the rather obvious question. What is the Song of Solomon doing in the Bible? It s been debated for quite a while. Here is John Calvin s summary of the views. The expositors of the Song of Solomon have divers ways of thinking in ancient as well as in modern times. Some think the book is describing the king's (Solomon's) love for a poor shepherd girl; one version of this opinion says the girl was already promised to a

2 shepherd and remained faithful to him in spite of the King's urge. Others think the book is a collection of (up to thirty!) love- or wedding-poems. Finally there are the some who think the origin is to be found in hymns of the Babylonian cult of Tammuz, which is idolatry. The person of Shulamite also prompted many suppositions but they all want a firm scriptural foundation. Out of Scripture we may conclude that although Solomon had 1,000 wives, his heart was not satisfied. Only one single one, a simple shepherd girl, was able to give him the love, joy and satisfaction... This brings us to the question which purpose the Holy Spirit is pursuing in the book. There again we find a variety of thoughts. The Jews have always seen a description of Jehovah's love for his people Israel. The fathers of the church have interpreted it for Christ's love for His church at the beginning of Christendom. A further explanation says the book contains songs wherein marital love is glorified. 1 So the book s meaning is complicated. But there is a powerful lesson just in the acknowledgement that the Song of Solomon is about romance and physical desire. God made us with deep and wonderful and mysterious desires. God made us able to the taste good food, to sate our thirst with drink, to enjoy wine that makes the heart glad, to fall in love, to enjoy intimacy, to find comfort before a warm fire place, to form deep friendships, to enjoy music, to appreciate art, to soak in the beauty of creation, and to be awed by the holy when we worship. God made us to enjoy life. We have been considering ways to live simply and what that means. One of the greatest gifts, when we shed those things that encumber us, is we can enjoy life much more. What prevents us from enjoying life in the way God intended? One of the mistakes we make with all these wonderful things is we over indulge. The seven deadly sins speak to this. We move from the enjoyment of things that satisfy our hunger to gluttony. Gluttony traditionally refers to eating too much, but we can be gluttons of entertainment and we can be gluttons of possessions. Many folks enjoy hard work and seeking to make money for themselves, for their families, and to give away. But when the pursuit of money becomes obsessive, greed takes hold. And there is never enough to satisfy the idol of greed. The pursuit of human intimacy, described beautifully in the Song of Solomon, also has its darker, excessive side lust. 1 John Calvin,

3 All these excesses have a common result joy is lost. The good things God gives us in the world, when they become idols that we worship, cease to give joy. Another deadly sin that prevents us from enjoying life is envy. One of the gifts Moses received on Mt. Sinai was the final commandment don t covet. God was not trying to suppress our natural desires to work for things that would bring us joy. God was giving us a prescription for satisfaction. When we spend our time looking with envy upon others, we lose sight of our own lives. We fail to enjoy the blessings we already have. There are certainly other barriers which make it hard to enjoy life. Abuse that happened in childhood, trauma from violence, chronic physical pain can all make it very hard for a person to find enjoyment in life. But it is not impossible. The website for Volunteers of America has some incredible first-person stories from people who have been through challenges and found healing. Al Peratt spent some of his growing up years in a foster home. Eventually he was returned to live with his father and step mother, both of whom were physically and emotionally abusive to him. He was sexually assaulted in a religious setting, also. He became self-abusive and addicted to drugs. He wound up in prison. After years in prison, he did find his way to healing through treatment and amazingly through a reconnection with God. He got a degree in prison and got a job when he got out. His wife stuck by him and was waiting for him when he got out. He become involved in ministry work at his church, going back to prisons to minister and share his story. He eventually became a minister in the Southern Baptist denomination and received a pardon from President Obama for his crimes. His words, When I look back at my life, I see a man that has been shot, stabbed, run over by a truck, walks with a limp and has arthritis all over. But my physical injuries are nothing compared to the spiritual injuries I ve endured. Being morally injured and morally injuring others are things I ll have to live with for the rest of my life. Through helping others, I have found that faith can move mountains. I also know that I can count on God to send me someone everyday who needs to hear stories of hope and confirmation that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The sooner we crawl out of our past moral injuries into the light of redemption, the sooner our stories of salvation can be used to help others. 2 2 Al Peratt,

4 Al s story leads me to the second part of the sermon title. Outside the sign only reads Enjoy Life because there is only so much you should expect folks to read as they drive by. But your bulletin has the second part. Help Others Do the Same. We do that in our families. In a healthy family, we work to be sure all members find enjoyment. The gifts and interests of each person lead us to do that in varying ways. Some we do together. Some we pursue separately. We do the same with friends. Even in work places, we can do this kind of thing. But our calling as Christians is much broader than our families, our friendships, and work places. Our calling is to reach beyond barriers and share the gifts of abundant life with others even if they are very different. It starts with the basics. The Good Samaritan happened upon a man who had been robbed and beaten. He needed medical care and a place to recover. Only after this could he return to those relationships and those places in his life where he could fully enjoy life. The judgment scene of Matthew 25 calls us to move beyond our comfortable boundaries. Those who claimed they had never encountered Jesus hungry, ill, or imprisoned had ignored those people right around them who were suffering. If we are too busy enjoying ourselves to notice those who are suffering, we will find ourselves facing Jesus one day, trying vainly to explain how we missed seeing his suffering. Insuring that hungry people are fed, that food insecurity in families is addressed, that students are learning are all vitality important for families to have abundance in life. But beyond those basics we can do more. Purposely seeking friendships with those outside our normal social circles is part of this. When we do that in healthy ways, we can step into the lives of others and invite them to step into ours. We can enjoy simple meals, simple conversations, simple activities together. All our lives will find more joy. Next month our church will host our 5 th Neighborhood Jam. Plenty of our neighborhood families of limited resources value that celebration. The Jam lets them take their families out for the day to enjoy fun and games and music for just the cost of an inexpensive meal. Those of us who can afford to travel to see God s wider world, can forget that many can t afford vacations. An event like the Neighborhood Jam is a vacation for some. Volunteering to work for that day is a way to help others enjoy life. When we find others going through deep pain, we can still help them find a measure of joy. It s the small gifts that matter so much in those moments. The visit where little is said but much conveyed. The card that arrives in the mail at the perfect moment. The phone call that allowed a person to unburden their heart. The shoulder offered for tears. It s not what we usually think about when we talk about enjoying life, but it s those moments that people look upon after

5 going through the dark valleys. Those are the guideposts that bring people back to places where they can laugh and enjoy God s gifts again. Enjoy the blessings God has given you. Value them. Seek simple ways to enjoy this good world and the relationships you have. Move beyond your family and your friends. Befriend those unlike yourself and spent time with them. Step into a ministry here at church that touches other s lives, helping them to enjoy life. Look for those who need support when the enjoyment of life seems far away. God wants us to enjoy an abundant life and God wants us to help others do the same. Amen.