“Winter is Past”  (Song of Solomon 2:8-15)

Intro:  Our reading this morning is from Song of Solomon, or Song of Songs as some bibles have this titled.  It is a stirring celebration of love.  An American storyteller,  Garrison Keillor from Minnesota, once shared that in his youth, when things got dull in the Lutheran church, that he would reach for a bible and if no one was looking, he would sneak a peek at Song of Solomon.  He described how this got him in trouble once because he was blushing so much that he got caught by the pastor and had to stand up and read it out loud.  Don’t worry Barry will read it for us.  .  (Prayer)

I’ve never been one for picking birthday or anniversary cards.  Monica and I celebrated our 34^th wedding anniversary this past June, but I ask you to use a little bit of imagination and try to picture me 33 years younger, I want to recreate a moment for you.  (Card Skit)

When it comes to the physical love and longing between two people, many in the church and synagogue have said, “That’s kind of a private thing.”  This passage, and whole book of Song of Solomon, has been a source of great debate and embarrassment for the church over the years.  It is difficult for two main reasons; first its straight forward sexual images and references, and second the lack of any specific reference to God.  There are some scholars who advocate that it is an allegory of God’s passion for Israel or for the church.  And that may be, but this morning I would rather take the scripture at face value of two human lovers in love and consider what it may say to us. 

In many marriages, and long term committed relationships, there can come a point where couples turn to each other and say “what happened to us?”  “What happened to the way we used to be?”  “Where has the passion gone?, the playfulness, the fireworks?  Life partners sometimes begin to reminisce “Ah, remember how our love used to light up the sky! (imitate fireworks) , and then they lament, “now it feels kind of fizzled out, and we’re lucky to light a sparkler once in a while.”

So many things can be named as “culprits” when one looks for reasons why relationships cool off.  Too much work, too much stress, too many kids, too much time together, or too much time apart.  Or there can be “not enoughs”, not enough attention to each other, not enough compassion, not enough trust.  Whatever it is, something is off balance and has somehow sapped strength from the relationship and left in it’s place a longing for what might have once been, or what one has always hoped for and not yet found. 

I think every relationship goes through the excitement of “beginning”, with the wonder and newness of it all.  Then it grows and matures in differing ways.  Some grow in ways that are lasting and fulfilling, others end in ways no one intended, and some may continue but have a sense like there is something missing.   I don’t want to focus on what can go wrong in a long term relationship.  There is plenty of evidence on what makes a relationship fail, I’d like to consider what helps things go right. 

Song of Solomon is not a prescription for making things better.  It is a description of love

in full bloom. This passage is part of one of the most beautiful love poems even written.

It tells us of how good love can be, it describes with great beauty the power of love, and the beauty of two people committed to each other.  It is most certainly the songs and poetry of two people courting, who are in that “everything-is-wonderful phase” of a relationship.  You know the time, when the other can do no wrong, and they think the same of you. 

And while this is written from the “head over heals in love” time of a relationship, we see

in it things that will continue to serve this couple well not just for the moment, but over a

lifetime, through the ups and downs that will come.  There is much here to give us insight

into what makes a relationship last.

As we read, we see immediately there is an anticipation of being with the other, a looking forward to just seeing the other.  This passage starts “the voice of my beloved!”  He is coming to be with me.  Just the thought of being together sends spirits soaring.  Part of the joy of being committed to another is just spending time together, whether it is out discovering the world together, or spending time on the porch.  A simple appreciation and recognition of the pleasure that comes from the other being near can make a world of difference.  It may sound strange to say to someone you love, but just stating “I like you, and I like being with you”  can make somebody else’s week. 

With each of the two individuals, there is a special appreciation for the moment.  They are content with the present and there is a desire to make the most of the day.  They long to seize the moment before them, now that the winter has past and spring has arrived, they will go out and enjoy the beauty of creation.  And by doing so they are renewing and refreshing themselves.  Love blooms once more. 

They expand the other’s world by calling the other beyond the walls and lattice that they find around themselves.  One says to the other, come look at the world out here.  There is so much more than we ever imagined!  Look!  Let’s discover it together.  Growing love always has the desire to discover what life has in store on any day and every day.  Perhaps one of the most wonderful invitations someone can offer another is to join in the journey of life’s discoveries saying to a cherished loved one; “Come, let’s grow old together”.  “Let’s spend our days seeing how love grows and changes over time, how it renews everything”.  And yet they will still feel love is somehow always the same. 

The “Godfathers of greetings” cautioned that lasting relationships are not all about laughter and sexuality, both certainly are part of enduring marriages.  We see in these scriptures, a joyful desire for the other.  There is an earthy appreciation of each other’s physical attributes, we read he is likened to a stag and she’s a beauty who is compared to everything from a rose to a beautiful horse.  The lovers describe each other in colorful detail, but they are not possessing or objectifying the other.  Nor or they trying to determine who and what the other person is.  The physical aspect of their relationship is uplifting, it gives life to their love.  It is one way they share with the other and celebrate the goodness of creation. 

In every relationship, the other should not be taken for granted, and opportunities need be taken to express appreciation for other.  Sexuality, and sensuality are ways of affirming and valuing others.  They are part of intimacy, a special, even sacred, closeness between people.  It can be expressed in a variety of ways from holding hands, to making love.  It is present when the closeness and caring is felt and real.  People’s looks change, but the way we look at our loved one doesn’t have to, the eyes of love see the constant beauty and value of the one closest to us.    

Song of Solomon is a beautiful book.  It is not a “how-to” marriage manual, it is a poem sung between two people.  It tells us and reminds us of how good love can be.  It can be read without blushing, for in it we see goodness and love, both of which are created by God and are gifts from God, part of God’s plan, to be enjoyed and to be thankful for.  Amen.

“Who can come in?”  (1Kings 8:22-30, 41-43)

Intro:  In our reading this morning, we are present at the dedication and ribbon cutting of the Temple built by Solomon.  It is a grand and glorious occasion.  Filled with all the requisite pomp and circumstance of blessing a new building.  Then, as now, there have to be speeches and prayers on such occasions.  Almost all of this reading is an excerpt from a dedication prayer offered by Solomon.     (New Zealand, home of 25 million sheep? it is recorded that 120,000 sheep were offered up as part of this celebration)

I’d like to start with a story, about a kingdom in Europe, a long time ago.  When a king would die they would take his coffin and they would process through the streets and all the people would follow, and they would process to the church and going up the steps of the church they would come the very doors of the church and they would knock upon the doors, and the voice of the priest would say “who is there?”  And those who were there would call out, “it is the exulted king of all the land, the first born of the imperial house, the one who wore the royal crown”.  And the priest would answer “we know him not, go away.” 

And they would knock again, and again the priest would answer “who is there?”  And this answer would come, “it is the ruler of the people, the giver of justice, the defender of faith”.  The voice in the church would say “we know him not, go away.” 

A third time the knock came, and the question “who is there?”, and then would come the simple answer “a child of God who has come home” and the doors would be flung open wide and trumpets began to play and amidst all the fanfare and celebration and rejoicing the shout was heard “welcome, you are welcome in this place.”  

As we look about this sanctuary, how would we answer the question of who is welcome in this place?  Perhaps that is a startling question for people of faith, we have an instinctive answer, of course, everyone is welcome here!   Almost every church would say, we are a friendly, welcoming place. And yet, as Martin Luther King observed over 50 years ago, 10 am Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week. 

As St. Martins Presbyterian, we are striving, and we are finding ways of extending an authentic welcome to the community.   It has been a pleasure for me to learn about the many groups that call this place, their “home”.   I’m impressed with how St Martins has listened to expressed needs in our neighborhood and worked to make MenzSheed, and Eldercare, and Foot Clinic possible.  Going from a “good idea” to making it a reality,  takes a vision and then a lot of conversation.    

It is, perhaps, stating the obvious to offer the reminder that vibrant relationships are dependent on conversation and dialogue.  We know honest conversations involve speaking and listening.  Sometimes we want to only do the speaking part, or maybe just the listening part?  Isn’t it true that real-time two-way conversations can be scary? 

I mean, how many of us would rather have an answering machine pick up when we are calling someone, than actually speak to the person we’re calling? (Or, how many of us screen all our calls, thinking if it is important they’ll leave a message.)  I know I sometimes find myself dialing and hoping to just leave a message.  Especially, when it comes to talking with my sister, I want to get credit for calling, but I don’t have to spend the time in an actual conversation.  In this age of instant messaging, e-mail, and answering machines we have become accustomed to one-way conversations, often preferring to just say our peace, and be done. 

And, how often do we engage in conversations with God like that?  Taking only the time to say what we want, or to ask for what we think we need?  Without taking time to listen to what God may be saying in response?  In a way, Solomon is doing that.  He is in the middle of this long and great prayer to God, I don’t think God could get a word in edgewise on this day.  (The only way God could get in on this was to send that large cloud into the sanctuary, that got the priests to move, but didn’t stop Solomon.) 

In his prayer, Solomon is speaking of the promises God made to David and Israel.  He talks about the special relationship between God and God’s people.  Solomon is reminding God of what was promised David, that if the Israelites walked with God, they would always have a king on the throne of Israel. Solomon also asks that God watch over this special place, and to hear the prayers of all of those who call on God’s name. He is thrilled to be seeing the completion of the temple promised to David.  No longer would God dwell in tents, wandering about.  The Ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence had a new and permanent home.  Something new have been created, the temple was finished, this was a time of celebration.

This was a fantastic day in the life of Israel, everyone had gathered to see this new house of the Lord.   While Solomon took a great deal of pride in the house “he” built, he also realized that no way would this house “contain” the Lord.  All the faithful were there, listening to this firehose full of words, then there is something most interesting prayed by Solomon as he says  “when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name” 

Solomon prays that God will listen to the prayers of everybody!  Welcome everyone’s prayers, listen to everyone’s prayers.  There are no favorites.  God’s word, God’s love, is no longer just for the Jews.  Dear God, listen to the prayer of the people who voted for so and so?  All are welcome in this place.  Listen to the prayers of people who … fill in the blank.  And All are welcome in this place.   This perhaps is the most amazing thing Solomon is asking for in his prayer. 

And if God is to listen to the prayers of all, so too, should we?   

That can be a difficult thing, for to truly listen, to truly hear someone else, is to be vulnerable. We put ourselves at risk, of learning something, or being challenged and stretched in some way. We run the risk of being changed, and never being the same again.

So many of us continue to put out a steady stream of one-way words in order to keep us from engaging in a dangerous kind of dialogue.  Let me tell you what I think….

What if sometimes God speaks to us, to our sisters and brothers in faith, maybe sometimes through complete strangers.  By entering into dialogue with surprising people and in unexpected places, might we be listening to God?   When we are inclined mostly to listen to ourselves, or people like ourselves talking, could we miss how God is doing a new thing.   We may need to listen to people of other persuasions and convictions.  We may need to listen to those who read their bible differently, we need to listen to those other faiths and seek to learn how God is active in their lives.  To see what wonderful thing God may be doing there, and not just focus on what is happening within ourselves or our particular tradition. 

Psalm 84 was sung as pilgrims approached the temple in Jerusalem.  The Psalmist sings of “how lovely is God’s dwelling place.”  It is more than, saying “you’ve got a lovely home.  Like we might do when we are invited to someone’s house for supper.  The psalm on one level, a tribute to the physical beauty of the building Solomon built.   For we know that “God’s house” is bigger than Solomon’s temple.  God’s house is a whole of the earth and all of creation.

God’s dwelling place is lovely because it is to a place for all people to find welcome and refuge.  And in this moment, here the grand vision is that no one, nothing is excluded, or can be excluded, from God’s presence. The smallest sparrow can find a home in God’s home. That’s the central truth not to be missed.  God’s house is open to all. Any place trying, to be a house of God must extend God’s inclusive love and grace.  And be a reflection of God’s love for the whole world.  Anytime a heart-felt prayer is lifted up, God will hear.  Anytime, any child of God comes by (KNOCKS) and wonders am I welcome?  Can I come in?  May we say, “welcome home, you are welcome here!”  Amen.