Texts: 2 Kings 5:1-14 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 (Series B, 6th. Sunday in Epiphany) Ps. 30 Gospel of Mark 1:40-45 Free text: Song of Solomon 4:1-15
After being married for thirty years, a wife asked her husband to describe her. He looked at her for awhile…. Then he said: You are A- B- C- D- E- F- G - H- ……. I- J- K. She asks…… “What does that mean?” He said, Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous, Hot. She smiled happily and said… “Oh, that’s so lovely…..Han What about “I –J- K?” He said, “I’m Just Kidding!” Well! The swelling in the right eye has gone down and the doctor is optimist he will save it
On this Valentine’s Day, people send more roses, buy more candy, and say “I Love You” more often than on any other day of the year so they say. Whether it’s directed toward spouse, mother, child, or classmate, it is likely that you too have said, “Be my valentine” to someone on Valentine’s Day
.But love has many meanings. The “I love you” expressed to one’s spouse has a different meaning than the “Be my valentine” on a card one first grader gives to another: Real love is a very personal thing.
These days, we hear so much about marriages and love relationships ending up in tragedy. Marriage break ups are on the rise, and divorce like death has touched almost every household including mine.
Sadly, to say this phenomenon is not only confined just to young couples, but also couples who have been married for 30,40 years or longer are getting divorced. In my pastoral counseling experience, I have been approached few times by men and women in counseling looking for justification to leave their spouse.
Whenever I press for more in sight …….. this is what I usually hear, they use phrases such as “I don’t think, I am in love with him any more. I am so unhappy he/she doesn’t meet my needs…… Pastor, please don’t get me wrong I love him, but not in love, we are like strangers living under same roof” What is causing once lovers to be strangers. I am either a marriage therapist, or Dr. Phil and I wouldn’t attempt to answer the complexity of marriage ….. for what causes once lovers to become strangers.
But on the other hand I will attempt though this morning to share with you the Spirit of Valentine from a pastoral point of view....... the risk, the vulnerability in celebrating love relations, celebrating God’s love, which makes us Lovers and not Strangers.
The Scripture text: the Song of Songs depicts romantic drama between Solomon and the maiden. This love between a man and a woman is a typology of God’s love toward his creation. Love as noble as it may sound is full of risk and hurt.
Any one who has been in love will attest to this fact. Because to love is to be vulnerable, there is risk involve loving, but not to love, is to deny the very part of us, that makes us human. To those who value God above all else Love relationship provides a testing ground of faith .... laboratory of the heart that has promise not only for this life but for the life to come.
In my opinion people do change, situations differ, and dreams shattered. But the same God who made love relationships, made it to endure the disappointments, the ups and downs and predictable seasons of life that marks all good relationships.
Therefore, if the Song of Songs opens our eyes to the glory of God in earth and the heavens, it has served a gracious purpose. It is love and love alone, that gives us this new and glorious world. Love that is simple, love that is rich, and love that is passionate, such as is displayed in the Song of Songs. Divine love, God’s love that makes us: Lovers and not Strangers.
Song of Solomon is not all allegory or metaphoric. They reach out into the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, and lay hold of the love of God in its length and breadth, its height and depth.
Love is the theme of the day, central message of the Song of Songs, “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can flood drown it.” Powerful words!
Valentine, Lovers and not Strangers, and the Christian faith after all, is a matter of intimate, personal relationship with God in the here and now experience isn’t it! There is always the temptation to forget this and to think of Christianity in impersonal terms, as a system of doctrines or a code of ethics.
But the good news, is that God has made himself known as redemptive love in Jesus Christ. And Christianity asserts that faith is not simply a matter of proper beliefs or ethical standards, but a personal relationship of, an “I & You” relationship.
“ Jesus, your boundless love to No thought can reach, no tongue declare; O knit my thankful heart to you And reign without a rival there, Thine wholly, thine alone, I’d live Myself to thee entirely give.” Oh, beautiful hymn written by Paul Gerhardt ….. Lovers and not Strangers.
I consider myself some how really blessed, blessed because of people I believe God brought into my life’s journey. To me life is like a book with chapters and each chapter is unique with characters of people who have had an impact on my life, be good or not so good. One particular couple that comes to mind on my journey of life is Paul and Maria Heuberger they live in Kitzingen, Germany, and have known this couple since 1974.
Paul (92) and his wife Maria (82) are well educated and the most intelligent pair you could ever meet. Yet they are most humblest, simplest, and down to earth couple I have ever met. The respect, love, and devotion they have for each other are undisputable in my book. What amazes me about Paul and Maria is that...
They are so much in tune with each other, that Paul could complete a sentence for Maria in a conversation, and vice-versa. They seem to think alike and yet maintain their individuality. Their prayer life and commitment to God of the Bible is incredible, something I wish, I could emulate. These and other attributes stemmed from love they have for each other. Making them Lovers and not Strangers.
The Song of Songs is not a treatise on love in general or an abstract discussion of the idealism of love; it is the love story of two individuals, this person and that person. It is an exclusive story, personal, intimate and private. You see my friends, “we can not be right with God, unless we are right with others.” Making us lovers and not stranger.
As the lovers speak of their love, they say, “I am yours,” “You are mine.” They know that they “belong” to each other, that they were “made” for each other. The thrill of possession and commitment runs like a refrain; “My beloved is mine and I am his, and his banner over me is love” (2:16). Lovers and not Strangers.
As you wish your lover, spouse, child, mother, father, a friend, or classmate, co-worker happy Valentine. Remember that this is possible because of him who first loved us that while we were yet sinners and hostile ........ God made us Lovers and not Strangers.
By the cross, God sealed his love for us. It is proof of his sincerity. Valentine’s Day is the day that speaks of love, not just human love but God’s love. For Christians it is first and foremost a day to remember God’s love. Praise God ...... for chosen us to be his “Valentine” through the Cross. God doesn't just give us grace God gives us Jesus, the Lord of grace. Making us Lovers and not Strangers.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep
our heart and mind through Jesus Christ our Lord
which makes us Lovers and not Strangers.
Amen.
Rev. Samuel King-Kabu
February 12, 2012