The
passionate, sometimes-graphic biblical poem called The Song of Solomon
or The Song of Songs is on the surface about romantic love. That’s how
it’s often preached about—as an apology for the goodness of sex. Like
most of Scripture, however, it has layers of meaning, and one of those
layers that early and medieval Christians noted concerned Christ’s love
for us. Take, for example, Bernard of Clairvaux’s series of sermons on this book. In Sermon 3, for example, he explains verse 1:2, “Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth,” by saying
Those
to whom it is given to utter these words sincerely are comparatively
few, but any one who has received this mystical kiss from the mouth of
Christ at least once, seeks again that intimate experience, and eagerly
looks for its frequent renewal.
At any rate, Natalia Kohn in CT picks up this line of interpretation with her own twist in “Why Song of Solomon Is Key to the Great Commission:”
When
I first read Song of Solomon and began entering the world of intimacy
with Jesus, I was shocked by the idea that he delights in me. The
pursuer and wooer attributes of Jesus sounded very strange to my
workaholic ears.
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