Every spring, these verses from Song of Songs pop up in the Easter readings:
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,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
Song of Solomon 2:10-13
Song of Songs is an unusual book. An ancient love song in the middle of the Old Testament, sandwiched between the grim and gloomy wisdom of Ecclesiastes and the soaring, expansive prophecy of Isaiah.
We don’t know who the couple is, we don’t know what happened to them afterwards. Did they live happily ever after? Or was this just a fleeting moment?
All we have is this exchange between them, this moment of hope, yearning and freedom set against the evocative backdrop of a Middle Eastern springtime, with the fig tree putting forth its figs, the vines bursting into blossom and the turtle dove cooing once again.
Thousands of years later, in St Albans in 2021, so many of the conversations we are finding ourselves having are focused on the future, trying to predict it, trying not to get our hopes up, preparing ourselves for what might be. Can we plan a holiday, will there be a new variant, what will happen next winter? So much uncertainty still.
However, these verses remind me that the only moment we actually have is now. And right now the trees are in blossom here at St Peter’s, the sun has been shining, and there has been singing in our land (churchyard) after a long winter of isolation, YouTube and Zoom.
This Sunday (2nd May) at 10am we will be meeting outside once again in our beautiful churchyard as we will for all our monthly all-age services this spring and summer.
Regardless of what the future may or may not hold for each of us, we will sit in the shade of that great cedar tree near the east window, we will greet one another, and we will sing together again. Alleluia!
Loving God,
Thank you for right now.
Thank you for the life and hope of this moment.
May we revel in this spring, its sunshine, its blossoms and its warmth.
And thank you for each other.
May we be a community of life, hope and warmth.
In the precious name of Jesus,
Amen