I just finished preaching on Song of Solomon.  I’m preaching through the books of the Bible, and forgot that I’d have to preach on this love song that is both graphic and sexual. It is a beautiful rendition of a woman and a man falling in love and in lust, and chasing after each other.  It is pure and simple and romantic. When I first read it in the Common English Bible, the words made me blush.  I wondered how in the world I could use this in a sermon.

Mostly I just didn’t want to preach it at all.  I wanted to tell everyone to go home and read it for themselves, and then just leave it there.  It would have been my shortest sermon ever.

But then I got an email from a member who was really glad I was addressing sexuality as there are teenaged children around her home; and I had another in depth conversation with a pastor about the boundaries around our sexuality.  And I pulled my head out of my shyness, and remembered the world we live in:  a world of hyped-up sexuality.  So, if the world had so much to say about this topic, perhaps the church should chime in.  Perhaps we have something to say.  Perhaps that’s why Song of Songs was left in the Scripture with all it’s visuals.

Wesley had three rules for living:  1) Do no harm; 2) Do all the good you can; and 3) Stay in love with God.  If we layer his three rules over the topic of sexuality, it can guide us for this day that we live in.  Our sexuality is sacred, beautiful, and as much a part of us as breathing.  But it is also a place where we are tender, vulnerable, and easily wounded.  Because of that we need to protect this sacred gift.

Our society is filled with pornography, marital infidelity, and teen sexual activity.  And these things hurt us. They hurt those who are near to us. The church is not immune to these problems. Today we need some decent and clear boundaries of what we will and won’t allow in our intimate lives.  Nothing that hurts others; nothing that prevents good; nothing that takes away from loving God.

In the end of this book, the woman says, Set a seal upon my heart; upon my arm.  This is a phrase of promise and commitment.  The seal was literally around the arm…as a reminder of being true.  It was like saying, “I am yours and you are mine.”  Our wedding rings remind us of the same thing…we are each other’s for the good…for the love.  Our love for each other is sealed.  And our love for God is also sealed.

I didn’t want to preach on this topic.  But I’m glad I did.  I hope other pastors do the same.  God’s view of healthy sexuality needs to be out there in the world…  It may be hard to talk about, but people are wanting to hear.

Enjoy reading Song of Songs.  I hope you blush.

The work of life is simple.  It is to love God, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  So there’s a lot of love there:  for God, for others, and for ourselves.  How are you doing at the work?  Are you in love with God every moment?  Are you caring for others every chance you get?  Are you taking care of yourself?  They all go together.  We often think that we can love ourselves and not God, or God and not others, or others and not ourselves.  But all that’s wrong.  Loving happens in triad.  They are all connected.

Remember when Jesus said to Peter,

Do you love me?…then feed my sheep.

Or when he said,

I want kindness, more than I want sacrifice.

And of course,

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  This is the first and most important command.  And the second command is like the first:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the     law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.

These things matter.  They are our work…our reason to get up every morning.  Some days it is hard to love others, and some days it is hard to love God, and some days it is hard to love ourselves.  Which is it for you?

Whichever area you are struggling with, I want to encourage you to keep working at the love.  Love God more.  Love others more.  Love yourself more.  Find a way to increase in the area you find the hardest to love.

God is with you.  I am praying and caring for you.  You are amazing!

Pastor Dottie

We are working through the preaching series called, “Serious!” and we are looking at serious followers of God in the scriptures.  We’ve looked at Peter and Ruth, and this Sunday the young  will be preaching to us on Timothy and Mary.  It is amazing to see how serious the characters in the Bible were about following God.

Easter Morning…up at 4am and went about my routine and instinctively avoided mirrors… After coffee, I went into the dressing area, and remembered that the mirror fast was over. I pulled off the sheet covering my mirror and had a look.  I was still there!  ha.  And I looked about the same.  Except that I thought this Easter morning that I was looking especially beautiful with my early morning look… 🙂  And then I looked at my eyes.  Ahhh…now that I missed.  I missed seeing my eyes more than anything else.  I remembered that I had been frustrated by  not being able to see my hair as I fixed it…but really, that was no big deal compared to the soul-gaze into the eyes.  I saw in them, “it is well with my soul…”  The scripture says that the eyes are the light of the body (Matthew 6:22)…and so it was good to see the light again.

I went through the day avoiding mirrors..looking down in bathrooms, watching ahead and stepping out of the range, etc…  Now it is a habit…and though I’m sure it won’t last forever (this avoidance of mirrors), I have learned some things…and I am so glad for the new understanding that comes when we stretch ourselves…  Try it sometime!  I dare you!

Here’s lookin’ at you babe!