Monday 21 December 2020

Today is Monday the 21 December, in the fourth week of Advent.  

Salt of the Sound sings, ‘Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus’.  

Today’s reading is from Song of Songs.  

Song of Songs 2:8-14  

The voice of my beloved!    Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains,    bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle    or a young stag. Look, there he stands    behind our wall, gazing in at the windows,    looking through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me: ‘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 turtle-dove    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. O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,    in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face,    let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet,    and your face is lovely.  

For the last three weeks of Advent, we’ve been waiting, and longing, and praying, for God to come and visit us. To appear this Christmas, as he did 2000 years ago. To appear in our everyday lives, in ways we can recognise and appreciate. Today’s reading assures us that God is on his way, and will soon be here. What’s it like, when someone you’ve been longing to see has almost arrived?  

Twice in this passage you, the one loved by God, are addressed as “my love, my fair one”. What stirs in you when you hear God speak intimately to you in this way?  

In the middle of this passage, we’re told that “the time of singing has come”. As you listen to it read again, allow yourself to appreciate the music, the poetry, of these words.  

If these are the words that God chooses to say to you, what are the words you want to respond with?  

O Wisdom

Lord and Ruler

Root of Jesse

Key of David

Rising Sun

King of the Nations

Emmanuel

Come, Lord Jesus