You--a Prize Catch?

The poem begins, “Let him kiss me.” It ends with her invitation to him to come roam the landscape of her body. It’s pretty lush–ideal reading for Valentine’s Day.

The poem highlights the Shulamite’s longing for the King, but clearly portrays her longing as a mirror of his.

There’s a message here for pastors, for the ordinary men and woman called by God to represent him in the pulpit and at bedsides, weddings and funerals. Like the Shulamite, we are hungry for intimacy with the King.

Scarcely has she voiced her desire for the king, “Let him kiss me . . .” than she is reminded of her unworthiness. "I am dark . . ." She is sun-darkened in a culture that sees a tan as the mark of undignified labor. Her brothers have scorned her and assigned her field work. She is a nobody. Who is she to be the consort of the King? A king who already 60 queens and 80 concubines.

“I am dark but beautiful” she says.

She must be beautiful, otherwise the King’s admiration would imply he was desperate or blind or stupid. If the King prizes her, she must be a prize. If the King admires her, she must be beautiful.

If God has called you to ministry, you must have some special gift. God is not blind or desperate or stupid. He saw something extraordinary in you, something he prized. Something so good, he insisted on paying you to have it available full time.

As hungry as we are for God, the Song of Songs suggests we evoke a corresponding hunger in God. As we dream of finding rich satisfaction in communion with God, God, too, anticipates rich communion with us. We are agents of divine joy.