THE WORKING BRIDE (Songs 8:1-14) St. Ambrose said that when the intimacy between the bride and her Bridegroom was ascertained, the bride started negotiating to take care of her younger sister1, who represents her unbelieving human race. In the mean time, the bride was yearning to be united with her Bridegroom. Thus, the conclusion of this song is to let the believer serve others, besides his yearning to the Paradise. These two desires may seem contradictory, but in truth, they compliment one another and go side by side. The believer lives with an inflamed heart to preach to every person who has not experienced the salvation, and in the mean time, has the desire to depart to be with Christ face to face. At the beginning of the song, the bride insisted to be in fellowship with Him, wishing to be alone with Him, one time in the wilderness, a second time in the garden, a third time in the field and in the village, and a fourth time in her mother’s house to let him drink from the wine of her love, as He has quenched her thirst from His eternal love. “Oh, that you were like my brother, who nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I should find you outside, I would kiss you; I would not be despised, I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother2. She3who used to instruct me4, I would cause you to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate” (Song 8:1-2). This chapter is a talk about the ministry, for the basis of the ministry is the servant’s enjoyment with the Bridegroom of the Church, so when he meets his brothers, they smell in him the fragrance of “the life.” and accept membership in the Church, the body of the living Christ. We also notice the following: 1. She wants to accept him as a brother, the one who nurses from her mother’s breasts. According to the old eastern traditions, no one was allowed to kiss another publicly, even a husband and a wife. The only exception was relatives from the first degree, like parents and brothers and sisters. That is why she wants him as a brother who nurses from her mother’s breasts, so she can take him in her arms and appear with him publicly and kiss him publicly, and no one can blame her. 2. The secret of wishing that he is her brother “Oh, that you were like my brother.” declares the desire of the Church of the Old Testament, who looked at God as if He were outside, “If I should find you outside.” She asks that He descends to the level of the human race, so He becomes the Older Brother who shares our nature and dwells among us. Then, we get to know Him and kiss Him publicly and enter Him in our inner life. 3. This is the talk of the New Testament Church. In the New Testament, the believers who realize that Christ is their Lord, their Older Brother and Bridegroom, accept Him and kiss Him with the kisses of the true worship. They make Him enter in the house of their mother, the Heavenly Jerusalem, to live with Him, face to face, in His Fatherly bosom. 1 The Holy Bible: The Jesuit edition, Beirut 2 The Septuagint version 3 The Jesuit edition 4 Not in the Septuagint version 5 4. “She who used to instruct me” reveals the nature of the true Christian and the faithful servant who always wants to learn. The soul who meets her Bridegroom and lives with Him in the house of her mother, the Church or the Heavenly Jerusalem, and there she lets Him drink of her spiced wine and the juice of pomegranate, is always humble and wanting to learn. She needs Him to teach her His heavenly mysteries, so in eternity, she sees Him new in her eyes. In eternity, there is no time, and there she may learn something new about His divine mysteries. The true servant continuously stays in the Church, the house of his mother, at the feet of the Savior, desiring to learn, even if he is called “teacher” or “father” to many! St. Ambrose said: [I desire to struggle to learn so I may be able to teach, for there is One Master (God) who alone does not learn what He teaches to others. However, all people should first learn before they can teach, and receive from God what they teach to others1.] St. Irenaeus said, [The one who desires to learn deserves to be praised, even though he does not have a teacher2.] 5. Learning in the Church, the mother’s house, is not mere mental knowledge or by rote doctrines, but in essence, it is practicing “the life with Christ.” That is why the bride says, “I would cause you to drink of spiced wine, or the juice of my pomegranate.” This is what I want to learn, to repay Your love. 6. When one accompanies the Lord in the Church and sits to learn at the feet of the Savior, he presents spiced wine mingled with the juice of pomegranate. What does that mean? Wine is a symbol of a life of joy and happiness. The Church is the joyful house, which receives the repentant sinners, where God gives them inner joy, which all the temporal events cannot remove. Pomegranate refers to the life of strife. Pomegranate trees are full of thorns and the skin is bitter, and inside are many seeds, but its juice is delicious and sweet. Likewise, in Christianity, joy is mingled with labor and spiritual strife until the end. Finally, the bride is ascertaining her unity with the Bridegroom and her close attachment to Him, so she says, “His left hand is under my head, and His right hand embraces me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases” (Song 8:3,4). These are the same words which she uttered when she declared that she was lovesick3. She wanted to emphasize that although she offers all her life to serve Him, yet this cannot hinder her being occupied with Him and being in continuous fellowship with Him. She assures that she cannot permit anyone to hinder her unity with Him. True ministry does not occupy the servant to the extent that he neglects his Christ, but on the contrary, he goes into deep fellowship with Him. THE TESTIMONY OF THE WORLD ABOUT HIM The world, looking at the Church, who is the body of Christ who witnesses to Him, says: “Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved?” (Song 8:5)4 Previously, the daughters of Jerusalem uttered similar words (Song 3:6), when they saw the amazing change in the life of the believers. Baptism has granted them a 1 By the author, “The Pastoral Love.” p. 700. 2 The precious reference, p. 701. 3 Refer to commentary on Song 2:5-7 4 The Septuagint Version 6 white heavenly garment and they enjoyed true dependence on the Beloved who lifted them up from the wilderness of this world to enter His heavens. Now the world is amazed about the testimony of the bride working before them. She does not marvel because of the multitude of the work but rather because of the fruits in her life. The servant, appearing with the white clothes of baptism, is the best testimony of the Bridegroom. St. Augustine commented on that by saying: [She was not white from the beginning, but she became white, for it is written, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow’ (Is. 1:18).1] He also wrote, [Who is this white coming up in the splendor of that light and not in a vain color?2] St. Ambrose said, [She was previously black; how come she became white all of a sudden? (This is through baptism.)3] St. Augustine justifies the source of her continuing white by saying, [She who became white behaves nicely, for she is depending on the One who makes her white; for she is trusting the Lord Jesus, who said to His disciples, ‘Without Me, you can do nothing’ (John 15:5).4] The world was not the only one amazed, but also the heavenly creatures were amazed, seeing what man has achieved through uniting with Christ in the baptismal font. St. Cyril of Jerusalem described man in baptism by saying: [The angels dance around you, while saying, ‘Who is this coming up white, leaning upon her Beloved?’ The Lord adopted the soul who was a slave and made her His beloved.] The heavenly hosts repeat cry: “I awakened you under the apple tree. There your mother brought you forth; there she who bore you brought you forth” (Song 8:5) 5.] This is the mystery of her rising from the wilderness, all white leaning upon her Beloved. Her mother has bore her under the apple tree. Previously, we have seen that the apple tree refers to the divine Incarnation, for the Lord appeared “like an apple tree among the trees of the woods” (Song 2:3). Through the divine Incarnation the Church, the mother, was able to bear children in baptism, who are able to rise toward the heavenly matters through God Incarnate. This is the new birth and its effect in the life of the believer. Here he connects between the divine Incarnation and our spiritual birth, for the Lord was born physically, so we may be born spiritually. This was the cause of celebrating Christmas and Epiphany on one day in the early Church, for the two feasts are related in the mind of the Church. NOT BEING OCCUPIED IN THE SERVICE ON THE EXPENSE OF THE BRIDEGROOM The working bride assures her cleaving to her Bridegroom, although she is occupied with serving her relatives. She says: “Set me as a seal upon Your heart, as a seal upon Your arm; for love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave;6 its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised” (Song 8:6,7). Since the soul has enjoyed the new birth in the sacrament of baptism, and in 1 On Ps. 45: 24. 2 Sermon on the N. T. Lesson 45:5 3 On Myst. 1:36 4 On Grace & Freewill 13 5 Catechetical Lectures 3:16 6 The Septuagint Version. 7 the sacrament of confirmation, she is sealed with the seal of the Holy Spirit and she belongs to the Bridegroom, carrying His seal and characteristics, then she dearly appreciates that seal which is on all the sides of her life. This new life has inflamed her love toward Him, so she asks Him not only to accept her in His arms nor take her in His eternal bosom, but she desires to cleave to Him as the seal on His heart and on His arm. Nothing separates her from Him, even death! She asks to be a seal on the heart of the Bridegroom, not only to take a place in his heart, but to occupy the whole heart, as if God is not occupied except by her. She desires not only that her name is carved on His heart, but that all her life is sealed on Him, so no one can erase her name from God’s face. In the book of Isaiah, the Lord says, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Is. 49:16). However, here the bride desires to be a seal on His arm. Hence, the bride rests in God’s heart, the center of emotion and love, and upon His arm, the center of labor. She rests forever on the throne of His love and power! This is the kind of intimacy that the Church has with her Bridegroom! The source of this strong intimacy is the love which God has poured in our hearts toward Him. Therefore, she says, “Love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave.” She tells him, “Death is easy, and it cannot separate me from my love to you. Plenty of water and all the rivers cannot quench love. As St. Paul said, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress, or persecution or famine, or nakedness or peril, or sword?… For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is to in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35-39). St. Augustine1 said: [The storms of the world or the trials cannot quench the flames of love, that is why it is written, ‘Love is as strong as death.”]When death comes, no one can resist it, even by medicine nor by any art; in the same manner, the world cannot stand against love. Death is strong in destruction, but love is strong in rescuing (salvation). Through love, many died to the world to live for God.] Amidst the world, the bride presented to her Bridegroom what the world cannot resist; she presented her heart to the One who finds His delight in her. She did not only present her service, struggle and vigil, but first presented her heart, that is “all her love.” to whom it is written, “If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.” She is repeating what St. Paul said, “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Cor. 13:3). She is not like the wife who thinks that she is well serving her husband, but her heart is not with him! First, she has to present her heart, then she can not but continuously serve him! HER LOVE TO HER BRIDEGROOM INFLAMES HER LOVE TO HER BROTHERS When she presented all her love to the Lord, her heart widened to serve her brothers, so she said, “We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister in the day when she is spoken for? If she is a wall, we will build upon her a battlement of silver; and if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. I am a wall, and my breasts like towers; then I became in his eyes as one who found peace” (Song 8:8-10). 1 On Ps. 48: 13. 8 These simple expressions carry a constitution to the life of the ministry which can be summarized as follows: 1. To the Church, unbelievers represent “the little sister.” She is not only her sister, but rather a sister to the Bridegroom, too. Through this outlook, the Church does not deal with unbelievers, or even the attackers or atheists, as a teacher deals with his students, but rather as an older brother who is compassionate to the younger. The younger sister my err, but the older sister will endure her because she is the older, and she will give her an excuse because the younger sister does not have breasts, that is, she does not know yet the truth in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. 2. The reason for the weakness of the younger sister is that the younger sister does not have breasts. So the older sister has to present the word of God, that is both the Old and New Testaments, to the younger sister so she may taste the word of God and like it. This is the work of the evangelist Church, presenting the living word of God to every person. 3. What does the Church do to the younger sister who has no breasts, to whom the Bridegroom has proposed? She will treat her very affectionately and compassionately. She will not reproach her nor hurt her feelings, but offers her all the help needed. If she is a wall, she will build upon her a silver tower; and if she is a door, she will enclose her with boards of cedar. She supports her with positive reinforcement. The older sister offers her life to the younger sister, as if telling her, “If you need a wall to surround you and two towers to lift you up, I can serve you. I can be your wall and my breasts are like two towers. Accept the Lord Jesus living inside you as a wall to you and the Holy Bible as two breasts who can fill you.” 4. It is not enough that the older sister treats the younger sister, but she has to build upon her a silver tower and surround her with boards of cedar, which means, she has to support her until she becomes a servant in the Lord’s vine. The Church’s duty is to enter the unbeliever to the faith and to drive him to a practical testimony to the word of God. He, then becomes like a silver tower (silver refers to the word of God, revined like silver) and the tower refers to the public testimony. In the eyes of everyone, the Church finds true peace in the life of the human race. THE FINAL CONVERSATION “Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon; he leased the vineyard to keepers; everyone was to bring for its fruit a thousand pieces of silver. My own vineyard is before me. You, O Solomon, may have a thousand, and those who keep its fruit two hundred. You who dwell in the gardens, the companions listen for your voice, let me hear it! Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices” (Song 8:11-14). 1. The Church, introducing her Bridegroom to the world and calling everyone to enjoy the Lord, clarifies an important concept in the ministry: the vine is the Lord’s vineyard, and He is the One who works in it through the lives of the keepers. He says, “Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon.” The vine is not hers but belongs to “the True Solomon.” St. Augustine said, [The Lord cultivates us, his vine. The crops are the work in our hearts, and He does not do it with human hands but He is the One who works in us, as the farmer works in his field. What does the Bible say? ‘I am the vine, you are 9 the branches’ (John 15:5), ‘I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser’ (John 15:1). What does the vinedresser do? He cultivates his field. The Father, the Vinedresser has a field which He cultivates, and expects fruits from it. The Lord Jesus said, ‘A certain man planted a vineyard and leased it to vinedressers’ (Luke 20:9). These are obligated to present fruits in due season1.] Commenting on St. Paul’s words, “We are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9), St. John Chrysostom says, [The field does not belong to the one who plants in it, but to its owner2.] 2. The word “Baal” means “lord or king.” and the word “Hamon” means “multitudes”3. The vine of the Lord, the King of Peace, is the human race. He becomes their King to escort them into His heavens. 3. The Lord leased this vine to keepers. “He leased the vineyards to keepers” (Song 8: 11). Still, He cannot stop but to care for his vineyard affectionately. He said, “My own vineyard is before me” (Song 8:12). He says, “I keep it night and day” (Is. 27:3). He, generously, gives it everything, for He says, “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done it?” (Is. 5:4). 4. What are the fruits that the King of peace requests? “Everyone has to bring for his fruit a thousand pieces of silver” (Song 8:11). He asks that each keeper presents a thousand pieces of silver, for thousand symbolizes heaven and the heavenly matters4. God does not request from his servants except the heavenly and spiritual fruits. This is the work of the Church and the message of God’s ministers, to enter those whom they serve into the heavenly life. 5. Since the fruits are presented to the Lord’s favor, what, then, is the servant’s reward? “You, O Solomon may have a thousand, and those who keep its fruit two hundreds.” Probably, he meant by two hundred, that one hundred is the men of the Old Testament and one hundred is for the men of the New Testament. Ministers in both testaments enjoy the plentiful fruits, that is why St. Paul called his people “my joy and crown” (Phil. 4:1). 6. Since the Church works in the Lord’s vine and all the workers work for the glory of God, who has the thousand, and for themselves, who have the two hundreds. they become like those who are sitting in gardens. The difficult road and the narrow way change to an easy yoke and a light burden. While on earth, they live as if they are in joyful gardens. Hence, the Lord communes with His bride by saying, “You who dwell in the gardens, the companions listen for your voice, let me hear it!.” “The voice of your love is no more suppressed, but those who dwell on earth as well as in heaven, rejoice when they hear it. Now come to me so I may hear your practical and joyful voice. Come, so you may inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.” These are the words of the Bridegroom who brings joy to His bride’s heart, and assures her that whatever she does, will receive its fruits in eternity! Joyfully, she answers Him, “Make haste, my Beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices” (Song 8:14). Previously, we have explained why the Church compares her Bridegroom with a gazelle or a young stag. Here, she responds to His call, “Make haste, and come quickly for I am longing to You. “Since 1 By the author: The Pastoral Love, p. 13. 2 The previous reference, p. 14. 3 The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, p. 83. 4 By the author, Book of Rev., 1979, p. 92. 10 you call me to meet You so you can hear My voice, I also need to meet You.” His haste coming on the mountains of spices reminds us of the spices with which the Lord Jesus was buried. He meets with her when she is buried with Him, for every day she dies with Him so she may live forever with Him. This is the conclusion of the Song: she repeats what the bride says in the Book of Revelation, “Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).
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