Silly Love Songs
Sermon
No Particular Place to Go
Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost (Middle Third)
"I can see no trace of the passions which make for deeper joy," wrote the French writer Stendhal about Americans in his 1822 essay titled "Love." "It is as if the sources of sensibility have dried up among these people," he observed. "They are just, they are rational, and they are not happy at all," he wrote. One cannot help but wonder what Stendhal would say today. It's no secret that relationships suffer in the fast-paced, impersonal world in which we live. We might rightly ask, where has all the love gone? One commentator describes the modern situation as a "bureaucratic vision" of love. Instead of risking opening one's heart to another in hopes of a joy-filled relationship, the person becomes a skilled negotiator demanding and accepting conditions for his or her personal pleasure.
We see evidence of this problem in the personal ads in local newspapers throughout the country. In recent years people have turned to the personal ads hoping to find that special person. Exhausting conventional ways of meeting people, they place ads in the newspaper and wait and hope someone will respond. One does not have to look too closely to discover the hurt and the starved affections in the persons who place the ads. One ad found a chicken delivery driver who, while making a delivery downtown, saw a woman in a denim skirt with light brown hair. No words were spoken but the man wanted to know if that woman was interested in meeting him. Another ad told of eyes meeting while one was going down the escalator and the other was going up at a crowded mall. Another described eating at a restaurant with parents and spotting someone at another table. The ad asked if the person might be interested. Still another recalled accusing another of taking all the salad from the salad bar but obviously had second thoughts, for the ad stated she would like to meet this mystery man. There are hundreds of such ads placed each week in thousands of newspapers in cities all over America. Where has all the love gone? This is a question worth considering.
Reading several personal ads prompted one woman to write to Ann Landers. Have you ever read those personal ads for people looking for dates or mates? No wonder they have to advertise in the newspaper. They all describe themselves as "attractive, physically fit, highly intelligent and fun to be with." I swear, one man actually says he's "every woman's dream." These lookers even have the gall to request specific types, such as "a Cindy Crawford look-alike." One guy doesn't want a woman with a Midwestern accent. Another guy says, "No one from New York need respond." I'm sick of reading, "I like walks on the beach, sunsets, classical music and quiet evenings at home." Nobody seems to realize that hobbies don't matter.
The writer went on to describe her marriage. In this woman's opinion what mattered most in their relationship was that they loved each other. They had different likes and dislikes but had learned to respect those differences. In that letter to Ann Landers she stated that hers was not the perfect marriage but through the years they learned to love each other and they remained very much in love with each other.
Where has all the love gone? An often overlooked gift from God to us is the ability to be in love with another person. Almost everyone at one time or another in life has been in love. The book of Song of Solomon, which is also known as the Song of Songs, is a collection of love songs or poems that celebrate being in love. If you have never read the Song of Solomon, you might be surprised at some of the imagery and the explicitness of the language. The Song of Solomon is a collection of love songs or poems that celebrate being in love. There are no deep theological meanings behind those words; this book contains nothing more than silly love songs written by persons deeply in love with another. Being in love is a universal experience; people living in a multitude of different countries have experienced being in love. Persons throughout time have experienced being in love. Being in love is something to celebrate, something to sing about. Some of the world's best songs are love songs.
Picture the scene described in our lesson: a young woman sitting on the porch sewing alongside her mother. Her mother is talking to her, but her mind is on other things, namely being in love. She hears a voice off in the distance, puts the sewing on her lap, and looks up, thinking she heard the voice of her beloved. She hurriedly scans the horizon searching, and suddenly she sees him. "Look," she exclaims to no one in particular, "he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills." There is excitement in her voice as she eagerly awaits the young man she is in love with. There is something about being young and in love.
When the young man arrives at her house, he gazes at the young woman through the lattice and calls to her. "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." Winter has passed and spring has come. To the young man it seems that the earth has awakened at the same time his love has blossomed. There are sights and sounds of spring all around him, trees blossoming, figs ripening, birds singing. To this young man it seems that all the world joins him in his moment of great love. He says to his beloved, "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." Off the young couple goes to spend the day together, walking and talking, being in love with each other.
There is something about experiencing nature that draws persons closer to God. Carl was in his mid-fifties when his world seemed to cave in on him. It was when he experienced a setback at work that he began seeing a counselor. Stress was getting the best of him. In despair, Carl decided to take some time off of work and hike along Sky Line Drive in Virginia. The time away from the stresses of his life would do him good. Carl took a lawn chair with him, and at one picture perfect spot he sat down and just looked at the beautiful scenery. He sat there for several hours, just looking out over the valleys.
When he continued on his way, he found a small stream. At one time there must have been a bridge across the stream, but all that was left was the cement post. Time and weather had smoothed that cement. The top of it was rounded, looking much like a chair. Carl decided to sit there for a while. It was at that moment that he felt God was speaking to him. He described the experience as being held in the arms of God. Sitting on that old bridge was like being in a cradle, in the very arms of God. It was at that moment that he once again felt he was loved by God. It was then that he felt renewed and refreshed. When Carl returned home he was a different man; the time away as well as the rest had done him good. He was determined not to fall into the same traps he had fallen into before.
"It was a prayerful atmosphere, a real haven of rest," Carl later told a friend of his experience. "The sights and sounds were God's gifts to me. I felt peace. I felt joy. And I felt my faith growing strong as I took in the majesty all around me."
The young man was calling his beloved to go with him to the mountain tops where they could experience springtime in all its glories. There's something about love that transforms people. Romantic love between two persons, who count the number of days they have been together, is exhilarating to watch. A sure sign of being in love is day-dreaming of the other person, being consumed with thoughts of the cherished one, wanting to spend each waking moment with the other, seemingly wasting time strolling in the park hand in hand.
Being in love changes a person. Knowing that you are loved is a transforming experience as well. Margaret was the kind of girl whose face you could never remember. It was not that she was ugly; if you looked hard enough behind her plain clothes and quiet manner, she was really quite good-looking. Margaret always kept to herself. She never approached anybody or offered her opinion on anything. She hardly ever laughed. Even her friends were at a loss what to do with her. No one quite knew what to say to her.
Some boys in her class decided to see what would happen if they began to treat her as if they were interested in her. They started making it a point to talk to her every chance they got. Between classes one of the boys would ask her about an assignment, at lunch some of the other boys would purposely sit with her. This was not as easy as it sounds, since Margaret was not accustomed to anyone talking with her on a regular basis. At first she did not quite know what to say. The boys kept at it, and after three or four weeks Margaret started to loosen up. One afternoon she even asked one of the boys about an idea for a term paper.
The next step in this experiment was for the boys to start dating Margaret. Bill started out by inviting her to lunch after class one day, and Mark took her to a play on campus a week or so later. After the boys' experiment had gone on for a couple of months, an amazing thing began to happen. Margaret began to look better. A few changes were easy to notice, like the way she changed her hair around and started wearing new clothes. She seemed to talk and smile more too.
When Larry found Margaret at the library one day he asked her out on a date to hear a bluegrass band. "Oh, that's really sweet of you Larry, but Mark and I are already busy next Saturday," she replied. Larry was really looking forward to going out with Margaret. "I bumbled around and came out with some kind of line about, 'Maybe some other time,' but to tell you the truth I was really disappointed," Larry said. To make matters worse, Larry says, "I have tried two more times to get a date with Margaret and she's been busy both times."
There is something about being in love and being loved that transforms or changes our lives. Being in love is something to celebrate, something to sing silly love songs about.
We see evidence of this problem in the personal ads in local newspapers throughout the country. In recent years people have turned to the personal ads hoping to find that special person. Exhausting conventional ways of meeting people, they place ads in the newspaper and wait and hope someone will respond. One does not have to look too closely to discover the hurt and the starved affections in the persons who place the ads. One ad found a chicken delivery driver who, while making a delivery downtown, saw a woman in a denim skirt with light brown hair. No words were spoken but the man wanted to know if that woman was interested in meeting him. Another ad told of eyes meeting while one was going down the escalator and the other was going up at a crowded mall. Another described eating at a restaurant with parents and spotting someone at another table. The ad asked if the person might be interested. Still another recalled accusing another of taking all the salad from the salad bar but obviously had second thoughts, for the ad stated she would like to meet this mystery man. There are hundreds of such ads placed each week in thousands of newspapers in cities all over America. Where has all the love gone? This is a question worth considering.
Reading several personal ads prompted one woman to write to Ann Landers. Have you ever read those personal ads for people looking for dates or mates? No wonder they have to advertise in the newspaper. They all describe themselves as "attractive, physically fit, highly intelligent and fun to be with." I swear, one man actually says he's "every woman's dream." These lookers even have the gall to request specific types, such as "a Cindy Crawford look-alike." One guy doesn't want a woman with a Midwestern accent. Another guy says, "No one from New York need respond." I'm sick of reading, "I like walks on the beach, sunsets, classical music and quiet evenings at home." Nobody seems to realize that hobbies don't matter.
The writer went on to describe her marriage. In this woman's opinion what mattered most in their relationship was that they loved each other. They had different likes and dislikes but had learned to respect those differences. In that letter to Ann Landers she stated that hers was not the perfect marriage but through the years they learned to love each other and they remained very much in love with each other.
Where has all the love gone? An often overlooked gift from God to us is the ability to be in love with another person. Almost everyone at one time or another in life has been in love. The book of Song of Solomon, which is also known as the Song of Songs, is a collection of love songs or poems that celebrate being in love. If you have never read the Song of Solomon, you might be surprised at some of the imagery and the explicitness of the language. The Song of Solomon is a collection of love songs or poems that celebrate being in love. There are no deep theological meanings behind those words; this book contains nothing more than silly love songs written by persons deeply in love with another. Being in love is a universal experience; people living in a multitude of different countries have experienced being in love. Persons throughout time have experienced being in love. Being in love is something to celebrate, something to sing about. Some of the world's best songs are love songs.
Picture the scene described in our lesson: a young woman sitting on the porch sewing alongside her mother. Her mother is talking to her, but her mind is on other things, namely being in love. She hears a voice off in the distance, puts the sewing on her lap, and looks up, thinking she heard the voice of her beloved. She hurriedly scans the horizon searching, and suddenly she sees him. "Look," she exclaims to no one in particular, "he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills." There is excitement in her voice as she eagerly awaits the young man she is in love with. There is something about being young and in love.
When the young man arrives at her house, he gazes at the young woman through the lattice and calls to her. "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." Winter has passed and spring has come. To the young man it seems that the earth has awakened at the same time his love has blossomed. There are sights and sounds of spring all around him, trees blossoming, figs ripening, birds singing. To this young man it seems that all the world joins him in his moment of great love. He says to his beloved, "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." Off the young couple goes to spend the day together, walking and talking, being in love with each other.
There is something about experiencing nature that draws persons closer to God. Carl was in his mid-fifties when his world seemed to cave in on him. It was when he experienced a setback at work that he began seeing a counselor. Stress was getting the best of him. In despair, Carl decided to take some time off of work and hike along Sky Line Drive in Virginia. The time away from the stresses of his life would do him good. Carl took a lawn chair with him, and at one picture perfect spot he sat down and just looked at the beautiful scenery. He sat there for several hours, just looking out over the valleys.
When he continued on his way, he found a small stream. At one time there must have been a bridge across the stream, but all that was left was the cement post. Time and weather had smoothed that cement. The top of it was rounded, looking much like a chair. Carl decided to sit there for a while. It was at that moment that he felt God was speaking to him. He described the experience as being held in the arms of God. Sitting on that old bridge was like being in a cradle, in the very arms of God. It was at that moment that he once again felt he was loved by God. It was then that he felt renewed and refreshed. When Carl returned home he was a different man; the time away as well as the rest had done him good. He was determined not to fall into the same traps he had fallen into before.
"It was a prayerful atmosphere, a real haven of rest," Carl later told a friend of his experience. "The sights and sounds were God's gifts to me. I felt peace. I felt joy. And I felt my faith growing strong as I took in the majesty all around me."
The young man was calling his beloved to go with him to the mountain tops where they could experience springtime in all its glories. There's something about love that transforms people. Romantic love between two persons, who count the number of days they have been together, is exhilarating to watch. A sure sign of being in love is day-dreaming of the other person, being consumed with thoughts of the cherished one, wanting to spend each waking moment with the other, seemingly wasting time strolling in the park hand in hand.
Being in love changes a person. Knowing that you are loved is a transforming experience as well. Margaret was the kind of girl whose face you could never remember. It was not that she was ugly; if you looked hard enough behind her plain clothes and quiet manner, she was really quite good-looking. Margaret always kept to herself. She never approached anybody or offered her opinion on anything. She hardly ever laughed. Even her friends were at a loss what to do with her. No one quite knew what to say to her.
Some boys in her class decided to see what would happen if they began to treat her as if they were interested in her. They started making it a point to talk to her every chance they got. Between classes one of the boys would ask her about an assignment, at lunch some of the other boys would purposely sit with her. This was not as easy as it sounds, since Margaret was not accustomed to anyone talking with her on a regular basis. At first she did not quite know what to say. The boys kept at it, and after three or four weeks Margaret started to loosen up. One afternoon she even asked one of the boys about an idea for a term paper.
The next step in this experiment was for the boys to start dating Margaret. Bill started out by inviting her to lunch after class one day, and Mark took her to a play on campus a week or so later. After the boys' experiment had gone on for a couple of months, an amazing thing began to happen. Margaret began to look better. A few changes were easy to notice, like the way she changed her hair around and started wearing new clothes. She seemed to talk and smile more too.
When Larry found Margaret at the library one day he asked her out on a date to hear a bluegrass band. "Oh, that's really sweet of you Larry, but Mark and I are already busy next Saturday," she replied. Larry was really looking forward to going out with Margaret. "I bumbled around and came out with some kind of line about, 'Maybe some other time,' but to tell you the truth I was really disappointed," Larry said. To make matters worse, Larry says, "I have tried two more times to get a date with Margaret and she's been busy both times."
There is something about being in love and being loved that transforms or changes our lives. Being in love is something to celebrate, something to sing silly love songs about.
