Evenings With Bede is a homily podcast. The episodes are taken from the Sunday solemn Plainsong Evensong services of Saint Paul’s, New Smyrna Beach, Fla., where I am Rector.

SEASON TWO is devoted to understanding the Song of Songs with the Venerable S. Bede as teacher. We will go verse by verse through the entirety of the Song of Songs.

The format is a short passage from the Song of Songs, then comes commentary from the Bede, and finally a reflective homily by yours truly expounding upon both. The audio for all three is found above. The text of the two passages is found below.

A Lesson from the Song of Songs, 1.15

Behold, you are beautiful, my friend; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are those of doves. Behold, You are beautiful, my love, and comely. Your couch is full of flowers. The beams of our houses are of cedar, our paneled ceilings of cypress wood.

A Lesson from a Treatise by the Venerable S. Bede

So the Bride of Christ, desiring to live a quiet life in the tranquility of domestic peace, indicates the sort of houses in which she wishes to receive her Bridegroom, saying: “The beams of our houses are of cedar, our paneled ceilings of cypress wood.” Surely what she calls her houses are the various assemblies of the faithful through the world from all of which the universal church herself is comprised. Now the beams and paneled ceiling represent the diverse orders of the faithful within the same houses of the Church; for surely both of them are accustomed to be placed on high, but beams are a means of support while the paneled ceilings serve more as decoration than as support. Therefore, let the beams signify the holy preachers by whose word and example the edifice of the same Church is held together so that is is able to stand firm, who by the solidity of their teaching keep out the tempests of heretical influence lest they should bring her down; let the paneled ceilings be compared to Christ’s simpler servants, who are more adept at adorning the Church with their distinctive virtues than at defending her with words of teaching and protecting her against the fury of perverse doctrines. Now the paneled ceilings rest upon the beams to which they are attached, because those in the holy Church who desire to shine with virtues on high must adhere with all their mind to the words and examples of the most eminent Fathers of the Church, by which they are raised up from the vanity of earthly things. And these beams are properly said to be of cedar, and the paneled ceilings of cypress wood, because it is well known that both of these trees are of an utterly incorruptible nature, extraordinarily tall, with a distinctive aroma, which aptly agrees with those who are able to say with the Apostle: “We are the good aroma of Christ to God,” and “Our conversation is in heaven,” and “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?”

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