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

SEASON TWO will be devoted to understanding the Song of Songs with Bede as teacher, and yours truly as interpreter. We are going through the entirety of the Song of Songs, verse by verse.

The format is a short passage from the Song of Songs, then comes commentary from the Bede, then an interpretive 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, 1.1

Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth: for thy breasts are better than wine, Smelling sweet of the best ointments. Thy name is as oil poured out: therefore young maidens have loved thee. Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments. The king hath brought me into his storerooms: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, remembering thy breasts more than wine: the righteous love thee.

A Lesson from a Treatise by the Venerable S. Bede (page 38)

Whoever desires to read the Song of Songs, in which that wisest of kings, Solomon, describes the mysteries of Christ and the church (that is, of the Eternal King and His city) under the figure of the Bridegroom and a bride, should remember first of all that the whole congregation of the elect in general is called “the church,” and yet now, for the sake of distinction, that portion of the faithful which preceded the time of the Lord’s incarnation is particularly named “the synagogue” and that which followed it “the church.” … Now the name that is “synagogue” in Greek means “gathering together” in latin, and “ecclesia” means “calling together”--with which name it seemed for fitting for the faithful of this time to be called because of their greater comprehension of spiritual knowledge. For it is appropriate for those who know how to hear and discern to be called together, but even stones or any other insensible things can be gathered together. Now these two portions of the righteous are sharers in the one and the same faith and love of Christ, although they have different sacraments in accordance with their times, as the apostle Peter testifies when he says: “Why are you putting God to the test by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. For just as we hope and also believe that we will be saved by the Lord’s incarnation, passion, and resurrection, which have already been accomplished, so also did that former part of the Church, which expected the same incarnation, passion, and resurrection of the Lord and Redeemer as things yet to come, believe that she was going to be saved through the grace of Him whose coming she so earnestly desired. Therefore, it is her voice that resounds at the very beginning in a song of love to him, after the holy prophets have both shown her the way to live and foretold the coming of Him who, as a Bridegroom coming forth from His wedding chamber” (Ps 19), would endow the whole world with the grace of a new blessing. Going beyond the voices of the heralds, she began to desire rather the presence of her King and Savior Himself, saying: “Let Him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth,” which is to say openly, “I earnestly request that he would not always appoint angels and prophets to teach me; now at last, let the One who has been promised for so long come Himself and instruct me with the light of His own presence, and comfort me by speaking to me with His own mouth, as if he were bestowing a kiss. But let Him also patiently receive the touch of my mouth–that is, let Him not disdain to listen to me and to educate me when I inquire about the way of salvation.” Truly, this desire for Him was evidently fulfilled at that time when, as we read in the Gospel, after Jesus had sat down His disciples came to Him and he opened His mouth, saying ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ For He who at that time opened His mouth and proclaimed to the world the unheard-of joys of the heavenly kingdom was the One who had so often opened the mouth of the prophets, through Whom He announced His coming to the world.

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