Song of Solomon 2:8-17 ( RSV) ( KJV) (NIV)
July 15, 2001
"CatchUs the Foxes"
The text is from the Song of Songs. It's often attributed to Solomon, and therefore, that title appears inmany Bibles: The Song of Solomon, and it has had a very difficult history. Way back in the Old Testament in Palestinian times, theconservative school of Schema! opposed the entrance of this text in the Old Testament scriptures. On the other hand, the school ofHillel, which is the more liberal of the schools, supported it. In our Christian era, the writings of that particular time weregathered together and piled into what we call the scriptures, 66 writings in all. The very last, or 66th, book to be admitted was the Song of Solomon. And, by the way, when they put togetherthose 66 texts, they left out some pretty good work that had been written by religious scholars.
This peculiar text appears right in the midst of a passage of erotic literature. The Song of Solomon is a book of enchanting imagery. It delights in the torments of two lovers. Now, there are a host of interpretations on this. For some, it isan allegorical passage that speaks of the bride being the Jewish nation and the groom being Yahweh. In the Christian era, a similar interpretation has been given to it by many scholars. They hold that Jesus is the groom, and that the church is the bride. Forwhatever it's worth, my view is: it is what it is, a love story. If you read the lovestory, you know immediately that here are two sick young persons who are so in love with each other that they have an unbridledknowledge of marriage or responsibility. As my Dad said to me one time, "There'snothing more beautiful to see than a young couple being married with joy, love and complete ignorance of the future." Today, I'm drawn into this dialogue, which exists in this second chapter. In chapter eight, the woman speaks, "The voice of my beloved. Look,he comes leaping upon the mountains bounding over the hills. My beloved is like agazelle or a young stag. Look, there he stands behind our wall, gazing at the windows, looking through the lattice." I just came from my 50th high school reunion, and the gazelles and the jumping stags areall gone.
Then, in Chapter Ten, he speaks, "Arise my love, my fair one; come away, for now, the winter haspassed, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the timelesssinging has come, the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. The fig tree putsforth its blossom, the vines are in blossom and give forth fragrance. Arise my love,my fair one, come away, my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the covert of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear yourvoice, for your voice is sweet." Those are words which you wives in the audienceheard years ago and seldom hear now. Inserted into this passage is this: "Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards. Our vineyards are in blossom." We'redrawn into this dialogue of these two as they vacillate back and forth. It's a validobservation, for in the midst of this gripping passion is, sort of parachuted-in, a note of realism. Two lovers in concert, their vineyards in blossom, as they say. Life is full, yet they must catch the little foxes that have the potential of destroyingthe vineyards.
It's an agricultural allusion common to that day. For those ofyou who have not traveled to Israel, picture in your mind the places in California where grapes are grown, and you have a verysimilar image. The hills are rather barren; the vineyards are fenced-in. They are fenced-in to keep out humans and wild animals. But thesmall ones, the little foxes, creep in; they eat the fruit; they destroy. But in theprocess of protecting against the great temptations of bath, literally the animals, or the intrusions into our own lives, we areoften overcome by the trivial, by the nagging tensions and worries that destroy. Today,I want to dwell on that text.
Probably, if we are going to be theologically correct, a great deal of what I'm going to say is going to beout of context, but it applies to us. It applies to us as we want to live our lives,not just the two young lovers. The reality of life is that you and I each knowindividuals who seem to face an unending string of difficulties: illnesses, financial difficulties, injury, divorce, familystrife. Yet, despite all these intrusions, they seem to find the strength to go on.They remain together; they remain united. Today, I view the little neuroses thatenter into situations which destroy our inner beings, things like the toll of traffic and the rage it induces. I remember, one day, standing at the corner of Yonge and St. Claire, a busy intersectionin Toronto, at a stop light that was red. For some reason, the driver of the secondcar, a man, ran up to the first car and screamed expletives at this poor lady who was just sitting there wondering what was goingon. We're aware of individuals who spend a good portion of their day on high-speedfreeways, with death just inches away on either side, and yet, who fly into uncontrollable rage in a traffic jam so crowded thatit's impossible to hurt anybody. We're aware of individuals of intellect ormanagerial or administrative skills, in businesses, who deal with data and problems all day long. They're cool in their decision-making processes. They're helpful in theirdeliberations and in their contact with others, and then they explode into rage at their son who has difficulty with math on apublic school level.
For the last four years, I've traveled across this nation visiting churches. I find, that in most instances, churches which have major problems tend to get to work and deal with them, but that thesmall, little nagging things eat away and destroy them; their vitality lessens, and their cohesion falls apart. It becomes apparent right-quickly that one of the truisms is that the seven last words ofthe church are, "We never did it that way before." There was a church inMaine years ago, one of those lovely little white churches that looks so good in postcards and are so difficult to serve, that,for years, had had the inside of their sanctuary white, and made the decision to paint it pale green. It caused such an uproar in the church that six Deacons resigned. The congregation, not knowing what to do in dealing with this problem, called in one ofthe great sages of Congregationalism of that era, and Rockwell Herman Potter, Dean at Hartford Theological Seminary, came up tothat church on a Sunday morning. When it was time for the sermon, he climbed up thestairs of one of those high pulpits that they have in those little colonial churches, and he looked at the back of the church, atthe side and then the other side, and he looked at the ceiling and around at the choir, and looked back at the congregation andsaid, "Brethren, it was worth six Deacons."
In a certain sense, that makes me think of First Congregational Church, Wauwatosa. For over a century, thischurch has been a strong leader in this area; one of the leaders of a voice of reason, of an emphasis upon intellect, as well asfeeling. Recently, foxes have entered in and destroyed, and they have caused tensions. To be healthy, we have to work the harvestof our vineyard. Fox River Church, to be specific, is a reality. How it started, why it started, is no longer important. Let'sjust repair our fences and work our vineyard, so the harvest will be strong and pure.
Life, it seems to me, is sort of like a hike. I can remember,years ago, hiking the John Muir Trail in California. We climbed Mount Whitney fromLone Pine. Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the lower 48 of the UnitedStates. It is a panoramic view, looking east to the mountains which border Nevada,west upon the San Joaquin Valley, across the valley made famous by John Steinbeck, to the ocean, north to Yosemite, south to moreof the Sequoias; unparalleled beauty. Couple that with great fishing of native golden trout and yet, out of all that grandeur, out of all of thatenjoyment, the weekend was almost wrecked by deer flies and snow mosquitoes.
The little foxes are a reality of life, and we will not get rid of them. But there is, in our lives, Ibelieve, a need for sheer self-discipline. It's risky, some say. You can always find a psychologist who'll take an opposing point of view, but there'svalue in facing ourselves. There's value in being men and women of courage; value infacing the little foxes. For example, in most families, strife frequently occurs overspending habits. They cause tension. Self-discipline is needed. How many young peoplein our society are reared with no boundaries! We expect them to live in a situationwhere they don't know what their limits are, how far they can go, what is expected or what they want. We're not able to assist them in their lifelong battle to determine their wants or needs. We have to face them; we have to deal with it. Paul Johnson, of Boston University, talks ofthe James Lange theory. It's a theory that says, "moods follow actions." It's sort of like the old song, "I whistle a happy tune," and problems sort ofdisappear. I can remember when I was a kid playing basketball in British Columbia. I had to either catch the bus, which I frequently missed, or hitchhike home; or if Icouldn't find a ride, walk home after basketball practice. About a third of the wayhome I used to walk by a cemetery. There's really not much danger in a cemetery, butsomehow or another I found myself walking faster or whistling, or singing, all the while, trying to escape the fact that I waswalking by a cemetery. We know that individuals who smile, simply by using thesemuscles alone, frequently find it brings about happiness. We know that those whostand up for what they believe in, show boldness and courage.
We know, in our day and age, the importance and the power of mental imaging. Pro golfers know it very well. They image ashot, from the moment the club hits the ball, until it lands at the destination they have pictured in their minds, and then theygo out and do the shot. Positive mental attitude is a significant part of a greatleader's mindset. These people envision success; they act as if success is about tocorn, and they keep acting that way until it happens. For good or for ill, we dofulfill our mental expectations.
Yet, many are those with potential for greatness, who succumb to minor irritations. They cannot deal with temporary setbacks. There'sno way we can arise above the irritations, if we think ill of circumstances or ill of other people, no matter how valid the reasonmay appear. It rather clicks into my mind the difference between psychotic andneurotic. The psychotic is one who knows that two and two equals five. The neurotic is one who knows that two and two equals four, but he's worried sick about it. In addition to self-discipline, as Christians, there is the deep resource of our faith, often untapped. Most psychologists will tell us that seldom will people of true abiding faith succumb tothe foxes of life. Now, please know that there are plenty of religious psychotics,people who are religious only because they're afraid not to be. But there are few people with major neuroses, who have deep faith, people who possess inward strength, peoplewho know they are strong people and are not afraid of it, people who have a wholesome and healthy faith in God.
Jesus walked through life with serenity and poise, even before Herod and the threat of crucifixion. He simply proclaimed, to those closest to him, a simple faith. Havefaith in God; love God; love one another. The Bible is full of verses of strength,stability, and a foundation to stand on. Deuteronomy 31: 6, "Be strong and of good courage, do notfear or be dread, for the Lord your God is with you." Joshua 1: 9, "Have I not commanded you, be strong and of good courage. Don't be afraid nor dismayed. The Lord, yourGod, is with you." And the Gospel of Luke 18: 27, "There are things peoplecan't do, but everything is possible with God." And Paul to the Philippians inChapter 4, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." So dearfriends, build a fence around your vineyard, a fence of self-discipline and faith. Beaware of the fact that God's ways are not our ways, and that the little foxes will still get in. They'll still try their best to spoil the fruit. But with God's help, thevines grow tall, and the fruit is high. The harvest is secure. Life can be victorious. Thanks be to God.
