Scripture Meditation: Bernard of Clairvaux: Scripture and the Song of Songs

Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153) preached 86 sermons on the Song of Songs, reading it as an allegory of the love between Christ and the soul. He wrote: "The mouth that kisses signifies the Word who assumes human nature; the nature assumed receives the kiss." Bernard's approach to Scripture was deeply personal and devotional, seeking not only intellectual understanding but intimate encounter.

Bernard taught: "Today the text we are to study is the book of our own experience. You must therefore turn your attention inwards, each one must take note of his own particular awareness of the things I am going to discuss." Scripture meditation, for Bernard, was always an encounter between the text and the reader's lived experience.

Practical application: Read Song of Songs 2:10-13 slowly. Hear Christ's voice calling to you: "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." Let the poetic imagery speak to your heart before your intellect. Bernard teaches that some Scripture is best received not through analysis but through loving attention.