Sophia's Kiss

In the group of texts from the Old Testament known as the Sapiential Books, there is spoken of a figure who, in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) and in the original Greek of the Wisdom of Solomon, is called Sophia (σοφία), which means wisdom. What is astonishing is that this Wisdom not only speaks in the first person, but refers to herself as female, and is said to have been with God from the beginning of all things.

We read Wisdom's words in the eighth chapter of the Book of Proverbs: "Doth not wisdom cry aloud, and prudence put forth her voice? . . . Hear, for I will speak of great things: and my lips shall be opened to preach right things. . . . The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before he made any thing from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old, before the earth was made." The seventh chapter of the Book of Wisdom also says of Sophia: "For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with Wisdom. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of the stars: being compared with the light, she is found before it. For after this cometh night, but no evil can overcome Wisdom."

Since ancient times, there have been mystics and philosophers (philosophia literally meaning "love of wisdom") who have been specially inclined to contemplate the depths of this enigmatic person mentioned in Scripture. One such mystical philosopher was Jacob Boehme (1575-1624), a mysterious individual from Upper Lusatia and a shoemaker by trade, who wrote in his book The Way to Christ: ". . . if the soul wishes to obtain Christ's conqueror's crown from the noble Virgin Sophia, it must court Her with great love-desire. It must pray for it to Her in Her holiest of Names and must come before Her in highly chaste humility . . . you must always be in earnest, without relenting. You will obtain the love of a kiss from the noble Sophia in the holy Name JESUS for She stands immediately before the soul's door and knocks and warns the sinner of his godless ways."

For more meditations on Sophia and other themes such as the courtly love of the troubadours:
https://swanpilgrimage.substack.com/p...

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Sophia's Kiss

Lyrics, musical composition, and recording by Logan Norman

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This phantom world's a prison to the soul,
Who with the wafting incense would arise
Like winged verses offered to extol
The ever-virgin mistress of the wise.

In lightly lifting luminous desire
Awaits the golden paradisal bliss;
Of all the heightened spirits steeped in fire,
I seek none else than sweet Sophia's kiss.

To reach beyond the compass of cold death,
The present world looks but a little loss;
With hearts entwined, breaths mingled as one breath,
Love's rose lies at the center of the Cross.

Would heaven draw the day's last fading light
Into the ancient paradisal bliss,
And from the fragrant smoke come veiling night,
With soft caress of sweet Sophia's kiss.

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Photo credit: Justin Docanto @ Unsplash & Karolina Grabowska @ Pexels