Black and Beautiful

I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon

--The Song of Songs, 1:5 (trans. from the Greek LXX)

The early Church Fathers believed that the Song of Songs in the Old Testament was a love poem composed by King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (today’s Ethiopia), who was a beautiful woman with black skin. In their allegorical vision, this couple symbolized Jesus and the Church.

As Fr. Cyprian Davis writes, “Solomon is a type of Christ, and just as the queen of Sheba came to Solomon to consult him because he was wise, so the Church comes to Christ who is Wisdom himself. As a result, since the queen of Sheba is black, so must the church be black and beautiful. Her very blackness is a symbol of her universality; all nations are present in her.”

In America, having black skin carries a heavy burden. Black men routinely see others cross the street to avoid sharing a sidewalk with them. Police “stop and frisk” teenagers and detain drivers for “driving while Black.” In countless subtle ways, Black Americans are told they are less beautiful, less worthy, less human. Yet Scripture tells us that the beloved of Christ is black and beautiful. That we who call ourselves Christian are incorporated into a black body that is the image of universality, completeness, and the unity of all peoples in time and eternity.

Questions

What might it mean for us to picture the beloved of Christ as a black woman? What might it mean for me to imagine myself incorporated into a black, beautiful feminine body? In a Church where our icons of saints, angels and Jesus himself are so often white (even when the people they represent were black or brown), can I begin to reconceive of blackness and identify it with holiness?

Prayer

O God who dwells in mystery and darkness, we pray with longing for the day when we are brought into one in You and in the body of your Beloved. Help us to see your image in the faces of Your Black children, shining with beauty, holiness, and dignity.

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