John Donne was a near contemporary of Shakespeare, born just nine years later. His writing is another example of the rich flowering of English poetry and prose that began in Elizabethan time and spilled over into the reign of King James I. He is probably most widely known for his lyrical love poetry, although he wrote sonnets, prayers and meditations as well.
Donne has particular connection to this service tonight. The father of tonight's baptismal candidate has written an anthem for the choir based upon a poem by George Herbert. Donne was George Herbert's godfather. When I spoke with tonight's godparents earlier today I told them that in earlier times godparents were expected to step in if something happened to a child's parents. Herbert's father died when he was three, and evidently John Donne did fulfill his role as the boy's godfather.
Back to Donne. After his first vocation as a civil servant ended in disarray, at the age of 42 he was persuaded by King James to be ordained. Seven years later he was appointed Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where he was known as a powerful preacher. After a very serious, live-threatening illness he wrote a series of meditations. One includes these well-known words:
No man is an island, entire of its self;For centuries, people have found these words comforting. Partly, I think, because we hear in them the assurance that in loss, we are not alone.
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main;
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less
As well as if a promontory were,
As well as if a manor [house] of thy friend's or thine own were;
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind;
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.
But Donne's primary meaning is broader. Donne is speaking of more than sympathy or support offered; more even than compassion, given by one individual to another. It is the actual integration, interdependence of human kind that he describes. No man is an island, entire of itself. No one of us can ever be "entire" or whole on our own. We are not independent, self-sufficient. We cannot isolate ourselves or claim to be unaffected by what affects others.
Donne would say that awful phrase you often hear, "there but for the grace of God go I," is not just bad theology, it's meaningless nonsense. To suggest that God's grace separates us from the misfortunes of others is incomprehensible. By God's grace, there go I. No matter whom it is I look upon or what their situation may be, by God's grace, there go I. It is not just that I care what happens to others; what happens to others happens to me. As Donne says, Europe is affected, diminished when any piece is washed to the sea, whether it is a meaningless forgotten clod of mud, or the great pillar of Gibraltar. Every loss directly affects the whole.
None of us can ever be "entire" without one another.
Earlier on in the same meditation, in some less well known phrases, Donne talks about baptism:
The Church is catholic, universalWe are not united only in loss. We are united in gain, in celebration and in joy. When the church baptizes a child, that concerns me and us all. Tonight we have baptized Roman Frederik. And Roman's baptism concerns all Christendom. His baptism enriches the entire household of God. Our joy and hope and renewal are the joy, hope and renewal of Christians around the world. No one is an island. Every baptism grafts new life into the Body of which we are a part. Roman's baptism this night brings new life to me, to each of you, and to Christians whom we will never meet.
So are all her actions.
All that she does belongs to all.
When she baptizes a child,
That action concerns me;
For that child is thereby connected to that head
Which is my head too
And engrafted into that body
Whereof I am a member.
All mankind is of one author and is one volume.
This Easter Vigil service, probably more than any other service of the church, unites Christians across all time and space. It is one of the most ancient services of the church. It draws together each and every child of God as we are swept through the funnel of this night into the Easter dawn and the glorious celebration of our Lord's resurrection.
We began this service with the lighting of the Paschal candle. But this is not "our" Paschal candle that has been lit. This candle is not one candle, entire of itself. This is the Light of Christ. The fullness of the Light of Christ that shines to enlighten and lead all Christians across all time and space. This is not one candle that burns in one church building on one night. The light of Christ is not limited or dimmed by any boundary of century or language or denominational doctrine. This candle is the Light of Christ.
Therefore, never send to know for whom this candle burns, it burns for thee.
Whenever a baptismal candle is lit any day in any part of the world, that candle burns for thee. The promise and forgiveness and inclusion of that baptism are for you.
Whenever the light of Christ brings mercy and love into the world, that light burns for thee. That mercy and love are given to you. Each of us made holier every time a human hand anywhere reaches out to another in Christian love and caring.
Whenever a flicker of hope rises miraculously up out of sorrow despair, that same flicker is kindled in our hearts. Wherever a spark of creativity brings new beauty into the world, that spark dances into our souls. Every single act of Christian charity and kindness that brings light into the world, brings light into our world.
Every time the light of Christ shines, by God's grace, it shines for us. Every time the Light of Christ is lit, it brings light to us. It affects us. Think of the power and breadth of that light, that most marvelous and holy flame.
The Light of Christ. Do not send to ask for whom this candle burns. It burns for thee.
