For Whom the Candle Burns

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.

After his first vocation as a civil servant ended in disarray, he was persuaded by King James at the age of 42 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, life threatening illness he wrote a series of meditations. One includes these words:

No man is an island, entire of its self;
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.

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.

But Donne’s primary meaning is slightly different, 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 the phrase, "there, but for the grace of God, go I" is not just bad theology, it’s meaningless nonsense. 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 into the sea, whether it is a meaningless forgotten clod of mud, or the great pillar of Gibraltar. Whether it is my own vacation villa or a crack house in Rotterdam. Every loss directly affects the whole.

None of us can ever be "entire" without one another.

Listen to some less well-known words that come earlier on in the same meditation.

The Church is catholic, universal,
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.

We do not baptize here at St. John’s this evening, but other churches do. And those baptisms concern us. Each of them around the world enriches the household of God in which we live and dwell. Their joy and hope and renewal are our joy and hope and renewal. No one is an island. Every baptism grafts new life into the Body of which we are a part. Every baptism in the world this night brings new life to me.

This Easter vigil, probably more than any other service of the church, unites Christians across all time and space, draws together each and every child of God as we are all of us swept through the funnel of this night into the Easter dawn. This is not "our" Paschal candle that has been lit this evening… that burns in our midst. 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 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.

On every occasion when a Paschal candle somewhere leads a body into the church for burial, that candle burns for thee. It bears a light that no death can diminish, given to us to lead all of us through the darkest places of human endurance always closer to God. Every time it is lit, it brings light to our lives.

Whenever the light of Christ brings mercy and love into the world, that light burns for thee. Each of us is made holier every time a human hand anywhere reaches out to another in love and caring. The light of that love burns in our hearts.

Whenever a flicker of hope rises miraculously up out of sorrow or 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. It doesn’t matter if we see it or even know about it, 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 marvelous and holy flame.

The Light of Christ. Do not send to ask for whom this candle burns. It burns for thee.

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