4
Bring us, O Lord God, at our last awakening into the house and gate of
heaven, to enter into that gate and dwell in that house, where there shall be
no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light; no noise nor silence, but one
equal music; no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession; no ends nor
beginnings, but one equal eternity: in the habitations of thy majesty and glory,
world without end.
A Prayer of John Donne
No man is an island entire of itself; 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 any manner of thy friends or of 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.
John Donne Meditation XVII
I have l been a fan of the poetry of John Donne (1572-1631) for many years, indeed I
used to carry a copy of his poems in my rucksack when out climbing.He was an
interesting character: he trained as a lawyer and then was banished from London and
forced to live in poverty for a number of years after his legal career was ruined by his
powerful in laws who disapproved of his marriage (indeed he was forced to spend time
in prison as they investigated it for any irregularities); however, he eventually he
returned to London and was ordained into the Church of England rising finally to be
Dean of St.Paul’s Cathedral.
His early poetry often dealt with life, sometimes in a highly erotic form such as Elegy XIX
To his Mistress going to Bed.But as the tragedies of life took their toll so his outlook
became more sombre.
These two passages above speak volumes about the nature of human life. In the first
Donne looks forward to a re-union with God after death and, I believe comes up with a
wonderfully perceptive image of heaven that chimes with current scientific views of
creation.His phraseNo ends, nor beginnings, but one equal eternitycan be interpreted
today as conveying a sense that whatever heaven may be there will notbe time as we
experience it here on earth. The New Testament uses two words for time:Chronos
human time andKairosGod’s time which is beyond human understanding.
Modern physics has shown us that space and time are inextricably bound up, so that one
cannot exist without the other; so when talking of the singularity of the Big Bang it is
impossible, however hard it may seem, to talk of before the Big Bang.Whatever God’s
time (Kairos)and therefore space might be might be, as with before or outside the Big
Bang, it is beyond our understanding.If God is the Ground of my Being, the Source of all
Life, then, for me personally, dwelling on the nature of heaven proves to be of little
value:one equal light, music, possession and eternitysatisfies me as a poetic representation
of the complete mystery that follows death.All that matters is to be fully grounded and
conscious that this faith imposes patterns of behaviour on me.Throughout history