400 years ago today, a Christmas sermon by John Donne

 Found on Alan Jacobs' blog:

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From a sermon preached by John Donne on the evening of Christmas Day at St. Paul’s in 1624:

    God made Sun and Moon to distinguish seasons, and day and night, and we cannot have the fruits of the earth but in their season: But God hath made no decree to distinguish the seasons of his mercies; In paradise the fruits were ripe, the first minute, and in heaven it is always Autumn, his mercies are ever in their maturity. We ask panem quotidianam, our daily bread, and God never says you should have come yesterday, he never says you must again tomorrow, but today if you will hear his voice, today he will hear you. If some King of the earth have so large an extent of Dominion, in North, and South, as that he hath Winter and Summer together in his Dominions, so large an extent East and West, as that he hath day and night together in his Dominions, much more hath God mercy and judgment together: He brought light out of darkness, not out of a lesser light; he can bring thou Summer out of Winter, though thou have no Spring; though in the ways of fortune, or understanding, or conscience, thou have been benighted till now, wintered and frozen, clouded and eclipsed, damped and benummed, smothered and stupefied till now, now God comes to thee, not as in the dawning of the day, not as in the bud of the spring, but as the Sun at noon to illustrate all shadows, as the sheaves in harvest, to fill all penuries, all occasions invite his mercies, and all times are his seasons.

Rogationtide: Praying for mercy and for fruitful seasons

 

Everything is burgeoning! The dogwoods, irises, and peonies have finished blooming, but the clematis and pinks are going wild and the lavender shooting out bloom stalks. I love this time of year.

My youngest daughter has started two bed in a sunny spot in our back yard that are modelled after the traditional “three sisters” way of planting. First she planted corn and sunflowers. Now that they’re coming up nicely she’s going to plant beans, which will twine up the stalks of the taller plants, then in a few weeks she’ll plant squashes, which will flourish on the ground below the other plants.

This coming Sunday will be the sixth Sunday of the Easter season. Up until fairly recently the Gospel reading for this Sunday was John 16:23-33, which begins, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” The Latin word for ask is rogare, and so this Sunday is known in liturgical churches as “Rogation Sunday.”

One of the traditional prayers for this brief season is the prayer for fruitful seasons:

Almighty God, Lord of heaven and earth: We humbly pray that thy gracious providence may give and preserve to our use the harvests of the land and of the seas, and may prosper all who labor to gather them that we, who constantly receive good things from thy had, may always give thee thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

I have written before about some of the festive ways Christians have kept the days between Rogation Sunday and Ascension Thursday, but this week something new struck me and I wanted to mention it here.

Over the last year I’ve been dipping into Eleanor Parker’s delightful book, Winters in the World: A Journey Through the Anglo-Saxon Year, and last night I read her section called “Holy and Healthy Days,” which is on the origins of Rogationtide and the ways the early medieval English Christians kept this season. She mentions one of Aelfric’s sermons for Rogationtide and describes how the season was a penitential season as well as a festive one. Aelfric says that during this season, “we should pray for abundance of our earthly fruits, and for health and peace for ourselves, and, what is still greater, for the forgiveness of our sins” (pp. 157-158).

So, on the Rogation Days (the three days between Rogation Sunday and Ascension Day), the priests and parishioners would walk around the parish boundaries not only praying for fruitful seasons, but also praying for the forgiveness of their own sins and for the Lord’s mercy on their city. In his History, Bede quotes a chant from the Gallican Rogation Litany:

We pray Thee, O Lord, in all Thy mercy, that Thy wrath and anger may be turned away from this city and from Thy holy house, for we are sinners. Amen.

As Parker puts it so beautifully, “The Rogation Days seek physical and spiritual health for the individual, the community and the natural world; all are connected, one harmonious whole” (p. 162).

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For more on Aelfric’s sermon and the medieval traditions, see Eleanor Parker’s blog post at The Clerk of Oxford.

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Rogationtide, part two: Traditional prayers

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

As my first offering for this year's poetry month, I give you The Paschal Sermon of Saint John Chrysostom (c. 347-407), which I read this morning for the first time. The version I came across was written in prose form (four paragraphs) but on my second reading I noticed the poetic structure and have taken the liberty of dividing it into verses. It's no wonder this Archbishop of Constantinople was called Chrysostomos -- Golden Mouthed.

Whosoever is a devout lover of God,
    let him enjoy this beautiful bright Festival.
And whosoever is a grateful servant,
    let him rejoice and enter into the joy of his Lord.
And if any be weary with fasting,
    let him now receive his recompense.

If any have toiled from the first hour,
    let him receive his due reward.
If any have come after the third hour,
    let him with gratitude join in the Feast.
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
    let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any have delayed to the ninth hour,
    let him not hesitate, but let him come too.
And he that hath arrived only at the eleventh hour,
    let him not be afraid by reason of his delay;
for the Lord is gracious
    and receiveth the last even as the first.

He giveth rest to him that cometh at the eleventh hour
    as well as to him that toiled from the first.
Yea, to this one he giveth,
    and upon that one he bestoweth.
He accepteth works
    as he greeteth the endeavour.
The deed he honoureth
    and the intention he comendeth.

Let all then enter into the joy of our Lord.

Ye first and last receiving alike your reward;
    ye rich and poor, rejoice together.
Ye sober and ye slothful,
    celebrate the day.
Ye that have kept the fast and ye that have not,
    rejoice today for the Table is richly laden.

Fare ye royally on it.
The calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry.
Partake ye all of the cup of faith.
Enjoy ye all the riches of his goodness.

Let no one grieve at his poverty;
    for the universal Kingdom hath been revealed.
Let no one mourn that he hath fallen again and again,
    for forgiveness hath risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death,
    for the Death of our Saviour hath set us free.

He hath destroyed it by enduring it.
He spoiled Hades when he descended thereto.
He vexed it even as it tasted of his flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he cried,
‘Thou, O Hades, hast been vexed by encountering Him below.’

It is vexed, for it is even done away with!
It is vexed, for it is made a mockery!
It is vexed, for it is destroyed!
It is vexed, for it is annihilated!
It is vexed, for it is now made captive!

It took a body, and lo! it discovered God.
It took earth, and behold! it encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.

O death, where is thy sting?
O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and thou art annihilated!
Christ is risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is risen, and the Angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of the dead;
for Christ, having risen from the dead,
    is become the firstfruits of those that have fallen asleep!

To him be glory and power forever and ever.
Amen.