Today is the feast of John Donne, seventeenth century priest, meta-physical poet and popular dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. I submit to you, therefore, a quote from Expostulations Upon Emergent Occasions in which Donne praises the inexhaustible richness of God’s revelation to us in the sacred Scriptures:
My God, my God, Thou art a direct God, may I not say a literal God, a God that wouldest be understood literally, and according to the plaine sense of all that thou saiest? But thou art also (Lord, I intend it to thy glory, and let no profane mis-interpreter abuse it to thy diminution), thou art a figurative, a metaphorical God too; A God in whose words there is such a height of figures, such voyages, such peregrinations to fetch remote and precious metaphors, such extensions, such spreadings, such curtaines of Allegories, such third Heavens of Hyperboles, so harmonious elocutions, so retired and so reserved expressions, so commanding persuasions, so persuading commandments, such sinews even in thy milke, and such things in thy words, as all prophane authors, seeme of the seed of the Serpent, that creeps, thou art the Dove, that flies (sic).
I don’t know about you, but this hermeneutic, that is, this way of appreciating the fullness of the biblical canon sounds like the perfect antidote to most post-modern variants of the same.
In any event, Donne’s methodology is a far cry from the arid cerebralism of his Calvinist counter-parts on the continent at the time, who were content to say that Scripture is straightforward and simple, period. Donne takes a holistic and traditional approach, one that recognises the true fruitfulness of the text, which is why indeed it is God’s revelation to us, for it speaks into every situation in every era.
And Lent, dear ones, is the perfect time of year to plumb the depths of the Scriptures. There are several ways to do this. I do not recommend simply picking up the bible and reading from cover to cover during Lent, or any other time for that matter. That’s not how the Church reads the canon.
The very best way to read the bible is to commit to reciting the Daily Office, which can even be done alone at your computer. Try visiting www.missionstclare.com; everything is done for you. All you have to do is click through the liturgy.
If you insist on supplementing the office with another devotional text, that’s great, but this should only be as a supplement. Right now I am using the following supplements: Lent With Evelyn Underhill, J. Wright’s Readings for the Daily Office from the Early Church and The Christian Year by saintly John Keble.
I meet many people who truly want a deeper relationship with the Living God, which is the greatest feeling in the whole cosmos, but they don’t believe me when I recommend going to Mass and reading the Bible. I’m not saying that God can’t reveal Himself in more singular ways, for He certainly has done so. But I’m positively certain that reading the Scriptures and going to Mass are the normative means by which we encounter and are, yea verily, nourished for our journey. And this is especially true during Lent when we are preparing for the alleluias and joys of Eastertide.
John Donne also lived in the era of the original ‘Ploughman’s lunch’, complete with its hearty dose of fine ales and cider concoctions. Elizabethan England was filled with thousands of varietals of ciders and the like. Here’s one that’s meant just for the warmer climes of spring.
John Donne Cold Cider
Ingredients
1/2 gal. apple cider (8 c.)
2 c. Club Soda or Perrier
3/4 c. dark molasses
3 c. fresh orange juice
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1 orange, sliced
1/2 lemon, sliced
Calvados (or another apple-based brandy) to taste
Instructions
In large bowl, whisk together the 1/2 gallon apple cider and 3/4 cup molasses until well blended. Stir in orange and lemon juices and club soda. Chill until serving time. Add Calvados. Garnish with orange and lemon slices. For flair, use old-fashioned Champagne coupes, not the newer flute-like glasses. Makes 12 cups or 24 (1/2 cup) servings.
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