Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud
By John Donne
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
In the poem we have just heard the poet John Donne addresses death as if death were a person, a person who could feel proud at their fearsome reputation. The poet says that although some have called death ‘mighty and dreadful’ they are wrong, because those whom death takes do not die but live on beyond the grave.
A strong confidence in life after death is expressed in this poem, but one can understand why some call death ‘mighty and dreadful’, after all his bony embrace cannot be avoided, struggle as we might he catches up with all of us.
I have to say that whenever I see a group of middle aged men in lycra, cycling along, I do wonder if the realisation that they are nearer to the end of their lives than the beginning has caused them to mount up and peddle off in the hope of living just that bit longer, as if they are determined to outpace Death who has a bicycle of his own and is in pursuit. However, Death has no need to peddle hard, even though his bicycle is as old and rickety as he is, he knows he will catch them in the end, so he takes in the view as he leisurely peddles along.
I of course apologise to any middle aged men who cycle for a hobby and especially any that are here present. There must be many legitimate and good reasons besides a midlife crisis for shaving one’s legs and squeezing into Lycra. If my tone is satirical it is only in response to John Donne, who seems so confident of eternal life that he can look at death and mock. Or is it perhaps bravado, is he actually as worried by death as most other people?
Perhaps Donne was wrong to mock and we should regard death as mighty. After-all, death is the ultimate sign of our human frailty, no matter how rich, or clever, or successful, or loved , or admired we are, there will be one day be a bony knock at the door, and then all that we have been and achieved will slowly pass in to dust.
Death is the great sign of our impermanence, as the Psalmist laments,
The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone ,and its place remembers it no more.
If you think that everything ends in the grave, and there is no life after death, then you have to live with the knowledge that nothing is permanent, that whatever you hold as good and true will pass away. That the final arbiter is destruction.
However, if you do believe in life after death then you have to worry about what will become of you beyond the grave. I once heard a preacher compare death to the bell that rings at the end of an examination. He explained that life was like an examination and the bell that rings at the end means your time is up; you must hand in your paper, and be judged. If there were no bell, just as if there were no death, there would be no judgement.
Many people find the idea of eternal life no comfort at all because they worry they will not get a good enough grade on the examination paper of their life to gain a place in heaven.
John Donne doesn’t seem worried, he writes,
‘For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.’
Donne believes that those that death claims do not come to an end but live on.
He says that Death is not an autonomous force but is in fact ‘slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men.’ I’m not sure it is a particular comfort to know that death cannot set his own agenda, but must turn up only when disease, or murders, have done their work.
Anyway, Donne continues, he says that beyond the grave is ‘rest or sleep’, and that pleasure can be found in that. Here Donne is echoing the language of the bible, when Jesus hears of his friend Lazarus’ death he tells the disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep, unfortunately this only confuses the disciples and Jesus has to be more direct in telling them that Lazarus has died. Even today people speak of hoping the deceased rest in peace, and in doing so we too are echoing the language of the bible, the idea that at the end of life’s difficult and troublesome journey there is a place of rest.
In belittling Death’s power Donne even suggests that ‘poppy or charms can make us sleep as well’, I don’t know if John Donne had a misspent youth but he is here referring to the sedative effects of drugs, although perhaps the dreams that ‘poppy’ induces can be rather disturbing.
When Jesus is speaking to Lazarus’ sister he reassures her that Lazarus will rise again, and he says he knows this because he is ‘the resurrection and the life’, and as a sign of this he restores Lazarus to life.
When we express the hope that our loved ones rest in peace we mostly neglect to add ‘and rise in glory’, which is the traditional ending that we seem to have forgotten. ‘May the faithful departed rest in peace, and rise in glory.’ Jesus taught that resurrection would come for all, and to show he had the authority to say this he passed through death on into resurrection life. I think perhaps we find the idea of those who have passed on resting in peace easier to accept than the idea that Jesus taught and demonstrated – the idea of resurrection.
John Donne embraced the idea of the resurrection, he writes that 'One short sleep past, we wake eternally,' then, ‘death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.’ This is a reference to 1 Corinthians 15 where Saint Paul writes that the ultimate result of the resurrection of Jesus will be the death of death itself. This is what frees Donne to look death in the face and be not afraid. He knows that beyond the graven gateway of death Jesus Christ awaits in forgiving acceptance all those who follow his way.
Christianity teaches a different way to the atheist who believes that all there is beyond the grave is an oblivion that renders life ultimately meaningless, and different way to the religious person who fears judgment after death. This way is the way of Jesus Christ, the way of love and forgiveness, the way that leads to life both in this world, and the next.
That first Easter life and death contested, and life won.
At the cross the vicious judgment of humanity, and the mercy of God, contested and mercy won.
The death and resurrection of Jesus shows both the sceptical atheist, and the judgmental person of religion, to be equally mistaken. God offers eternal life to all, our part is to turn from our misguided ways and follow the way of Jesus; to reach out our hands and receive the forgiveness revealed at such a great and bloody cost at Calvary.
Long before Jesus walked this earth the prophet Hosea wrote that God would, “...deliver this people from the power of the grave’...that He would ‘redeem them from death.’ Hosea then asked, ‘Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?’
The Apostle Paul, living after Jesus as part of the early church, echoed Hosea’s words, writing, ‘Where, O death, is your victory. Where, O death, is your sting?’
Death, be not proud, Jesus has gained the victory, eternal life, and eternal love, have won.
May we all know and live by the liberating power of the resurrection, both this day, and all of our lives, on even into eternity with Christ.
Amen.
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Matthew 28:6
Pictured - part of the reredos from Old Somerby parish church.