He spent the rest of his brief life out of the spotlight, tending to his pastoral duties, and writing poems that would only be published after his death. But, unlike most others, he took his priesthood seriously, and eventually became vicar of a small village parish in south central England when shifting political winds frustrated his larger ambitions. Like other scholarly young men at the time, he took orders as an Anglican priest. Herbert seemed destined for great things. He made friends in high places, including the renowned poet, John Donne, and the philosopher-statesman, Francis Bacon. He was elected to Parliament in the 1520’s. He proved a brilliant student at Cambridge University, and embarked on an academic career, earning an important university post that brought him national visibility. Herbert was born in 1593 to a prominent family in Wales. George Herbert’s life itself testifies to these lessons. We should partake of the sacraments, and especially the Eucharist, as invitations to receive God’s grace. We should use the gifts God gave us to see, and respond to his call. We should listen to God, and be guided by Love. We should be neither too humble, nor too proud.
#IPASTE GEORGEWHERBERT HOW TO#
Somewhere in that poem lies a lesson for how to prepare internally for God’s coming, and for practically everything the Lord will ask of us. You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat: so I did sit and eat. God reminds us that He paid for our sins, and that the Eucharist commemorates His ultimate sacrifice. We continue, amazingly, to argue with God, telling Him that we have misused the gifts He gave us. God responds by gently repeating His invitation and asking us if we “lack’d anything.” When we reply that we are unworthy to even look at God, God smiles and reminds us that He gave us the very eyes with which to see Him. God invites us to a feast, but we draw back out of a sense of guilt and sin. It is a dialogue between us (as human beings) and God, who is referred to simply as Love. You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:ĭrury praises the poem for its stylistic and emotional sensitivity, and even more so for its brief encapsulation of “Christianity’s whole grand biblical narrative of humanity.” 2 In essence, this poem incorporates the entire Gospel message, and speaks directly to us about the proper Christian attitude toward faith and life. Truth, Lord, but I have marr’d them: let my shameĪnd know you not, says Love, who bore the blame? I, the unkind, the ungrateful? Ah my dear,
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,īut quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
#IPASTE GEORGEWHERBERT SERIES#
The first chapter of Drury’s book quoted one of Herbert’s most famous poems-the third of a series of verses he wrote simply entitled “Love”: Emulating the Good Samaritan, Herbert shared his coat and blessing with the man, even leaving him money “to refresh both himself and his horse.” When later upbraided about engaging in “so dirty an employment,” Herbert responded beautifully by insisting that he must surely “practice what I pray for.” 1 The story made me think of Herbert as a model for both our Christian beliefs, and our practice of those beliefs, in the Advent season. The frontispiece to the work includes a quotation from Izaak Walton’s 1760 biography of Herbert, recounting the story of Herbert’s encounter with a poor man and his broken-down horse on an English country road. The idea of Advent as belief and practice came home to me as I read the opening pages of a recently published book about the 17th century British poet, George Herbert (1593-1633), by John Drury, entitled Music at Midnight: The Life and Poetry of George Herbert (University of Chicago Press, 2014). In the process, Advent cultivates an internal disposition best suited to prepare for the ends of our existence. The season demands that we consider the act of preparation, and raises questions about what exactly we are preparing for. Advent teaches us how to ready ourselves for whatever lies ahead in our lives for the “next big thing,” and ultimately for our own death, and the end of time as we know it. George Herbert portrayed in a window in Bishop Burton Church, East Riding, England.Īs both a liturgical season and a spiritual practice, Advent invites us to consider serious questions about our Christian beliefs, and our fundamental being. Painting of George Hebert by William Dyce (Septem–February 14, 1864).
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