Island
A poem by John Donne reads.
In it, we find the correct assertion, that we were created for community.
How we treat others, even our supposed enemies reflects upon us and affects our environment.
The poem speaks of being "diminished by the death of others". Given that all die, one assumes the author is talking about how others die, not the inevitability of death.
How we treat life reflects on our humanity. The Carpenter was clear to show the community is the way people are meant to operate, and often the way to restore this community was to offer forgiveness for past wrongs and help new relationships to be established.
Death can be physical, but relationships die, through lies, gossip, violence, neglect. These affect our existence and should be considered when we look at the way Jesus shows us to live.
Followers of the carpenter cannot be an Island, it is self-defeating, we follow a God of community, Father, Son, Spirit. It is this community we seek to reflect and invite others to join. To do so, we need to build bridges, so we can walk to others, and allow others to cross to us.
We need to overcome the "death of community" by becoming peacemakers, reaching out to others with ways of healing. The first applied to our part, then offered to others.
In this way, Islands join together and become continents!
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 if a manor of thy friend's
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.
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 if a manor of thy friend's
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.
In it, we find the correct assertion, that we were created for community.
How we treat others, even our supposed enemies reflects upon us and affects our environment.
The poem speaks of being "diminished by the death of others". Given that all die, one assumes the author is talking about how others die, not the inevitability of death.
How we treat life reflects on our humanity. The Carpenter was clear to show the community is the way people are meant to operate, and often the way to restore this community was to offer forgiveness for past wrongs and help new relationships to be established.
Death can be physical, but relationships die, through lies, gossip, violence, neglect. These affect our existence and should be considered when we look at the way Jesus shows us to live.
Followers of the carpenter cannot be an Island, it is self-defeating, we follow a God of community, Father, Son, Spirit. It is this community we seek to reflect and invite others to join. To do so, we need to build bridges, so we can walk to others, and allow others to cross to us.
We need to overcome the "death of community" by becoming peacemakers, reaching out to others with ways of healing. The first applied to our part, then offered to others.
In this way, Islands join together and become continents!
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