Preview: John Keble on the Lilies of the Field

Here comes August! On Monday, August 3 on the Son Rise Morning Show, we'll discuss this poem by Dr. John Keble, one of Newman's mentor and best friends, reflecting on the one of the most familiar images from the Gospel of Saint Matthew when Our Lord tells the disciples early in His teaching ministry, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these." Matthew 6:28-29)

Keble choses one line from that chapter as his title and inspiration, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow." St. Matthew, 6:28. And he begins springtime, while in Kansas (and elsewhere in the USA) we're in hot, hot summer:

Sweet nurslings of the vernal skies,
   Bathed in soft airs, and fed with dew,
What more than magic in you lies,
   To fill the heart’s fond view?
In childhood’s sports, companions gay,
In sorrow, on Life’s downward way,
How soothing! in our last decay
   Memorials prompt and true.

Relics ye are of Eden’s bowers,
   As pure, as fragrant, and as fair,
As when ye crowned the sunshine hours
   Of happy wanderers there.
Fall’n all beside—the world of life,
How is it stained with fear and strife!
In Reason’s world what storms are rife,
   What passions range and glare!

But cheerful and unchanged the while
   Your first and perfect form ye show,
The same that won Eve’s matron smile
   In the world’s opening glow.
The stars of heaven a course are taught
Too high above our human thought:
Ye may be found if ye are sought,
   And as we gaze, we know.

Ye dwell beside our paths and homes,
   Our paths of sin, our homes of sorrow,
And guilty man where’er he roams,
   Your innocent mirth may borrow.
The birds of air before us fleet,
They cannot brook our shame to meet—
But we may taste your solace sweet
   And come again to-morrow.

Ye fearless in your nests abide—
   Nor may we scorn, too proudly wise,
Your silent lessons, undescried
   By all but lowly eyes:
For ye could draw th’ admiring gaze
Of Him who worlds and hearts surveys:
Your order wild, your fragrant maze,
   He taught us how to prize.

Ye felt your Maker’s smile that hour,
   As when He paused and owned you good;
His blessing on earth’s primal bower,
   Ye felt it all renewed.
What care ye now, if winter’s storm
Sweep ruthless o’er each silken form?
Christ’s blessing at your heart is warm,
   Ye fear no vexing mood.

Alas! of thousand bosoms kind,
   That daily court you and caress,
How few the happy secret find
   Of your calm loveliness!
“Live for to-day! to-morrow’s light
To-morrow’s cares shall bring to sight,
Go sleep like closing flowers at night,
   And Heaven thy morn will bless.”

We have ascribed many images and meanings to lilies because of their beauty. This website lists the many occasions on which to give lilies as gifts: 

• Weddings and anniversaries, to represent eternal love and loyalty
• Funerals and memorials, to honor the departed and provide comfort
• Graduations, to celebrate new beginnings and personal growth
• Mother’s Day, to honor a mother’s nurturing spirit
• Get-well wishes, to express hope and encouragement during illness
• Housewarming celebrations, to welcome new beginnings
• Religious holidays, to symbolize purity, devotion, and divine grace

The white lily flower has been associated with purity, and therefore with the Blessed Virgin Mary and other virgin saints like Saint Joseph and Saint Clare of Assisi whose feast is August 11, for example. 

Keble notes that Eve enjoyed the lily's beauty before the Fall in the Garden of Eden and that the flower is everywhere, reminding us of the transitions and the transitory nature of life. But because Jesus noted the beauty of the lilies*, surpassing the glory of King Solomon, Keble wants the reader to learn the lesson of this passage, to face life with balance and calmness, without worry or despair, faintly echoing Psalm 29/30, verse 6: "In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness."

*("In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea with a beauty in his bosom that transfigures you and me." from "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", Julia Ward Howe)

Image Credit (Public Domain): Garden of Lilies

Image Credit (Public Domain): Fresco by Giotto depicting St. Clare of Assisi holding a lily.