The bell tolls for thee...

It was not until I took a class on Augustinain philosophy that I learned the message behind this much used phrase, and understanding the implications of it has taken even longer. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls, the bell tolls for thee..." When one died it was tradition that the church bells would herald the news of the death throughout the town. During the plague the ringing of the bells became far to common place and their constant pounding echoed always. But the writer implores us not to ask for whom those bells were ringing, it is a silly question, they are ringing for you, and me. They cry out in despair for humanity, when one is lost, don't we all lose a little something? Are we not all part of the same race, fighting for the same thing, are we not all children of the same God? So when the bell tolls for one, it tolls for each and every one.

I hang my head in despair at times when I see the condition of humanity. I feel we have in some ways sunk lower than the original audience of those lines. At least they thought to ask for you the bell was tolling. Do we even pay that much attention? Do we truly notice the suffering around us? Sure we now of the great calamities, the devastation that runs rampant all around, but that is not what I am talking of. I speak of the bells sounding in our communities, in our classrooms, our very homes. Can we hear the ringing of the bells? Do we notice the needs of  those we are closest to? They are often the easiest to ignore, they will willingly forgive us our faults if we are not kind to them. Strangers, now they would not understand so gracious and courteous must we be. But those we are closest to, we know them well enough that we may be completely honest, that we can hurt their feelings, ignore their needs.

But when we hurt another, when we ignore another's suffering, when we are guilty of not knowing who we can serve, who we can lift, then we are ignorant of life. We have hidden our faces. But silly fools we are, for no matter if we ask or not for the whom the bell tolls, each and every time it rings it rings for you and me.