Greetings,
We have been considering some of the
basics of our faith and the practical living out of that faith, which often
finds expression in unlikely sources. In
the fourteenth century a most unlikely source was a woman, whom we know as
Julian of Norwich.
Julian lived as an anchoress in a cell of
the parish Church of St. Julian in Norwich, England. Little is
known of her life other than what she tells us in her writings and what Margery
Kempe reports of meeting with her.
Julian’s remarkable work, Showings (or Revelations of Divine Love), is the first book known to have been
authored by a woman in English. She
wrote the “Short Text” directly after sixteen visions visited upon her on May 13, 1373. The “Long
Text,” written twenty years later, consists of Julian’s reflections on the
meanings of the revelations.
Living at a time of multiple disasters in
the world (bubonic plague, frequent famine, and The Hundred Years’ War), Julian
saw vivid images of Christ’s passion, convincing her how much Christ loved
her. She then wrote of God as
“Creator...protector...lover.”
Julian offers us solid experiential
reflections concerning what sin is, who God is, and how to live in the tension
between our sin and God’s “courteous” mercy.
Sin, for Julian, hinders us from living as true images of “courteous”
mercy. Sin, for Julian, hinders us from
living as true images of God. Yet,
“God...will do it…and my sin will not impede the operation of his
goodness.” Again and again, Julian
expresses the actions of God:
“God
rejoices that he is our Father, and...that he is our Mother, and...that he is
our true spouse, and that our soul is his beloved wife. And Christ rejoices that he is our brother,
and Jesus rejoices that he is our saviour.
These are five great joys...in which he
wants us to rejoice, praising him, thanking him, loving him, endlessly blessing
him...”
She develops the quality of motherhood in
the second person of the Trinity, especially in Jesus’ taking our flesh,
bearing our wounds in his passion, and feeding us in the Eucharist. She offers hope, grounded in the endless love
of God who will let none of God’s children perish. She recommends three kinds of knowledge:
“that we know our Lord God...that we know ourselves...that we know humbly that
our self is opposed to our sin and to our weakness.” Her strong affirmation towards the end of the
Long Text inspires us:
“What, do you wish to know your Lord’s
meaning in this thing? Know it well,
love was his meaning. Who reveals it to
you? Love. What did he reveal to you? Love.
Why does he reveal it to you? For
love. Remain in this, and you will know
more of the same.”
The Epistle lesson for May 6th
said, “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his
Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins…There is no fear in love, but
perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:10, 18a). The Gospel lesson for that Sunday, focused on
“I am the vine, you are the branches…My Father is glorified by this, that you
bear much fruit and become my disciples” (John 15:6, 9). The Epistle lesson says: “those who love God
must love their brothers and sisters also” (I John 4:21). We just
observed the Festival of the Christian Home
(otherwise known as Mother’s Day). How
appropriate is Julian’s message about the nature of God - Father, Mother and
Spouse - the essentialness of love to all that we are and do. We, like Julian, are living at a time of
multiple disasters in the world: fear of each new flu, fear of
chemical/biological weapons - our own potential bubonic plague; frequent
famine, still on a massive scale, especially in Africa; and what may well prove to be our own Hundred
Years’ War, the “War on Terror” including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
the on-going battle against those who would do harm to us and others. There is the particular fear of economic
hardship, even potential economic collapse.
We add to that the greatly increased domestic violence and abuse, the
disintegration of the family, the polarization of our society, and the tendency
to blame everyone and everything else for our problems instead of taking
personal responsibility.
Do we realize that Love: “God our Creator, Protector, Lover” is the answer?
Yours
& His,
DED
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