My lovely calendar once again set the trajectory for my day. As I was checking its message for May 8 I saw the name Julian of Norwich(1342-1416) etched at the bottom of the square. While I was unsure exactly what it meant, I smiled at the thought that somehow this day must be connected to her in some way. This writer whose beautiful words I discovered many years ago always seems to ground me and fill me with immense hope. For those unfamiliar with her, Julian was an English woman regarded as one of the most important Christian mystics. Her wisdom and influence is celebrated by both the Anglican and Lutheran churches and it seems today, May 8th, is her Feast Day.
Like many women of her time, the details of her life are somewhat sketchy but the beauty of her words and their rich intention ring out through time.
One of the first experiences I had with her came in planning an Easter worship service years ago. We were searching for words that reflected the nature of God to always be about rebirth. Julian spoke: “And in this he showed me something small, no bigger than a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed to me, and it was as round as a ball. I looked at it with the eye of my understanding and thought: What can this be? I was amazed that it could last, for I thought that because of its littleness, it would suddenly have fallen into nothing. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasts and always will, because God loves it; and thus everything has being through the love of God.” This poetic image of how the Holy is made known in even the tiniest of created things was made visible to those worshipping through the image of the hands of a child cupping their tiny, somewhat dirty little hands and in the center lay a hazelnut. As these words were spoken, you could feel a relaxing move through those gathered. If the hazelnut is loved then so are all. Ahhhh….
Such wisdom, once discovered, might go on to incorporate her affirmation: “The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.God is the ground, the substance,the teaching, the teacher,the purpose, and the reward for which every soul labors.” What might our days be like if we got up, planted our feet on the ground, and took on the mantle of these words to guide our working, our playing, our meeting, our conversations? What if this pursuit of joy was our labor?
It could, of course, only be answered by these few words: “What could make me love
my fellow Christian better than to see that God loves us all as if we were all one soul?” I would venture to say, as I read Julian’s words, that if living in these days some 500 years later than her own time, she would include more than just her Christian brothers and sisters in that statement.
Julian seemed to understand what many living today may not. Her words and her work seemed to be about connecting those around her with the gift of positive presence, of opening eyes to the movement of the Holy in the every day. She didn’t even have to understand how it works or be tied to results she could readily see. “Pray inwardly, even if you do not enjoy it. It does good, though you feel nothing. Yes, even though you think you are doing nothing.” Something to consider, don’t you think?
But of all Julian’s words the ones that cut right to the heart of the matter, those that over and over again bring calm, a deep breath, a check in with what is real are contained in this simple sentence. “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” How many times over the years I have used this as my mantra!
So on this day I step across the ecumenical aisle and claim Julian as my own. I feast on her words and know the nourishment of this food. Blessed are you, ancient woman, who continues to speak through the ages.
