Ambassadors of Christ
A reflection from Diane
Julian of Norwich – an ambassador of faith
Yesterday in church we focussed on the theme of ‘How to give your faith away’. This verse from one of yesterday’s readings sums up the challenge. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 St Paul writes:
‘We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God.’
One of the earliest ambassadors of Christ in the English-speaking world was Julian of Norwich. She was born in 1342, and at the age of 30 she suffered such a serious illness she wasn’t expected to recover. During her illness she saw a series of visions of Christ’s passion and death, which convinced her of God’s immeasurable love for us. On her recovery she spent the rest of her life in a cell attached to St Julian’s Church in Norwich, with one window looking into the church so she could meditate on God, and another window accessible to the outside world, from which she dispensed wisdom, counsel and prayer to people who came from far and near to learn from her.
She wrote about her visions and meditations in a book called ‘The Revelations of Divine Love’ which is believed to be the earliest surviving English book written by a woman. It’s now almost 700 years old, but its words, full of hope and trust in God’s goodness and the transformative power of his grace still inspire us today.
The best-known of Mother Julian’s words are ‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well’. This was her unshakeable conviction, as she explains in ‘Revelations of Divine Love’:
‘…deeds are done which appear so evil to us and people suffer such terrible evils that it does not seem as though any good will ever come of them…[but] our reasoning powers are …so simple that we cannot know the high, marvellous wisdom, the might and goodness of the Holy Trinity. And this is what he means where he says, “You shall see for yourself that all manner of things shall be well”, as if he said, “Pay attention to this now, faithfully and confidently, and at the end of time you will truly see it in the fullness of joy.” ’
Some other of her quotes below will give us encouragement and food for thought for the week ahead.
‘The greatest honour we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love.’
‘God loved us before he made us; and his love has never diminished and never shall.’
‘Prayer is a new, gracious, lasting will of the soul, united and fast-bound to the will of God by the precious and mysterious working of the Holy Spirit.’
‘Grace transforms our failings full of dread into abundant, endless comfort…our failings full of shame into a noble, glorious rising…our dying full of sorrow into holy, blissful life….So grace brings us surpassing comfort, glory and bliss in heaven.’
Let’s conclude with one of Julian of Norwich’s prayers. The language is more old-fashioned than we’re used to these days, but perhaps it’s all the more powerful for that. I hope that, just as St Paul encourages us in Corinthians, Mother Julian’s writings will encourage us to be ambassadors of faith too!
‘Lord, let not our souls be busy inns that have no room for thee or thine,
But quiet homes of prayer and praise, where thou mayest find fit company,
Where the needful cares of life are wisely ordered and put away,
And wide, sweet spaces kept for thee; where holy thoughts pass up and down
And fervent longings watch and wait thy coming.
Amen.