Today’s Reflection is written by the Chaplain, Revd Dr Harriet Harris. As I write this, it is ‘VE Day’, marking the end of fighting in Europe in the Second World War, and also the day that the Church remembers Dame Julian of Norwich (1373-c1417). It is fitting that the two come together, for Dame Julian is best known for the words she received from Jesus in a vision: Sin is inevitable, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. Julian - we do not know her birth name, only the name she became known by as anchoress to the Church of St Julian – disputed with God notion that all could be made well, and her disputes formed the proceeding 13 chapters of her book, Revelations of Divine Love. This is the first known book to have been written by a woman in English. Julian did not get an answer to her questions about how things could be made well, but instead was invited to trust in the future of wellness. We are often condemnatory of our present reality, and our condemnation can be a shield by which we protect ourselves from it rather than engage fully with it (‘how stupid is the government’, ‘how unprepared we were’, and so forth). ‘All shall be well’ is not simple-mindedness, but a choice to approach life without the complicating and protective shield of judgement, and to risk instead an open mind, heart and will that exposes us fully to what is going on and invites us trustingly to be part of its healing. You would know our Lord’s meaning in this thing! Know it well. Love was his meaning. Who showed it you? Love. What did he show you? Love. Why did he show you? Love. Why did he show it? For love. Hold on to this and you will know and understand love more and more. But you will not know or learn anything else – ever! Image Rainbow over Coventry Cathedral, which was bombed in WW2 and is now an International Centre for Reconciliation. Photograph by Andrew Walker This article was published on 2024-06-24
