A Focus on Love, Not Sin
Julian’s revelations offer a loving alternative to the focus on sin which characterized the theology of her time. Mirabai Starr writes:
Julian of Norwich is known for her radically optimistic theology. Nowhere is this better illumined than in her reflections on sin. When Julian asked God to teach her about this troubling issue, he opened his Divine Being, and all she could see there was love. Every lesser truth dissolved in that boundless ocean….
Julian confesses,
The truth is, I did not see any sin. I believe that sin has no substance, not a particle of being, and cannot be detected at all except by the pain it causes. It is only the pain that has substance, for a while, and it serves to purify us, and make us know ourselves and ask for mercy. [1]
Starr clarifies where Julian located the impact of sin:
Julian informs us that the suffering we cause ourselves through our acts of greed and unconsciousness is the only punishment we endure. God, who is All-Love, is “incapable of wrath.” And so it is a complete waste of time, Julian realized, to wallow in guilt. The truly humble thing to do when we have stumbled is to hoist ourselves to our feet as swiftly as we can and rush into the arms of God where we will remember who we really are.
For Julian, sin has no substance because it is the absence of all that is good and kind, loving and caring—all that is of God. Sin is nothing but separation from our divine source. And separation from the Holy One is nothing but illusion. We are always and forever “oned” in love with our Beloved. Therefore, sin is not real; only love is real. Julian did not require a Divinity degree to arrive at this conclusion. She simply needed to travel to the boundary-land of death where she was enfolded in the loving embrace of the Holy One, who assured her that he had loved her since before he made her and would love her till the end of time. And it is with this great love, he revealed, that he loves all beings. Our only task is to remember this and rejoice.
In the end, Julian says, it will all be clear.
Then none of us will be moved in any way to say, Lord, if only things had been different, all would have been well. Instead, we shall all proclaim in one voice, Beloved One, may you be blessed, because it is so: all is well. [2]
The fact that Julian “saw no wrath in God” does not tempt her to engage in harmful behaviors with impunity. On the contrary, the freedom she finds in God’s unconditional love makes her strive even more to be worthy of his mercy and grace. Yet she does not waste energy on regret. She suggests that we, too … get on with the holy task of loving God with all our hearts and all our minds and all our strength.
==============================>
| A Battlefield Hospital |
 Click Here for AudioPhilo of Alexandria once said, “Be kind, because everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” We are all fighting a terrible battle to be loved; a battle to prove we are significant and acceptable. Some of us fight by moving from one relationship to the next seeking to heal a wound that will not mend. Others fight by purchasing bigger and better tokens of success. Some seek acceptability through achievement, but by their absence at home they inadvertently wound their spouses and children and the cycle continues. Those who are most weary from the battle give up by turning to drugs, alcohol, food, sex, or any other temporary pleasure to mask their pain. In this way, the brokenness of their souls is manifested in their bodies.But hospitality, real hospitality, can be a healing balm on these wounds. To be accepted and loved just as we are—isn’t that what we long for? And to be welcomed into another’s life without facades and falsehoods—isn’t that what we really want? A church that directly, or indirectly, communicates who is welcomed will be an ineffective spiritual hospital. No, the kind of healing hospitality practiced by Jesus is personal, human, and beyond the powers of target-market-based church growth strategies. This is the healing that only Christ, and the community filled with his Spirit, can perform.The religious leaders criticized Jesus for sharing his table with sinners at Matthew’s house. But Jesus was not blind, and he certainly was not ignorant. He knew that his dinner companions were not moral people. He knew the depravity of their lives even better than the Pharisees did. But he loved and welcomed them anyway. He offered these wounded souls a refuge from their battle. Such is the love of God. His love is not blind. He sees us as we truly are. He excavates the broken identity we’ve buried beneath a mountain of fashion denim and overpriced lattes, sees its filthy condition, and says, “Come, my child, sit down and eat. I have prepared a table for you.” As our culture becomes more divided, and as the forces of politics and business sort and label us into increasingly nuanced “interest groups” and “markets,” Christians face a choice. We may either participate in this dehumanizing practice that inflates our group’s sense of righteousness at the expense of another’s rejection, or we may offer an alternative vision of community to that of our hyper-partisan consumer culture. We can either position our churches on the frontline in the culture war or become battlefield hospitals for the wounded to find rest and healing. We can emulate the Pharisees by dividing “sinner” from “saint” and “us” from “them,” or we can affirm our shared human struggle for love, acceptance, and forgiveness. This counter-cultural vision of a healing community may seem difficult to accomplish, but it doesn’t have to be. All that’s needed is good food, good wine, and a table where Jesus Christ decides who is welcome rather than us. DAILY SCRIPTURE MATTHEW 9:9-13 LUKE 22:14-20 WEEKLY PRAYERFrom Symeon Metaphrastes (900 – 987) I am communing with fire. Of myself, I am but straw but, O miracle, I feel myself suddenly blazing like Moses’ burning bush of old…. You have given me your flesh as food. You who are a fire which consumes the unworthy, do not burn me, O my Creator, but rather slip into my members, into all my joints, into my loins and into my heart. Consume the thorns of all my sins, purify my soul, sanctify my heart, strengthen the tendons of my knees and my bones, illumine my five senses, and establish my wholly in your love. Amen. |
