Julian of Norwich and the Drama of Christian Discernment

Elizabeth K. J. Koenig

Introduction

• hermeneutics of suspicion – there must be a limit on efforts of deconstruction
• relationship - inner reality and outward reality

Mysticism

• Julian reacted to excesses of scholasticism, human affect yields genuine theological understanding
• Julian’s goal: describe passion in order to make God’s love visible to others
• “one-ing” is correlated to Julian’s understanding of a cross-centered process of Christian discernment, which, has everything to do with how she understands faith
• discernment involves dialogical drama between soul and god
• Julian manifests social concern, writes to build up the Body of Christ

Discernment for Julian

• involves inwardness, a state, or states of awareness and cognition, that individuals mature in, the result of which (frequently) is the strengthening of the community of faith
• Maturation in Christian discernment also contains affective and even physical dimensions that can be felt.
• person’s thoughts and feelings that are “stuck” can be released by Christian disciplines, especially contemplative prayer, and can be released to flow into important new channels that come from and lead to God’s Word (68)
• only then will he or she have something substantial to offer the community of faith.
• both oneness and discernment involve a painful process of being undone which imitates God as God is known in Jesus’ passion.
• For Julian, “one-ing” and growth in what I call discernment, but what she terms increased clarity of vision, are deepening and expansive movements that transform the self that has been undone by imitating Christ on the cross.

Interpenetration of inner and outer reality and experience

• Christ’s blood – the image of flowing blood, which dominates Julian’s visions is, for her, the sign of God’s radical dispossession and self-donation in Jesus.
• Darkness and Light – “noughting” or the experience of being brought low. A concomitant image of space, whether dark or lighted, is associated with this movement.
• Mary Magdalene – She wants to experience Jesus’ passion as intensely as Mary Magdalene did, and morally, she wants her own past history of sin to be turned into honor, as she believes the Magdalene’s was. Inner and outer reality are united through a modification of sensibility that results from a prayerful working through of loss.
• Julian’s Schewinges (visions) - ..derive from the showings their spiritual and theological meaning, but, more importantly, to be drawn through them into deeper relation and union with God (“one-ing”).

Interaction

• reasonable limits on deconstruction
• contrast mental deconstruction efforts with integrity of a person
• role of experience in faith
• Julian of Norwich and mysticism and experience
• culmination in life of integrity
• 4 inputs into this process
• movement in the process – prayer, blood flow

Agreement with different reasons

• movement of the Christian faith journey moves from selfishness to selflessness
• experiences move individuals together in communities in this direction
• blood flow of the body of Christ – keep things moving, no clots, functioning in ways of Christ