"And methought if sin had not been, we should all have been clean and like to our Lord as He made us; and thus, in my folly, before this time often I wondered why by the great foreseeing wisdom of God the beginning of sin was not letted; for then, thought I, should have been well.

This stering was mikel to be forsaken, and nevertheless mourning and sorrow I made therfore without reason and discretion. But Jesus, that in this vision informed me of all that me needeth, answered by this word and said: Sin is behovely, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." (Chapter 27)

Julian of Norwich is considered one of the great mystic writers of the Medieval Period. She is commonly credited with being the first known female English writer. Quite an accomplishment, don't you think?

And, unlike Margery Kempe—a contemporary of Julian's—Julian received an education. She was literate.

But when she was just thirty years old, Julian fell deathly ill. There was a silver lining there, though. At least, in Julian's opinion, likely; her illness caused her to have a series of sixteen visions of Jesus. Sweet sixteen, indeed.

Soon after her visions, she wrote what is referred to as the "the Short Text" of her Revelation. And then she meditated on it for twenty years, all before revising that original text into what's known as "the Long Text."

Julian certainly had time to spare. After experiencing her visions, she became an anchoress, which means she lived for the rest of her life in a very small cell attached to a Church. She did not voyage out and mingle out in the world. No, not one little bit.

This passage represents Major Revelation Time for Julian. In it, he recounts perhaps the most significant spiritual truth she learns from her visions: that sin is necessary. But it's all good, because Jesus will forgive you. Trust.

Don't Sweat the Sin Stuff

We wouldn't be surprised if graphic images of Hell are the first things that pop into your head when you think about Christianity in the Middle Ages. Foremost in people's minds during this time was staying far, far away from that too-hot place. By any means necessary.

Christians of the Middle Ages got baptized, attended mass, and perhaps even payed for prayers or purchased indulgences. Seriously, they did anything they could to avoid burning in the fires of Hell for all eternity. Punishment for sin was much prevalent in that culture than the idea of forgiveness.

Um, Dante's Inferno, anyone?

Under these circumstances, what Julian is tossing around in her mind here makes sense. Her point is this: if there wasn't sin to begin with, everyone would be "clean and like to our Lord." So if God can "foresee" all things, he would purposefully avoid creating any sin. Sounds reasonable, right?

Jesus, however, sets Julian straight. "Sin is behovely," he tells her in the vision. "Behovely" means "necessary." But: "all shall be well."

When we put this all together, what does it add up to? Well, we think Julian is trying to say that people are going to sin. There's no two ways about it. And, in fact, sin is a necessary step in the process of salvation.

And there's no need to fret, because every little thing, is gonna to be alright. And if you didn't get the point when Jesus tells you the first time, don't worry. He repeats it again. And again. Really, you have to understand: everything will be fine.

This more positive attitude toward sin and salvation was quite revolutionary during the Middle Ages. It bordered on the heretical, actually. Called "universal salvation," the belief Julian is espousing here is the notion that every last soul would be saved in the end. No one would suffer endless torment in Hell.

So, even though Julian's theology is dressed up in a highly orthodox package, the ideas inside those wrappings were a bit out there for the time. Rock on, Julian. You iconoclast, you.

A Very Learned Lady

In this passage, we see two stylistic hallmarks of Julian's Revelation. She's well known for including "homely" (familiar and comforting) imagery. One very famous example that occurs earlier in the text is how she describes all of existence in terms of a hazelnut. Jesus is kind of like that here.

No, we don't mean he's like a hazelnut. We mean that the conversational tone he takes with Julian is "homely." It's almost as if he's sitting down and just chit-chatting with her, despite the fact that they're broaching some pretty heavy subjects in this passage.

And for all Julian's homeliness, we can't forget that she was a highly educated woman. Which means that her work is also quite learned and scholarly. This high-falutin' element shines through in what we might consider her formal artistry. Her elegance.

Like, in this passage, when she repeats clauses in patterns of threes… but adds on a bit with each clause. As in, "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." The force of this statement builds with each clause, until we arrive at the final phrase, which tells us "all manner of thing" (everything that there is) "shall be well."

Nice. We feel all warm and fuzzy now. Don't you?

And don't forget that three is a magic number for the medieval Church. And still is. Three's what makes the Holy Trinity go 'round, friends; it's all about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity.