Happy Monday! We trust everyone survived a day without Lent Madness and is ready to get back into the voting fray. We kick off the week with what will sure to be a hotly contested battle between Julian of Norwich and William Wilberforce. 14th century Mystic vs. 18th century Reformer. Who will move on to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen? Well, that's up to the global Lent Madness community.
Over the weekend, in the only Saturday matchup of Lent Madness 2016, Methodius defeated his brother Cyril. Lent Madness bracketologists will note that this was not the first brother vs. brother contest. In the first round of the 2014 Saintly Smackdown, eventual Golden Halo winner Charles Wesley dethroned his brother John. Thus there is indeed precedence for hagiographic fratricide.
As a reminder of how this whole process works, the Supreme Executive Committee, released the Ten Commandments of Lent Madness. We encourage everyone who thought pitting Cyril vs. Methodius was "unfair" to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest these rules of the Lenten road.
Finally, some have asked where they can go to see previous results from Lent Madness 2016. Fortunately, we have an amazing Bracket Czar, Adam Thomas, who updates the bracket every day. If you click the Bracket tab on the website, you'll find an updated bracket along with clickable links to the battles that have already taken place. Scroll down on the same tab and you'll encounter the 2016 Matchup Calendar, where you can find out the precise date your favorite saint will be entering the Lent Dome to do battle.
Julian of Norwich
We know very little about Julian of Norwich. Her name is derived from the place where she devoted herself to a life of solitary prayer, study, and writing—the Church of Saint Julian. Her works date her life to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, during a period of rampant epidemics of the Black Plague.
In 1373, at around the age of thirty, Julian suffered from a severe illness during which she had visions of Jesus Christ. She wrote them down immediately, and the 11,000-word text is believed to be the earliest surviving book written by a woman in the English language.
Around 1393, Julian explored the meaning of the visions in a longer version of Revelations of Divine Love. The book was widely read and is still embraced by both Catholics and Protestants as offering important and profound mystical insight into the nature of God. Julian believed sin was a necessary step to knowing one’s self and accepting God’s love. She taught that we sin because we are naive. To learn we must fail, and to fail we must sin.
She worried over the fate of those who were not raised in the Christian faith and had never heard the gospel. But she came to believe that God does everything in love, and therefore, “that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well,” possibly making her an early believer in universal salvation.
Julian described Jesus as a mother who is wise, loving, and merciful. She believed the bond between mother and child was the closest earthly relationship one could have to the love of Jesus. She also used metaphors of conception, nursing, and labor in connection with Jesus’ love, but at other times called him our brother.
Collect for Julian of Norwich
Lord God, in your compassion you granted to the Lady Julian many revelations of your nurturing and sustaining love: Move our hearts, like hers, to seek you above all things, for in giving us yourself you give us all; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was born on August 24, 1759. Family bequests left him independently wealthy, which allowed him to pursue a life of his own choosing. An affluent, educated politician and Christian who lived out his beliefs, Wilberforce defined himself through his devotion to dismantling slavery throughout the British Empire.
During a trip to the European continent, his spiritual life began to blossom, thanks to Bible reading and a commitment of service to God. Wilberforce’s embrace of Christianity prompted his interest in governmental and human rights reform.
Elected to the House of Commons in 1780 (a seat he held for forty-five years), Wilberforce was someone who commanded an audience. He was introduced to the horrors of the slave trade in 1787 by a group of anti-slave activists. His epiphany was stunning, and his dedication to abolishing slavery was lifelong. A journal entry indicated, “God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners.”
His campaigns eventually led to the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which abolished the slave trade in the British Empire but did not abolish slavery as a practice. Those who were already slaves remained so. Wilberforce was not deterred, and his efforts to completely abolish slavery throughout the empire continued. Poor health forced his resignation from Parliament in 1826, but he persisted in his crusade. Eventually, he was instrumental in the creation and passage of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, which abolished slavery and emancipated all slaves in the British Empire.
Wilberforce died three days before Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act but was assured before his death that it would be ratified. Wilberforce died in London on July 29, 1833, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Collect for William Wilberforce
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, kindle in your Church the never-failing gift of love, that, following the example of your servant William Wilberforce, we may have grace to defend the poor, and maintain the cause of those who have no helper; for the sake of him who gave his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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310 comments on “Julian of Norwich vs. William Wilberforce”
One pertinent thought in Julian that is not mentioned in the presentation is her statement, "As surely as God is our Father, so also is He our Mother." Her meditation on this point says more to me than pronoun substitution such as the clumsy "God moves in a mysterious way, God's wonders to perform; God plants God's footsteps in the sea ... ." Read it!
I came to Julian during college days, through T.S. Eliot. It was a revelation (reference intended). Her work is one basis for my regular meditation and prayer, especially during Lent and Holy Week. I have made four pilgrimages to the site of her cell in Norwich. Granted that it is a modern reconstruction, it is on the very site, and I have an overwhelming sense of Eliot's line, "You are here to kneel where prayer has been valid." The spirituality is palpable to me. One can serve God by inspiring individuals, as one can serve God through social needs.
See the movie "Amazing Grace" about William Wilberforce. You will have to vote for him. Read the book, even more forceful. Hard to get thought but worth it.
I've been to Norwich and prayed in Julian's reconstructed shrine. I thought she would easily have my vote...but then..scenes from the movie "Amazing Grace" kept playing across my memory, especially the scene where William first saw the shackles that were worn by slaves. And I heard John Newton saying, "I am a great sinner - and Christ is a great Savior!" (Hollywood or not, a great line!). Then I saw in a vision Julian and she was saying, "All manner of things shall be well - even if you vote for William Wilburforce."
I love Julian! I love the Order of Julian of Norwich, too, and I reject attempts to pit contemplation and action against each other.
But I'm voting for Wilberforce, today. I reflect on the fact that many Anglicans and Christians of the time used Scripture to defend the practice of slavery, and my vote for Blessed William Wilberforce is my way to name, nurture, and honor the holiness of those who read Scripture with the heart of prophets.
William Wilberforce was amazing. Watch the movie "Amazing Grace" or, better still, read the book. Very difficult to get through but worth it.
I can't believe this is even close! Should be a slam dunk for Wilberforce due to his historic significance in ending the evil of slavery. Please vote for him, folks. I've got him in my Final Four!
Not surprised this one is close. It was a hard choice. I voted for Julian - an early theologian who happened to be a woman. But we can't minimize Wilberforce's importance. The SEC made this really really hard today.
A rich man who proved that sometime the camel does fit. Throwing off the yoke of his inheritance to fight for human rights, how can you not vote for William?
Julian helped me through childbirth. That's the only deciding factor.
St. Julian and her calm, strong voice.
While I appreciate the often quoted and comforting words of Julian, I rise to the challenge of Wilberforce! His work is carried on by many saints of today, and it is the call I hear to be an increasingly Crazy Christian!
It would be helpful if people whose lives were similar could be paired in round 1. Social activists vs. social activists and contemplatives vs. contemplatives. I too would have wished to vote for both, but decided on William. I have been asking for his prayers for many years since the Episcopal Church celebrates his life on my birthday, July 30th.
With a daughter named after Julian and an appreciation of mystics, I vote for Julian.
Julian of Norwich, for I know myself too well, and all will be well.
William had to stand against great opposition to move Great Britain forward with the end of the Slave Trade... I love Julian.....and wish they were not in opposition... however, William with the prophets voice has my vote.
This was a toughie. I have a particular affinity for Julian being myself of a contemplative nature. I was expecting to vote for Julian even to the moment I pressed the vote button. However, the tawdry lure of social justice caused my mouse to shift ever so slightly and my vote was cast for Wilberforce.
This match up is a reason I don't fill out a bracket at the beginning. I fully expected to vote for Wilberforce, but after reading of Julian of Norwich I had to give her my vote. Thanks for giving us such inspirational stories.
This was a really really tough one. I was sure I was going to go for Julian of Norwich because of her belief in universal Salvation and motherly feelings. Then I read about William Wilberforce and his fight against slavery. We definitely could use him in today's world. However as a mom I ended up picking Julian.
As is true in so many matchups, these two pursued their faith in the realms and with the means available to them. I vote for Julian of Norwich, whose surviving work gives hope to the many whose efforts will not be visible through centuries following that they "did make a difference"--for all those who were illiterate or did not have the political permission to make sweeping systematic reforms occur. Her imagery also helps broaden our understanding of God and salvation.
Faith, vision, life-long dedication and persistence, godly witness, and a truly global impact. Thank God for William Wilberforce. His life of humble Christian witness overwhelms me with gratitude.
No one can take away from Julian the impact she has had, but a life of working towards the opposition to slavery gets my vote today.
Julian influenced her community with her "window to the street" where commoners would come and get wisdom, prayer, etc. She hung out with notable saints of her day. All this influences me today and the added bonus is I get to read her book any time I want! Being of a more contemplative persuasion, my vote is for Julian. The influence she's had over the centuries amazes me and with only 3 windows to work from - one into the church to receive communion, one for her helpers to come and go, and the window to the street.
I vote for Wilforce because he saved so many people from slavery. This does not take away from Julian as she was a model for all people.
Wilberforce could have rested on his laurels and his inherited wealth. He chose to devote his life to the abolishment of slavery. There is (or was) a Wilberforce University founded to primarily serve Black Americans. I am more attuned to the active on behalf of others rather than the contemplative who are one-on-one with a Higher Being...one to/for the many vs one-to-one. Good Monday and good blogging.
William Wilberforce is the subject of a beautiful movie, as others on this page have noted. Watch the trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Cv5P9H9qU
In this election year, I am voting for the one used law and the tools of politics to rescue the oppressed. May Wiiliam Wilberforce be a model for our elected leaders today.
It bothers me that when comparing two people who lived over 400 years apart and are of different sexes that we would give more merit to the wealthy politician than a woman who lived through a quite literally the time of the plague and was able to offer comfort to not only people of the time but for centuries later through her writings. You don't think these are actions? A woman who could write, in a time when women were not even deemed worthy to educate, and that those writings would live on and still be found relevant and comforting over 600 years later...sorry no contest....my vote goes to Julian.
This should be the final pairing, not the first round.
Two great choices, but I have to choose Julian. She has been a foundational teacher and friend of mine for much of my life. She humbly lived and wrote, never knowing what deep insights she gave humanity regarding God's availability, nurture and love. I am ever grateful for her. But I think Wilberforce was a great man, too!
I have not read ALL the comments, so if someone already said this, my apologies! There are indeed thinkers (or mystics) and doers. It was a tough choice as I have seen racism at work in my lifetime. But much as I admire Wilberforce, I had to vote for Julian about whom I actually knew very little. It is wonderful that she understood that God is love. If more people could grasp that, perhaps many evils, including racism and other hate crimes, would vanish. And if more people understood what she seems to imply -- that God cares for all mankind, not just the Christian -- even more hate might vanish Thinkers and mystics, especially if they wrote about it, as Julian did, are also doers.
This was a difficult one for me. I voted for William Wilberforce because he was an early, effective leader in the fight for civil rights. A battle we are still fighting today.