The Stability of God
Love is God's Meaning
realities. For one thing, God is not simply the lord but also the servant who is identified not only with Adam and humankind but with Christ, second person of the Trinity and equal to the Father. Then as we have also seen, the explanation of the parable in chapters 52–63 is dominated by Julian's imagery for God as Mother. This not only redefines our images of God but also our notions of "lordship" or authority.16
The language of "courtesy" is chivalrous and courtly. The humility and reverent fear of "our Lady St Mary" standing before God is commended
(chapter 7). However, "our good Lord, who is so to be revered and feared, is also familiar and courteous." The image of Jesus Christ as "courteous
Lord" is regularly repeated throughout Julian's text. God's "royal dominion" is closely linked to his "wonderful courtesy" (for example, in chapter 48).
As we saw in Chapter 3 "courtesy" was an important attribute in the society of Julian's day. It involved polite behavior in which one deferred to another; in other words, put the convenience or desires of another person before one's own.17 So God defers to us and finds pleasure especially in giving us pleasure. So courtesy implies familiarity but it is an unexpected
(and unearned) familiarity that implies the crossing of conventional boundaries.
So it is with our Lord Jesus and us, for truly it is the greatest possible joy, as I see it, that he who is highest and mightiest, noblest and most honourable, is lowest and humblest, most familiar and courteous.
(Chapter 7) The Stability of God In chapter 5, Julian also describes God's love as "homely" (translated as "familiar" by Colledge and Walsh). Although the Middle English word
"homely" indicates intimacy, it also has linguistic resonances of "at home,"
"permanent," or "habitual." There is, therefore, an interesting connection between God's "homeliness" and the virtue of "stability." This not only implies a commitment to make one's home permanently in a particular context but the virtue of sticking at it "for better or for worse." Julian suggests that this is an important quality of God's dwelling among us. In the historical context of the late fourteenth century, the notion of permanence or stability had a particular force and poignancy. Not only was the Church and civil society wracked by instability and insecurity but there was a widespread failure of trust in the social and religious structures that should have provided an image of stability and faithfulness. Bishops such as Henry Despenser of Norwich spent little time in their dioceses,