Of three Beholdyngs in the passion of Criste, and how we be now deyng in the Crosse with Criste, but His chere puttyt away al peyne. Twenty-first chapter.
The First Two Beholdings: Pain and Death-Watch
Julian is shown three kinds of beholding in Christ's Passion, beginning with the pain with contrition and compassion, and then looking for His death but not seeing it.
It is God's will, as I understand it, that we have three kinds of beholdings in His blessed Passion. The first is the hard pain that He suffered, with contrition and compassion.1 And that our Lord showed in this time, and gave me strength and grace to see it. And I looked for the departing with all my might and would have seen the body all dead, but I did not see Him so.2
The Sudden Change of His Countenance
At the apparent end of life, Christ suddenly changes His blissful countenance, transforming Julian's grief into complete merriment and prompting God's question about the pain.
And right at the same time that it seemed to me, by appearance, that life could last no longer and the showing of the end had of necessity to come, suddenly — I still beholding on the same Cross — He changed His blissful countenance.3 The changing of His blissful countenance changed mine, and I was as glad and merry as it was possible to be. Then our Lord brought merrily to my mind: Where is now any point of the pain, or of your grief? And I was completely merry.
Our Dying with Christ and the Promise of Heaven
Julian understands that we are on the Cross with Christ in our pains, and that He will change His countenance toward us, bringing us to heaven where the harder our suffering, the greater our honor in His kingdom.
I understood that we are now, in our Lord's meaning, on His Cross with Him in our pains and our passion, dying.✦ And as we willingly remain in the same Cross with His help and His grace to the last point, suddenly He will change His countenance toward us, and we will be with Him in heaven.4 There will be no time between the one and the other, and then everything will be brought to joy. And that is what He meant in this showing: 'Where is now any trace of your pain or your grief?'5 And we will be fully blessed. And here I truly saw that if He showed us His blissful face now, there is no pain on earth or anywhere else that could afflict us; everything would be joy and bliss to us.6 But because He shows us a time of suffering like what He endured in this life and on His Cross, we are therefore in distress and suffering with Him, as our frailty requires.7 And the reason He suffers is that out of His goodness He wants to raise us higher with Him in His bliss. And for this little pain that we suffer here, we will have a high, endless knowing in God that we could never have without it; and the harder our pains have been with Him on His Cross, the greater our honor will be with Him in His kingdom.8
Read the original Middle English
Tis Goddys wille, as to myn understondyng, that we have three manner of beholdyngs in His blissid passion. The first is the herd peyn that He suffrid with contrition and compassion. And that shewid our Lord in this tyme, and gave me myght and grace to se it. And I loked after the departing with al my myght and wet have seen the body al ded, but I saw Hym not so. And ryth in the same tyme that methowte, be semyng, the life myght ne lenger lesten and the shewyng of the end behovyd nedis to be, sodenly, I beholdyng in the same Crosse, He chongyd His blissfull chere. The chongyng of His blisful chere chongyd myn, and I was as glad and mery as it was possible. Than browte our Lord merily to my mynde, Where is now ony poynte of the peyne or of thin agreefe? And I was full mery.
I understode that we be now, in our Lords menyng, in His Crosse with Hym in our peynys and our passion, deyng. And we wilfully abydyng in the same Cross with His helpe and His grace into the last poynte, sodenly He shall chonge His chere to us, and we shal be with Hym in Hevyn.
Betwix that one and that other shal be no tyme, and than shal al be browte to joy, and so mente He in this shewyng, Where is now ony poynt of thy peyne or thyn agreefe? And we shal be full blissid. And here saw I sothfastly that if He shewid now us His blissful chere, ther is no peyne in erth nor in other place that should us agrevyn, but al things should be to us joy and blisse. But for He shewith to us time of passion as He bare in this life and His Crosse, therefore we arn in desese and travel with Hym as our frelete askyth. And the cause why He suffrith is for He wil of His godeness make us the heyer with Hym in His bliss. And for this litil peyne that we suffre here, we shal have an hey endles knowyng in God whych we myght never have without that; and the harder our peynys have ben with Him in His Cross, the more shall our worshippe be with Hym in His kyngdom.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Rom.6.8;Gal.2.20;2Tim.2.11 — Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Gal.2.20 — I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 2Tim.2.11 — This saying is trustworthy: For if we died with him, we will also live with him;
Notes
- 1 ↩herd = hard. 'with contrition and compassion' most naturally names the manner of the first beholding (how we look on His pain), not a quality of Christ's own suffering; kept close to the source word order.
- 2 ↩Surface 'wet' read as ME 'would' (wold/wet); 'departing' = the moment of death/departure of life.
- 3 ↩chere rendered 'countenance' (facial bearing/expression), Julian's key term for the changed look that puts away pain.
- 4 ↩ME chere rendered as 'countenance' (Christ's facial bearing/look); Julian's technical contrast is the change from the suffering look to the blissful one.
- 5 ↩"That one and the other" points back to the two states in the previous section: our present dying with Christ on the Cross, and the sudden change of His countenance when we are with Him in heaven.
- 6 ↩ME chere is countenance/face/expression — the radiant look of Christ that, in this chapter, puts away all pain; not "cheer" in the modern mood sense.
- 7 ↩ME travel here is travail (toil/labor), not journeying; desese is distress/hardship rather than disease in the narrow medical sense.
- 8 ↩ME worshippe means honor, dignity, or glory, not merely liturgical worship; rendered as "honor" to keep that force.
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