VM 10 | Dr. Grace Hamman | Visionaries – St. Julian of Norwich

The Alabaster Jar

In this episode, Dr. Grace Hamman joins Dr. Lynn Cohick to discuss the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich and her theological reflections on Jesus as a mother. Julian of Norwich, a 14th-century anchorite, had a series of visions and wrote about them in her book 'The Shewings.' She used the metaphor of Jesus as a mother to explore the character of God's love and the church's relationship with Christ. This image of Jesus as a mother was not meant to be taken literally but as a metaphor drawn from Scripture. Julian's writings provide comfort and reassurance in times of pain and suffering, emphasizing the love and care of God.

Key Takeaways:

• Julian of Norwich, a medieval mystic, used the metaphor of Jesus as a mother to explore the character of God's love and the church's relationship with Christ.
• The image of Jesus as a mother was not meant to be taken literally, but rather as a metaphor drawn from scripture.
• Julian's writings provide comfort and reassurance in times of pain and suffering, emphasizing the love and care of God.
• Medieval illuminated manuscripts and visual depictions often incorporated the metaphor of Jesus as a mother, conveying the idea of the church being birthed through Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

Visual Museum of Women in Christianity
The purpose of this collaborative project is to create a curated, permanent visual exhibit of women in the history, ministry, and piety of early, Byzantine, and medieval Christianity that will be available online for researchers, educators, and interested laypersons.
The goal of this multi-year project is to make the visual record of women in ministry and leadership available free of charge and unencumbered by permission requirements, and to include short teaching elements to guide the audience through the constitutive and pivotal role of women throughout Christian history.
Together with the visual story, the accompanying narrative will make it possible for patrons to learn about women throughout history and across the globe and their unique contributions to the life and faith of the church…
A history that remains mostly untold.
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The Alabaster Jar is brought to you by The Center for Women in Leadership, a newly formed 501©3 nonprofit organization whose purpose is to equip women in a context that is biblically rooted, theologically robust, and ethnically diverse to thrive as leaders in the academy and the Church. Follow them on Instagram @leadershipwithoutapology. Learn more about The Center for Women in Leadership at: https://www.leadershipwithoutapology.org/.