All shall be well?

Passage for reflection: Psalm 23 

All shall be well. All shall be well. Every manner of thing shall be well.

I was taking part the other week in a quiet day on Mother Julian of Norwich. She wrote those words from her cell in St Julian’s Church in Norwich. They might if we take them out of context seem trite. If you’ve got a problem and someone says “it will all be alright” without any help assuring you how it will be, that’s not a lot of help really.

I’d never really thought about Mother Julian’s context. We are thinking this week of one year since the first lockdown. It’s been tough. But Julian lived through part of  the 100 years war, the Black Death, a terrible famine in 1369, the worst for fifty years, so a time of extreme poverty leading to the peasants revolt in 1379, and amid all of that a church that liked to persecute any dissenters. The Lollards, who criticised the Roman Catholic Church and were led by a man called John Wycliffe, were sought out by the Bishop of Norwich and thrown into a pit. And it is in this context she declares all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.

I shared some prayers for the national day of reflection around the 12pm silence for folk at the Moors. The Church of England produced some prayer resources to use which included reading Psalm 23.

I wonder how many times you’ve said or heard the words of Psalm 23. Of all the psalms it’s probably the best known and many people’s favourite. Its words are familiar and beloved. I suspect most of you know the words, and some of you have even memorised them. 

Those words comfort us in times of uncertainty and sustain us through sorrows and losses. They give us courage when we are afraid. They assure us there is nothing to fear in the dark valley of death. They offer hope and strength to take our next step. They remind us there is a way forward when we feel powerless and fearful. They promise us that we never walk alone. 

It is exactly what we need to hear today a year on in the midst of COVID-19. A year on, reflecting on over 126,000 deaths in this country, people still struggling with catching it or recovering from it, many cases of long Covid, an economy decimated with people losing their jobs, people separated from loved ones or stuck indoors for ages, mental health a real issue, can we really say all shall be well? 

When I look at all that has changed about our life and world; when I acknowledge the uncertainties of our future as we slowly emerge; when I still read the statistics of cases and deaths; when I think about those who are losing jobs or income; when I wonder how long it will before we again greet each other with no social distance?

 At the moment, I want to hear words of hope. I want to be reminded that “the Lord is my shepherd” and “I shall not be in want.” I want to be reassured that all shall be well. I want to soak myself in the words of Psalm 23 and let them soak into me. And I am betting you want the same things I do.

So I want you to do something. Let this be a way to pray. Pray Psalm 23 when you get up in the morning. Pray it again at noon. And pray it again before your fall asleep. Pray it for yourselves, for each other, for our country, and for the world.

Pray it slowly and deeply. Allow some silence – a soaking space – between each verse. And insert Mother Julian’s sentence faith after each verse. Like this:

The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not be in want.

All shall be well.

He makes me lie down in green pastures
and leads me beside still waters.

All shall be well.

He revives my soul
and guides me along right pathways for his Name’s sake.

All shall be well.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I shall fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

All shall be well.

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; 
you have anointed my head with oil,
and my cup is running over.

All shall be well.

Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, 
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Every manner of thing shall be well. 

So rest in the love of God at this time. It will soon be Easter. Resurrection reminds us of how things end, but they end because Jesus has come through the most amazing darkness and tough stuff first. All wasn’t well for a time. We’ve maybe lived through and are still living through a very long passion, but it will end, even if we still have some very bumpy days. There’s another Mother Julian reading I find helpful which I’ll share to end these ramblings. Remember these words if today you are only just holding on: 

When we fall, He holds us lovingly, and graciously and swiftly raises us up. In all this work, He takes the part of a kind nurse who has no other care but the welfare of her child. It is His responsibility to save us. It is His glory to do it, and it is His will we should know it. Utterly at home, He lives in us forever.

He did not say: ‘You shall not be tempest-tossed, you shall not be work weary, you shall not be discomforted’. But He said: ‘You shall not be overcome’. God wants us to heed those words so that we shall always be strong in trust, both in sorrow and in joy.

All shall be well? Yes, all manner of the things shall be well.