Midwives of the Kindom

 Midwifes Are Uniquely Built for Chaos.

Could the Gospel for us this morning BE that we are uniquely built for chaos?

 

Professor Kimberly Russaw of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, shared the phrase and idea of midwives being uniquely built for chaos. As she reflects on the Exodus text she notes the contextual chaos that the midwifes, Shiphrah and Puah, lived and worked in: unsettled times, crushing slavery, oppressive authority, government regulations, stressed work environment, suffering and death.  All of this on top of the regular chaos, potential complications, and the unknown of delivering babies into this world.

Russaw also notes that in this moment, for Shiphrah and Puah, their job stands in opposition to what is at hand, despite hardship and chaos, their vocation is all about life and living.

 

Birthing life is a task of courage, embracing the unknown, being as prepared as possible and ready to act, managing the situation moment by moment, being patient, making informed and quick decisions, deescalating stress, supporting and caring for the mother, directing extra hands and helpers, being willing to move through a mix of emotion – everything from joy to grief.

Along with other gifts, these midwifery skills are what make midwives uniquely built for chaos.

 

We may not be midwives in the sense of delivering babies, but are we not in the vocation of birthing the kindom of God? Do we not have skills for birthing life into a suffering and hurting world? Can we identify ourselves, this church community, as midwives of life – love, hope, grace- uniquely built for this time of chaos?

 

On Thursday evening the congregation was invited to hear a presentation that proposed a possible partnership that would birth something new in this neighbourhood on the church property. This conversation came after a day of council members and myself doing a site-tour and a neighbourhood tour. Our guests took an hour to read through the vision wall – the Together We Know process that we have all been invited to participate in. Our guests saw the work that has been done, reflected back to us what we deem important --- they understood this community’s ethos, values, and heart and welcome for displaced persons. They saw that we are church who is a part of God’s mission, a part of what God is doing in the world. Birthing life into the immediate neighbourhood – engaging through the yard, the invitations, the words on the front stairs, the picnic table; birthing life through the resettlement and welcome of those from farther afield.

Our guests reflected back to us, skills of midwifery:

courage, an openness to articulate the current moment and entertain possibilities, know the risks and act, seek information, distill a direction, sit with an array of emotion, pray;

being prepared by putting everything on the table. We are uniquely built for chaos.

 

And this is good, for are we not being called to birth a new thing, to birth life into the neighbourhood, living faith relationship – the Gospel is about proclaiming and delivering life. Amidst chaos, suffering, and death, God is with us always, even to the end of the age.

Birthed, delivered, again and again.

   

German theologian Meister Eckhart, in a Christmas sermon preached in the 1500’s, asked: what good is it to me if Mary gave birth to Christ 1400 years ago, and I do not also give birth to the Son of God in my time and in my culture? We are all meant to be mothers of God. God is always needing to be born.

 

Meister Eckhart’s theology expresses that the scandal of Christianity is not only that we should be born again but that God would be born again is us.

Essential to his theology is that the Word can be born within us. The soul is wholly receptive and pure potentiality. The soul is greater than memory, reason, will, and being – a place beyond God that only God can enter. When God becomes one with soul, eternal Word is birthed within, through the outpouring of the self-giving love of Creator. What happens is an unfolding of the Trinity. This flourishing of Trinity is life birthed – Word is delivered – life and living through God being reborn in us and overflowing life into the world.

 

As I thought about mothering and midwifery, from the story in Exodus, I thought about the individual mothers giving birth and bringing life into a chaotic world. I thought about Shiphrah and Puah as midwifes, two named women who were likely the leaders of a guild of midwives. The midwives not only delivered babies, they are remembered as the women who birthed a nation, because of their actions saving a whole people from genocide.

I believe the story reflects our current times. Individually each of us is here and participating because God has changed us. In each of us God is being born again and again. Because of this we birth Christ into the world, sharing life - love, forgiveness, mercy, grace- with those around us. Yet, this is not the end of the story; in fact it is a very small part of it. We are open to something more – that is because we have joined in community with particular values, ethos, openness, and a holy desire - a mission; together not only can we birth life with those immediately around us, as a community we are a team of midwives with skills to deliver a whole big picture project, life to not just one neighbour, but life to a whole neighbourhood for generations to come.

 

The midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, were true to themselves, their hearts, their believes; their vocation was about life and living. The Bible says, God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, God gave them families.

We know who we are as a community – if you need a reminder or are visiting with us take a look at the vision wall- we know who we are. As a community, our vocation is about life and living.  As we move into making decisions about what will be birthed here, let us hold this promise – God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, God gave them families.

 

Midwifery in these times is not an easy task, it takes courage and all the skills mentioned earlier. Midwives are uniquely built for chaos – as Christ lives within and God is birthed again and again, so are we - midwives, uniquely built for the chaos of these times.

Meister Eckhart’s words bless us this morning – commissioning us for midwifery in this time and place:

Become aware of what is in you. Announce it, pronounce it, produce it, and give birth to it.