Julianne's ponderings

The Holy Spirit is midwife to born again understandings of God. Anyone who has committed to the Way of following Jesus has been born again. So the crucial thing for most of us is have we matured and grown in wisdom since our rebirth as was said of Jesus?

It is believed by many people that the church is going through a process of rebirth. This is being called by some, “the emerging church.” Last September I attended a conference where the theme was, “Midwives to Change.”  One the speaker looked at what it means to be a midwife. She pointed out that traditionally, midwives were mothers who had already been through the birth process. Midwives are there to assist the woman giving birth. They are never the centre of attention which is focused on both the mother and baby. After the birth and a few weeks of follow-up, the midwife steps back, trusting the family to raise the child. At maturity, no one would probably remember the midwife who so faithfully attended the birth, but without her, the child may not have survived.

Now it is the church which must be born again and it is happening through lay people. The role of clergy is as midwives to this birth, not mothers. Throughout Scripture those, including Jesus, who have brought God’s most important messages were lay people, not religious. Often they were people who were considered insignificant or unsuitable by their communities, but not by God.

Sometimes babies who threatened the powerful have not been allowed to live. Midwives have been instructed to kill unwanted ones. We have the stories from the time of Moses and of King Herod of boy babies being killed. As midwives of change deliver new life for the Church may they be as bold as the midwives Shiphrah and Puah [Exodus 1:15] who at great personal risk, refused to kill the babies of the Hebrew women.