The Birth Pangs

Have you ever noticed that moment when the lights dim and the stage lighting wakes up, that moment when even the whisperers stop whispering, that moment when the violins have their bows raised as the conductor raises her arms? Sometimes in a moment like that, the only sound is the sound of silence itself. You hold your breath to listen.

You're walking toward the front door, to bring in mail. For a second, you catch a whiff of fragrance from a scented something. It reminds you of a place you have never been and a time you have no words for.

What is about to happen is matched in meaning by the moment just before it comes.

In the midst of the holiday hustle, I ask you to listen to those just before moments, when the world holds its breath, moments when God is pregnant with possibilities. Moments before you say anything, before there is a yes or no, because you're aware that your response is full of importance.

This Sunday, I'll be focusing on Mark 13. Here we see that God is expecting in our world, which is ever groaning as old centers of power and privilege give way to new patterns of love and justice. As old patterns of violence, that lead to further violence groan, it's through these groans that we see something new coming. To see that God is expecting. In a world where God is giving birth, we are called to watch, to stay in the truth, to stay in peace, joy and hope.  To hold open our arms and be ready.  With open arms, we midwives can cradle something new, something life giving, something like love.

Jim