Midwifing God’s Intentions in Exodus 1

by Lee Hinson-Hasty

This week’s Hebrew Bible lectionary reading from Exodus 1 is one of my favorites. It reminds me of my Facebook Live conversation a few weeks ago with the Rev. Dr. Frank Yamada, Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools, in which he described his leadership as a hospice chaplain and midwife.

Shiprah and Puah, the midwives to the Hebrews whom many biblical scholars think of as Egyptian because they had access to Pharaoh, commit to God and possibly the first act of civil disobedience when they allow the Hebrew boys to live. You see, they are instructed by Pharoah to kill the boys in childbirth (Ex 1:16).

I wonder, could midwifery as a metaphor could frame what we are doing in the Church and the world today? Could our churches, ministries, seminaries, presbyteries – and much more – serve as midwives to give birth to what God imagines is needed next in the Church and the world? Dr. Rodger Nishioka is right, I think, we should not treat our time as an interruption, after which we will return to the status quo, but a disruption where we change direction… kind of like when a family and community welcome a new baby. No one is ever the same.

Rev. Dr. Nancy Ramsay, former dean of Brite Divinity School and also professor at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, has reflected on the metaphor of midwifery in the art of pastoral diagnosis. She notes,

In a culture anxious about both power and authority, (midwifery as a) metaphor offers us a way of joining caring, authentic presence and expertise while recovering the collaborative, differentiated authority.

She goes on to say, “Childbirth can be complicated. It is never painless. Babies are not always healthy or wanted. Infertility is painfully common.”

Midwives sit with the woman in labor. Midwives are a coach to coax the baby, calm and comfort the mother by actively listening to needs and addressing them, sometimes before the mother asks or thinks about them. In some countries midwives still visit the mother and child after the birth and help around the house doing jobs to support the mother and newborn like washing the laundry!

I wonder if your mentor, pastor, or educator (and that may be the same person) helps midwife you, your congregation, and your community?

If not, I wonder if they or you could?