Midwives Of Salvation

Exodus 1:19 Luke 22-23

Now there is a great depth of Christian knowledge and learning contained within these four walls every Wednesday morning, but if I were to ask you where you would look in the bible to find the  stories of two women named Shiphrah and Puah – I’m sure at least some of you would be struggling.

They are in fact a pair of Hebrew midwives and their story begins the long epic of the Exodus contained in chapter one of that good book. They had been instructed by the king of Egypt to kill every firstborn male child they delivered, but because they were God fearing women, they disobeyed the king’s edict and let the children live. It was to this background that Moses was born, survived his birth and was eventually hidden in the bulrushes to be discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised as her own. For a moment  the whole salvation history hung upon the god fearing nature  of those two women and heaven must have held its breath.

Last week I attended a wonderful presentation of the Easter story at St Matthew’s school. It was put on by a professional drama company of just four people and whilst they played the lead roles, they involved all the children in the minor parts – giving them a single line to say – or a single action to make, without any rehearsal or pre planning. It was intensely moving to see a grown up Jesus surrounded by twelve disciples at the last supper, all in their blue school uniforms and to see another go running to the empty tomb with Mary, and to shout out – “He is not here – he is risen”

It strikes me as vital to understand the way in which God always uses little people doing tiny things to bring salvation forwards in big strides. The Gospel stories are littered with all sorts of walk on characters, who step forward, become part of something amazing for a few verses and then fade back into the shadows again. Midwives  of salvation I shall call them. They help to bring something new to birth and then move on.

If your Holy Week is to be a devotional one, you will have several opportunities to hear the story of the passion from start to finish. Inevitably, as we listen, we centre on the character of Jesus and his stature during his time of suffering, but as we go through the story, so we are aware of a number of midwives of salvation, people just like Shiphrah and Puah, who are right there alongside Jesus, and without their “bringing to birth goodness” the story would take a different turn.

Mary Magdalene and the whole group of women who followed Jesus to the bitter end. Simon of Cyrene who carried his cross. The Centurion who suddenly understood the truth., The repentant thief. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. The disciple whom Jesus loved and the wife of Pilate. They all hover around about our Lord and something of the character of Jesus rubs off on them at a vital time.

I find this not just interesting, but deeply challenging. For in matters of salvation, you and I might conclude we hold little clout. Our ways are quiet and hesitant, we are not sure if we ever have influenced the course of anything much, but if we can follow the examples of the midwives of salvation, and simply hover round about Jesus as much as we can, follow where he is going, not knowing what part we shall play, we will come unsuspectingly into that moment where we bring something little to birth, and may never ever be aware that we have done it.

Pray yourself into the little story of Shiphrah and Puah – where does your faith demand that you take a different stance from the one others demand of you.

Pray yourself into the passion story this year by identifying with one of the many walk on parts contained in the story – and make yourself ready to be of use in bringing life to birth.

Think about the children at St Matthew’s school who have stood in the place of disciples this week, scarcely knowing what they were doing and when you see those blue uniforms bobbing about around the town, offer up a prayer, that they may never forget the place where they stood for a while last Tuesday.

RH 31.3.10