Pentecost XXIII, Cycle B

"Happy Birth Pangs!"

November 16, 2003

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Lessons:  Daniel 12:1-3;  Hebrews 10:11-25;  St. Mark 13:1-8

     I don't know about you, but I'm not really looking forward to that "birth pangs" part of the end of time, that Jesus talks about in our gospel lesson today.  When some of the disciples asked him privately, "Tell us when will the end of time be--and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?"  Jesus answered, "There will be wars and rumors of wars;  nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom--earthquakes in various places;  and famines.  This is but the beginning of the birth pangs."

     That's just the beginning--of the birth pangs!  Just the beginning--wars and earthquakes and nation rising against nation--and famines.  Like mothers, nine months pregnant, wouldn't we just as soon skip the whole birth pangs thing?  We've had enough already--with the wars and earthquakes and famines--with the terrorism and violence in the middle-east and long-term food shortages in Africa.  And these are just the beginnings?  This is like--false labor?  Daniel, in our first lesson says, "at that time--the end of time--there shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence."  Right.  Birth pangs.  The dictionary defines pangs as:  "a sudden, sharp, and brief pain--physical or emotional--a spasm of distress".

     I've seen birth pangs.  Some of you, women, have felt them.  I remember the maternity ward nurse saying, "It's not pain--it's discomfort."  It sounds like Jesus is saying it will be more than discomfort.  He calls it, "pangs":  sudden, sharp, brief, pain;  a spasm of distress.  And, I'm not necessarily looking forward to it.  Oh, I'm looking forward to Jesus coming again--in power and glory, for the final judgement.  Again, as Daniel explains it, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."  The Church of Jesus Christ prays, "Amen, Come, Lord Jesus, Come!"  But, when it's time for you to come, could you shorten up, or soften, or do away with--the birth pangs part?

     I suppose we could pray for that with all our hearts, from now, till the second coming.  But--Jesus seems clear, here, and everywhere else we read about the end of time in Scripture.  The birth pangs seem to be an important part of the end of earthly time.  Scripture seems pretty consistent in saying that there will be signs--and the signs will be darkness, storms, earthquakes, fighting, famine--you know, the usual so-called "acts of God" which insurance doesn't cover.  You read the Bible, you can't miss it.  God doesn't seem "undecided" about what it's going to be like at the end of earthly history.  And we ask, "Why, God?"  "Why is it that there must be 'birth pangs'?"  "Couldn't we transition to eternity without this violent, earth-shattering upheaval?" 

     And God might answer, "Well, you can't have a birth, without birth pangs, can you?"  Oh, I know, you can have a C-Section--but that's not natural, is it?  In the natural world--in a world like ours, where God has created certain things to happen, normally, in predictable, expected ways--birth pangs always accompany births.  It's quite simple, really.  With births, the birth pangs bring to an end, to a death, so to speak, certain things.  The pregnancy ends.  The time of preparation ends.  The amniotic sac bursts, and out flows, water, and blood, and-- stuff.  The womb purges itself to make ready for the birth.  The baby's life in the womb comes to an end--and the transition from old life to new;  from the womb, to the new world;  from being in a kind of "nether-world" existence to being truly alive, and in the presence of one's creator-parents--in this transition, there is a certain discomfort--unpleasantness--pain, both for the baby, and for the mother!  And in spite of it all--the process continues as God created it to continue.  And we allow it to continue, because we know, that from these birth pangs--comes, a birth!  A new life!  A wonderful new existence that will bring all involved, greater joy and happiness and love than could ever have been imagined, before.  We live through the birth pangs, because it heralds--a birth!  And though we thank God that there is modern medicine, and C-Sections, and neo-natal intensive care units, that help when births don't happened naturally, the vast majority of births still have the old-fashioned-- birth pangs.  And we get through it because--there's light at the end of that birth tunnel;  we get through it because there is the hope, that there will be new life, after the pain and struggle.

     And maybe that's why Jesus refers to the signs of the end of earthly time as--birth pangs.  To remind us that it will be a--birth.  To remind us, when we are in the midst of it, that there is light at the end of the tunnel…there is HOPE!  There is God's PROMISE--that there is more to come.  The author of our second lesson, from Hebrews, reminds us of that hope and that promise, as he writes about the approaching second coming of Christ, which he refers to as the Day of the Lord.  He writes to Christians who are worried about what will happen in the Day of the Lord;  who see some of the signs of the end of earthly time, and are afraid, and uncertain what they should do as they suffer through these birth pangs.  And to these struggling Christians, he writes,  "Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence that we will enter the sanctuary (eternal life), by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through His flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God…let us approach that day with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water--in other words, washed clean in baptism.  And let us hold fast to the confession of our hope, without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.  And finally, in this in between time;  as we await for the coming of the Day of the Lord, let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more, as you see the Day approaching."

     Here, our reading from Hebrews affirms the hope we have, based on the promise of Jesus--who is ultimately faithful.  He urges us to have confidence--to hold fast to the confession of our hope, without wavering--even as we see, and experience, the birth pangs.  And what are we to do, to get us through?  How are we to occupy our time, in the mean-time? 

     I believe that as much as anything, techniques like Lamaze; techniques for breathing, and counting, and relaxing during child-birth, are helpful because they give the mother and father something to do--something to concentrate on, rather than concentrating on the birth pangs.  Without a doubt, increased oxygen, and blood-flow, and self-control are valuable to managing the birth process--but concentrating on positive things is always better than concentrating on one's pain and discomfort.  And isn't that what Hebrews is telling us?  As we see the Day of the Lord approaching,  don't sit and meditate on the birth pangs;  don't sit and worry about the wars and earthquakes and famines;  rather, in the mean-time, let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds;  let us not neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another--and all the more, as Jesus' return seems imminent.  This is spiritual Lamaze, for believers.  We are not to worry, excessively about the birth pangs that will come.  We are not to obsess about how bad it will be.  We are to keep our minds fixed on the light at the end of the tunnel--the new heaven and the new earth that will be born out of the old.  We are to hold fast to the hope of our confession--the hope that from these birth pangs, will be a new birth--to an eternal existence.  And throughout, we are to stir each other up to love and good works;  we are to gather together faithfully for worship;  we are to encourage one another, and more and more, the closer and closer we come to the Day of the Lord.  So that we are not afraid.  So that we will not be led astray.  So that we will remain faithful, and be prepared, for the coming of the Lord, whenever he comes.  So that we can even say, happy birth pangs--as we wait for the Lord!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.