Life-Giving Labor

Now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant. – Isaiah 42:14b (NRSV) 

I have never given birth. I’ve never witnessed a birth. As a pastor, I generally show up in the maternity ward after the hard work is done, when the mother and baby are cleaned up and resting peacefully between spotless sheets. But I have it on good authority that giving birth to a new human being is a messy and arduous affair, filled with cries, gasps, pants, and an abundance of bodily fluids. 

Given his time and culture, it’s doubtful that Isaiah had ever seen a birth either. Yet, he knew that new life seldom comes without hard labor and struggle. The prophet also believed that was as true for almighty God as for any person giving birth. In Isaiah 42:9, God declares, “New things!” In response, Isaiah calls the people to “Sing to the Lord a new song!” He praises God as a “soldier” who shouts and “shows himself mighty against his foes” (42:13), bringing new life to the people.  

But then the prophet does a 180. He changes the image of God from a man of war to a woman in labor, who cries out not in the heat of battle but in the giving of birth. Who gasps and pants in labor as much as any soldier going up against a foe. The only difference between the two is the purpose of their travail. For one, it is to take life. For the other, it’s to give it.  

Prayer
As we prepare for the One born of a woman, you ask us to consider who and what we are waiting for. Help us, Lord, to choose wisely. Amen.

About the Author
Talitha Arnold is Senior Minister of the United Church of Santa Fe (UCC), Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is the author of Mark Parts 1 and 2 of the Listen Up! Bible Study series and Worship for Vital Congregations.