Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isa 43:19)

God is doing a new thing in the world today. The Holy Spirit is up to something. We all feel it. Despite the numerous challenges facing our world and the church, new life is emerging. New things are being born. And, other new things are getting ready to be born. John Philip Newell, widely regarded as one of the leading voices of celtic spirituality today, emphasizes the importance of the idea of both God and us humans being born anew. In his book The Rebirthing of God: Christianity’s struggle for New Beginnings, he writes, “This phrase, more familiarly rendered as ‘born again,’ has been hijacked by religious fundamentalism to give the impression that we need to become something other than ourselves. The phrase has been applied so often to preach a turning from what is deepest within us and a denial of our human nature that many in the Christian household understandably have recoiled from its use. But the phrase needs to be reclaimed. It is close to the heart of Jesus’ teachings and points to the necessity of what is deepest in us coming forth again. Its urgency speaks of what is at the heart of all things–made of God–being set free to emerge in radically new ways. The Rebirthing of God is precisely this. It is pointing to a radical reemergence of the Divine from the deep within us. We do not have to create it. We cannot create it. But we can let it spring forth and be reborn in our lives. We can be part of midwifing new holy births in the world.” (introduction, x) Our reading from Exodus today certainly features two brave, clever Hebrew midwives, who are actually named: Shiphrah and Puah. When ordered directly by Pharoah to kill all the male children of the Israelites, they intentionally disobey him, cleverly telling Pharaoh “the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” And they successfully trick Pharaoh. God had a different mission for Shiphrah and Puah than Pharaoh did. God’s mission was to help the Israelites become numerous and strong. God’s mission was to birth something new: a society with the courage to stand up to tyrannical, authoritarian leaders, to overcome slavery, and to stand up for their own dignity, rights, and value as human beings.

In Romans, we read about how God has given each of us the grace of a different kind of spiritual gift, just like different members of the body have different functions. To some, He has given the gift of prophecy, to others, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, diligence, compassion, and cheerfulness. I would like to add to that list the gifts that midwives bring: the gifts of connection, wisdom, courage, patience, calm, and feminine intuition. In our gospel reading from Matthew today, Jesus praises Peter for understanding who he is, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Peter had the spiritual gift of faith: he believed in Jesus, and in God. Peter recognized that, in Jesus, God is doing a new thing. God is raising up a leader who stood with the poor, the oppressed, and the outcast. And God, through Jesus, is conquering the ways of domination, oppression, and death. In their place, God is creating a new kin-dom of love, life, and light. God used Jesus as a midwife, to facilitate the birth of a new kind of world, God’s Kin-dom on hearth. In Newell’s recent book Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What our Souls Know and Healing the World, he talks about St. Brigid, who, for the Celts, is an embodiment of the sacred feminine.

He teaches that The Celts of the Hebrides Isles off the coast of western Scotland speak of Brigid “as the ‘woman on her knees,’ a reference not to her posture in prayer, but rather, to her posture in midwifing. Family homes in the Hebrides were usually one-room dwellings. Birth happened at the threshold of the house. This is where the woman in labor could bear down by pushing against the opposite sides of the stone doorway. The expectant mother would be on one knee, hands pressed against the two sides of the threshold, bearing down in labor. The midwife would be on both knees in front of her, assisting in the birth.” Newell continues, “Brigid challenges us to be people on our knees, that is, people midwifing new births for this moment in time. The good news is that we do not have to create the births. Our role, rather, is to midwife what is trying to come forth from deep within the human soul” (64-65).

We each are invited to midwife new things that are coming into being in each of our lives personally. And also, we, as a church, are invited to midwife new things that are coming into being here at St. Aidan’s. One such new thing that seems to be emerging is the Hearthstone Project. A newly forming non-profit, which is looking for a church partner and approached us as hopeful partners, ran by Evie and her team, Alysen and Alejandro, the Hearthstone Project, in their words, “was created from a shared belief that our community deserves more accessible, compassionate, and holistic support. At our core, we're three professionals who saw a gap in services—and decided to build part of the solution.” The project “exists to bring essential resources, dignity, and support closer to the communities that need them most.” So, “The Hearthstone Project is creating a community resource and referral center that brings essential services closer to those who need them most. Through clothing, food, hygiene supplies, housing navigation, and personalized referrals, we strive to restore dignity, reduce barriers, and help individuals build lasting stability.” And we at St. Aidan’s have the beautiful opportunity to help midwife this new non-profit into being. Even the name of this project has an interesting connection to St. Brigid, since she was known as the saint who midwives at new beginnings, who extravagantly embodies compassion and boundless generosity toward the poor and those who seek refuge, and she is deeply connected with home and the hearth, with light, fire, and hospitality. She is deeply connected with the Hearthstone, the stone slab directly in front of a fireplace. St. Aidan’s has long been a place of refuge and hospitality for the poor and hungry.

St Aidan’s was instrumental in starting Snow Cap in the early 1960’s, along with other area churches. For years, we had St. Aidan’s Basket, through which we had a weekly hot meal and clothing for those in the neighborhood who needed a little help, as well as sack lunches. Since 2024, when we called Mother Sara, St. Aidan’s has supported Hope & Bread, a street church that meets in Montevilla Park and provides a hot meal for anyone who comes. And now, “See, I am doing a new thing!” A new baby is being born, the Hearthstone Project, midwived by Evie and her team, with support from us here at St. Aidan’s. Just a few weeks ago, during an impromptu vestry meeting, Cheryle moved, Patrick seconded, and the council approved a motion, to “invite the Hearthstone Project to be part of our beloved community and that we provide them with the rummage room in the basement for storage, an office on the east upper floor of Murdock Hall, and space in Murdock Hall, especially by the north window, east side, where the pews are currently stored. Other details---dates, times, and charges---would be determined later.” There are lots of details to figure out. There are a lot of unknowns.Does any parent ever know exactly what’s in store when they have a new child? All we really know is to buckleup for a new adventure.“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” God is doing that here. Let’s midwife the new things being born herein our midst, that your kin-dom come, your will be done, here on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.