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Getting Ready For Baby and Birth is Biblical

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So, you might all think this is sort of backwards, but I’m officially on paternity leave, though the baby hasn’t come yet. Mindy, on the other hand, is still working and plans to right up until the baby is born. Before you laugh, I’ve got good reason to be off, caring for Mindy and preparing for the baby to come. I know there is a ton to do, I just am not that sure what some of it is. So, I’m making a list, and I’m gonna try and do as much of the list as I can before the baby arrives. But, seeing as I’ve never done this before I could use some help knowing what things I need to do that I might not have thought about yet. Any ideas?

Alright, the other thing I thought I’d ramble about, since today is Sunday and I try to be a little more spiritual in nature on Sundays, is about Birth. I’ve appreciated the conversation that struck up when I mentioned the idea of birth being a sacrament. If you missed that feel free to check out my post, but mostly check out the comments on the post, The Sacred Page, and this CT article Melissa directed me to a while back.

Mindy and I discussed this a little bit the other day and one thing we talked about is that conversation about birth, pregnancy and childbearing as biblical is nearly absent from most churches, and seemingly taboo in sermons. Our initial thought was that maybe it’s really not talked about in the Bible much, but I’m not sure that’s the case. One of Christian’s most celebrated holiday’s is concerning a Birth! We tend to focus on a pristine, angelic like baby Jesus, rather then labor pains and placentas, but that’s how God incarnate came into the world. I’ve never heard a sermon about pregnancy being sacred, but we annually read that Mary has found favor with God and her reward is nine months of pregnancy. And lest you say this is a unique occurrence reserved for immaculate conceptions only, don’t forget Elizabeth and Zechariah are blessed with the pregnancy of John. I could go on, but I’ll stop.

I guess my point is just this, I think we’ve neglected a large part of our faith, sacraments, community and more by not valuing pregnancy and birth as a gift from God and a part of our faith and spirituality. I’m not the one going through the physical changes, so I’m not really one to talk or be any kind of authority on this. Instead, I feel it’s important for me to step back and say, ‘wow, there is something special going on here and I am excited to have an opportunity to observe and come along side this experience.’

Devotional thoughts

Sacraments: Is Birth a Sacrament?

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I don’t know much about sacraments, I know very little in fact. Some of what I know is basically that sacraments are things that religious folks (particularly some Christian denominations) are into, to varying degrees. Sacraments are ‘special’ things and events, stuff like baptism and communion. I wasn’t sure of what I thought about the concept, but I liked one of my profs views back in college, Quakers believe everything is a sacrament.

From Wikipedia on Sacraments:

The Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) do not practice formal sacraments, believing that all activities should be considered holy. Rather, they are focused on an inward transformation of one’s whole life. The Quakers use the words “Baptism” and “Communion” to describe the experience of Christ’s presence and his ministry in worship.

So, the point of this topic, was just that I was thinking about ‘special’ moments in my life, and more or less, religious/spiritual experiences. We haven’t gone through the birth of our baby yet, but we’ve had 9 months of pregnancy and we are eagerly anticipating this amazing event of bringing another human life into the world. If anything is considered ‘sacred’ and ‘sacramental,’ I think birth should be on the list. Of course I don’t know enough of about the theology or religious tradition, but I figured bringing it up would give others a chance to chime in on that.