Birth Pangs

Mark 13:1-8
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
 
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2013%3A1-8&version=NRSVUE
 
What an interesting image – birth pangs – that Jesus includes in his foretelling of the Temple’s destruction in AD 70. The whole passage is certainly not an uplifting one, that includes warnings to not be led astray by some who will come and pretend to be Jesus or who see themselves as the Messiah – the One who will save people. Nations and kingdoms will rise against one another, even families and friends will war against one another, during this time of uprising and upheaval. It may not be uplifting, but there is wisdom in Jesus’ words as well as a word of hope.
 
Jesus’ word of hope assures them that this fall of the Temple won’t be “the” end. It may seem like the end of the world, but it’s only the end of this era. It’s the beginning of the end, but not the actual end. I’m not sure how that brings hope to those who will be caught in the middle of the war – the women, children, and elderly – and those who will experience great turmoil. Hearing Jesus say, “This must take place” (v.7) offers little hope for those who will lose loved ones and perhaps their own lives.  
 
But it does offer wisdom. What wise word does Jesus offer by saying, “This must take place?” Some have interpreted that to mean that it is a fulfillment of prophecy, and others interpret it to mean that God will bring on suffering to punish people. I have a hard time with that word “must” in Jesus’ statement. I explored how other translations phrased it: The Common English Bible said, “These things must happen,” and The Voice translation said, “These things will have to happen.” The one that really spoke to me was from The Message, “This is routine history.” This is how things work – always have, always will.       
 
When I dove deeper into the Greek words “dei” for the word “must,” the definitions unlocked it for me. It read: “it is necessary.” The other Greek word for birth pangs, “ginomai,” was defined as “to become, to happen, to be born.” Jesus said that it is necessary for these things to happen in order to be born. In other words, something must die before something new takes place. The end is always the beginning of something new. That’s how it has worked throughout history and is the necessary process of rebirth.
 
We cannot be reborn while holding onto the things from the past. We cannot welcome the new things to come if we are not willing to let go of the things that need to die within us and within our broken systems. Something must die before something new is born. That’s the wisdom that Jesus offers.
 
Jesus’ wisdom brings hope by being honest about this process. He shares that the process of new birth is hard work and likens it to birth pangs, childbirth. Childbirth is called labor for a reason. It takes hard work and agony to bring new life, but once new life is born and we stare into the eyes of hope and love, we will realize that the hard work and pain were necessary. We cannot take an easy way out or just be handed new life without the hard work of transformation.
 
As any woman who has experienced pregnancy, childbirth, or motherhood knows, this process transforms us into a new person while also birthing a new generation, a new era. The person prior to childbirth is gone, and we can never go back to being that person. That person dies on the birthing table, but it is necessary, it must happen, it must take place, for the new life to be born. That is Jesus’ words of wisdom and hope to his disciples – this is not the end. Hold on. It will be hard, but new life is coming.  
 
Reflection Questions:
Have you experienced this process – that something must die in order for something to be born? Do you agree with Eugene Peterson that this is routine history? How specifically?
What needs to die within you in order for something new to be born?
Does this passage give you hope? If so, how or in what ways?
What is to be born? (hint hint, next Sunday is Christ the King Sunday when we celebrate Christ’s Reign.)
​
Pray:
Help us, Holy One, to bear down and push through the newness that is to come. Transform us into being who we need to become for you to reign.

Action:
Examine what needs to die in your heart and life, and take one active step in letting it go.
 
*New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.