Awaken to the Role of Midwife
Robin Linkhart, Council of Twelve Apostles
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. -Isaiah 30:18
Group discernment is a spiritual practice of opening ourselves to God and to one another in the process of decision making. It is a journey of discovery, awakening, and letting go. It is an exercise in careful listening and trust.
In May 2020, our spiritual directors introduced us to the concept of Art Spirituality. Art gives voice to beauty, truth, possibility, visions, dreams, pain, grief, illumination, conflict, death, life, change, the sacred presence, and infinite other dimensions of the human experience throughout the ages.
The practice of Art Spirituality is discovering an artistic creation (poem, song, photograph, painting, sculpture, weaving, dance, drama, words from a novel, and more) that draws you in and speaks to you. Our assignment was to find it and then spend time paying close attention to what it was speaking to us.
I discovered a grove of closely knit trees surrounding a tree whose interwoven branches formed a womblike structure in the center. An organic community encircling the image of gestation captured in photograph. A snapshot of living art created by members of the plant kingdom whose silent chorus prophetically sang words that pressed upon my heart an invitation: “Awaken to the role of midwife.” The image drew me into remembering all the times God has labored on our behalf, bringing forth from us something new. Holding us as we breathed through the pain, letting go of a pre-determined shape and form and structure. Encouraging us to embrace what was being born. God, the midwife, coaching us in the way of suffering love and the process of becoming-a journey of transformation clinging to hope in the face of uncertainty and fear. An exercise in careful listening and trust.
I opened my hymnal and softly sang the words to “Womb of Life and Source of Being” (Community of Christ Sings 62). Our time for personal meditation ended and we moved into the community spiritual practice. Every member of the council shared the artistic expression they had discovered and what it spoke to them. The blessing of the individual practice geometrically exploded into multiple dimensions of seeing and hearing through the voice and experience of each sister and brother. The Holy Spirit filled the miles between us as we peered into each other’s faces on our computer screens, and the ties that bind held us close.
Lent is a time to open ourselves to God. It is a time to practice careful listening, to trust as we journey the way of suffering love that leads to the cross of Christ, to prepare for the celebration of transformation from life to death to life anew. “Trust what is being born. Have faith in divine purposes. Persist in Hope” (Stephen M. Veazey, “Words of Counsel,” 13 April 2019).
Prayer Phrase
Are we moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One?
Spiritual Practice
Gospel Contemplation (John 13:1-15)
Each week during Lent, you are invited to pray with a different gospel story from the life of Christ. Use your senses and imagination to enter the text. Allow it to come to life in you, observing details, noticing interactions, even engaging in dialogue. Notice where you find yourself in the story and how you feel about what is happening. Notice what it evokes in you or invites of you. Take time to journal or enter silent prayer to reflect on your experience and to sense where the Spirit may be leading you through this scriptural encounter.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click hereto read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
