Birth Mirroring the Cross
A couple of years ago during a powerful, spiritual birth debrief with a client, we talked of a revelation she had had after giving birth, which she believes has given her a greater insight and understanding of the cross.
For women, there is a mirroring of the cross in childbirth. A woman goes through the suffering and pain of childbirth, for the PURPOSE of bringing light and life into the world.
Jesus went through the pain, suffering and even death on the cross for the PURPOSE of bringing light and life and NEW BIRTH, on the other side.
The pain and suffering ENABLES the light and life to come. It couldn’t happen without it. Or at least (for those who give birth with relatively small amounts of pain and suffering) some kind of effort, labour, and of course those 9 months of pregnancy highs and lows! You could even bring in everything else related to womanhood and women’s bodies such as pain and suffering related to menstrual cycles, miscarriage, postnatal depression, menopause and fertility issues.
Women may not have to die but at times during labour it can feel like our bodies can’t do it and it hurts so much. And sometimes women do suffer in a way that brings them close to losing their life.
Just as Jesus GAVE his body fully, and he gave his life, so does a mother in childbirth.
As the pain of the labour comes, the MIRACLE of the birth happens. One meets the other.
Perhaps a mother can endure the pain of the labour, because of the assurance of what is to come. Its not like other pain, because she knows the hope of meeting her baby on the other side. Did Jesus also feel the same? Did he feel the purpose of what he went through because of his certainty of the LIFE and birth that was to come?
For many this may not be a helpful analogy. But for some - maybe this is a new way to look at birth and the new life that came through Christ crucified on the cross, and raised to new life. And when a woman gives birth for the first time, she gloriously becomes a mother, in all her fullness. When this happens in the way that God designed it to happen, there is JOY, fulfillment, and a rich, powerful experience to behold.
The birth of a baby is
wonderful and terrifying;
terrible and beautiful
A baby is born through
pain and with joy;
with love and through fear
The birth of a baby is
precarious and marvellous;
mysterious and gritty
A baby is born with
screams of agony;
and shouts of delight
At the moment of
birth death and life
greet each other
The birth of that baby was no different;
poised between life and death,
God came to us a tiny human form,
with immense stature
-by Paula Gooder-
Helena Whitwell, 2023
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