Mommy - How was I made?

Every parent anticipates the day when the questions from our blossoming kids turn to the origins of their life. It’s not exactly the '“sex” talk. That usually comes later when our kids are teenagers. Parents can and do anticipate that too. No, this talk is about how babies are made, and how one ends up inside of mommy. If you’ve been through it, you know it seems so delicate at the time. While we know we’re not supposed to be ashamed of it our culture has done a really good job of making sex something that we simply don’t talk about in public. So, we muster up the courage to have this conversation and put sensitive ideas into kid language so that they are neither ashamed and afraid, but also not so enamored that words describing genitalia get used in public settings. Alas, as hard as we try, many of us have stories of adding words to our kid’s vocabulary only to hear them regurgitated in public at the most awkward moments. Most parents can relate. And, if you’re not there yet, don’t be afraid of it. It’s part of parenting and there is nothing to be ashamed of or worry about. It seems delicate at the time, but we can all look back and have a good laugh later.

In truth, from early adolescence onward we know how babies are made. God designed sex and intimacy between a man and a woman for unity, pro-creation, and loving enjoyment. So, when we come to a declarative statement in the Apostles Creed such as “conceived by the Holy Spirit” we have to stop ourselves from thinking in our normal human terms. This is utterly unprecedented. There is nothing like it, ever in the history of humanity. To even consider it in human terms would be offensive - and not in the “put-off” kind of way. I mean offensive to the wonder, beauty, power and grand mysterious plan of God to try and see this statement in a purely human context.

I said that this act of conception was without precedent, and it was. However, as Ben Myers points out in his book, The Apostles Creed, the words used by Luke to describe this event hearken back to the beginning of all things. In Luke 1:35 Mary is told that the Holy Spirit would “overshadow” her. Think back to Genesis 1:2 when it says that the Spirit was hovering over the waters while the earth was all dark and formless. What happened next in Genesis was creation. Later, in Genesis 2:7 we are told that God formed man by the dust of the ground (incidentally - a good reminder during Lent) and that the Spirit “breathed” life into him. Dr. Myers points out several other places in scripture where the Spirit was at work bringing forth life and form and substance out of nothing (think of Jesus’ Resurrection, or the Day of Pentecost as two examples). What happened inside of Mary was a new birth. Not just any birth, but the birth of a new Adam. A second-century pastor Hippolytus said about this miraculous conception that in the virgin’s womb the Son of God “refashioned the first-formed Adam in himself.” (Ben Myers, The Apostles’ Creed, 44.)

We know this was no ordinary pro-creative event. This was the Holy Spirit at work doing what He has done since the beginning of time. He brings forth life. He brings forth miracles that offer hope. By impregnating Mary with the Son of God, the Holy Spirit was making way for Jesus to ultimately give that same Holy Spirit to the rest of the world. It would not be impossible for God to do it some other way. It’s just that he chose to send this world himself in the form of His Son by way of the Holy Spirit. I just can’t say it better than Ben Myers when he says this: “Jesus is the bearer of the Spirit and the sender of the Spirit. In him, the Spirit creates a new beginning for the whole human race. That is what the church proclaims in the concise but astonishing words of the ancient catechism: “conceived by the Holy Spirit.” (Ben Myers, The Apostles’ Creed, 46.)

The next time you’re tempted to take the incarnation of the Word for granted, consider where we’d be without that ultimately loving gift. Consider what this world might look like sans the person of Jesus and the gift of His Holy Spirit. Don’t be afraid to ponder the formation process as an essential part of the core doctrine of our faith in God. Jesus was indeed born of a virgin woman named Mary thanks to the pro-creative work of the Holy Spirit. It remains unprecedented in history, and yet illustrative of his genuine and loving work throughout history to create and help us live out our earthly existence.

Have a blessed week!

Pastor Scott