Exodus 1:8 - 22

Matthew 16:13-20

Jinny has begun the countdown. One week to go. Then, she will be done with college for good. And, like many kids preparing to set forth in this cruel world, she’s kind of a wreck. On the one hand, she’s had it with classes. She’s ready to be done. On the other hand, how will she ever find a job... especially in this recession? Is she ready to grow up?

The administration let her walk with her classmates at commencement in May, but she has one, last credit to fulfill this summer before she officially graduates. To be honest, she could think of worse ways to spend the summer before heading out into the real world. The Bible as Literature class hasn’t been bad at all. Interesting reading material. And, her professor has been surprisingly passionate during lectures.

Last week, Dr. Edmonds was lecturing on the moment that Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. He had shared with the class how important this text is to the Roman Catholic church, which claims a direct apostolic succession back to Peter, the rock on whom Jesus said the church would be built.

He also explained that the Gates of Hades was an actual, physical place in the city of Caesarea Philippi. He reminded them that Jesus’ disciples were good, Jewish boys who would never imagine going to a place like that... a Sin City if there ever was one. Caesarea Philippi was the center of worship for the goat god, Pan, the one with the flute and the drunken romps with women out in the woods. People came there from all over the Roman Empire to the temple built for Pan to join in worship festivals which included all kinds of debauchery… including goats. There was a cliff with a giant crack, called the Gates of Hades, because they believed that was the birthplace of Pan. All the spirits from the underworld would emerge to earth from there. These festivals with the goats where to appease the spirits of Hades that emerged from the crack in the cliff.

Goats? The whole class was in shocked silence.

He followed up with the question, “Why do you think that Jesus brought his disciples, these good Jewish boys, to a place of such profanity to declare that, on this Rock, he would build his church?”

More silence.

Edmonds wanted to tell them that it was those kind of people - the ones with the goats - even they would be would be a part of the church of Jesus... not just the good, pure ones. He wanted to tell them that Jesus wanted the disciples to bring his message, not just to their own, but to those people who were so lost. They would be a part of the Christ’s church, too. And, Jesus wanted them not to fear encountering such people, because, with the Son of the Living God on their side, even the Gates of Hades - would not prevail against them. In fact, in Jesus, they would have more power than they could ever imagine.

He wanted to say all that, and more... But, he caught himself. His year-end evaluations had gotten more and more critical of him being too “preachy.” It was a state school, and he wanted to keep his job.

Instead, he wrote the assignment on the board and walked out the door, “Given the content of the course thus far, how do you understand Jesus when he said: ‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ One thousand words.”

As the students began filing out of class, Jinny saw Sarah. “Can you believe he just walked out?” Jinny said, “He wasn’t even half-way through!”

“It’s a good thing,” said Sarah. “I gotta run. Actually, what are you doing right now?”

Jinny had been immediately intrigued by Sarah the first day of class back in July. In a classroom full of teenagers and twenty-somethings who still acted like teenagers, Sarah was almost as old as Jinny’s mom. And she took the class more seriously than anyone else in the class, by far. Though, once or twice, it seemed like she could barely stay awake during class.

Jinny had never met a midwife before. The two were assigned to be study partners, but they really spent most of the time talking about Sarah’s job - the late-night trips to homes all over the county, the different things women did to relax before the labor really kicked it up a notch, the time the baby was born down in the laundry room... the baby came too fast for momma to get back upstairs.

The more Jinny heard about it, the more intriguing it sounded. It would mean more school, and that felt like the last thing Jinny wanted. Plus, her Dad would never go for it. But, still, she wondered...

“Baby’s on the way, and my partner’s on vacation,” Sarah said, as they left the classroom together. “I could use an extra pair of hands. You wanna come along?”

The rest was a blur for Jinny as they hopped in Sarah’s little Ford Focus and drove down the back road through several small towns. They came to a row of shacks and managed to find the right house. It was the only one with lights on. Everyone else was at work in the chicken processing plant down the road.

When they went in, it was dark and strangely silent, with a girl sitting on a bed in the corner. A man knelt next to her, holding her hand. Several older women were around the edges of the room. Sarah spoke with the girl in short, soothing phrases in some foreign language. Jinny was pretty sure it was Spanish.

Jinny was certain that this girl, about to give birth in this shack, was younger than her. But, Jinny had no idea how far she had traveled or how many times she had risked her life to have the privilege of living in this country. And, Jinny didn’t know that the young man - who looked lovingly into the girl’s eyes - hadn’t worked a day since he hurt his arm in the plant back in May. And, she certainly could have no idea how the two of them had lied awake, night after night, trying to figure out a way to provide for the baby that was God’s gift to them.

Though everything seemed to happen so fast, Jinny remembered the way the girl would close her eyes and moan when the early contractions came. She remembered the fear in the man’s eyes when the contractions increased. She remembered how the vein bulged in the girl’s forehead as she pushed. She remembered being amazed at how strong that girl was.

But, most of all, she remembered how Sarah watched, and waited. So calm. She remembered how she spoke - those strange words - to sooth the girl. She remembered watching the muscles in Sarah’s hands as she held the girl when she pushed.

And then, there it was... that messy, perfect baby... Sarah guiding it into the world and onto the mother’s chest.

She watched the family huddle around the little one. The baby broke the silence with a loud cry and wide smiles stretched out on faces of the old women. Mommy counted the toes. Daddy stroked the thick, black hair. Sarah smiled.

And, tears streamed down Jinny’s cheeks.

The essay is due tomorrow. Jinny knows she’s supposed to write something about the keys to the kingdom of heaven… how it’s not like other kingdoms. Edmonds always says, “Remember, there’s no Pharaoh, no Caesar, not even a president in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

But, all she can think about is the family in that shack, and how Sarah guided that baby into this world. Now, that’s power.

Amen.