A Culture of Life

What should society do with the unborn, the disabled, the dying, the abused?
Bonnie McMaken
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When my husband and I were expecting our first child, we knew it would be
miraculous. But nothing could have prepared us for the bizarre wonder we
experienced when she made her appearance in the visible world. After her birth
we spent a lot of time pointing to her, then pointing to my stomach, asking,
"Wait, so that was in there?" We understood the biology, but in some ways,
nobody can explain the process of life. There is no other word for itit's simply
a miracle.
This miracle is worth receiving from God and worth the painphysical and
emotionalit causes us. But we don't have to be biological parents to think of
ourselves as life-bearers. Because we are created in the image of a loving God,
we all have the opportunity to share with him in this mystery of life. We are each
called to support a culture of life in whatever context we find ourselves.
We Fear Life and Death
For Christians, though, it's not always easy to encourage life around us. We live
in a culture that doesn't foster life. In fact, we're pretty backwards when it comes
to issues of life. In some states, women cannot legally give birth to their baby in
their own home, but they can end their baby's life with a "simple" out-patient
procedure. The international demand for trafficked personsmany of them
childrengrows each year, even as Christian and non-Christians organizations
tirelessly combat this societal evil.
We fear life. Children are seen as a burden. They get in the way of our careers,
our ambition. They make a mess of our bodies, our homes, and our lives. We
even fear certain lives in our society because we don't understand their
struggle. People with disabilities scare us because we don't know how to
interact with them. We'll just make a fool of ourselves; we'll be awkward. Or we
don't have time to go at their slower pace.
We fear death just as much as we fear life. The thought of visiting a terminally ill
person paralyzes us. What might we say to them as their mortality wanes?
What feeble words could we possibly offer that would be of comfort? How would
we interact with their grieving family?
Somehow these natural processes are distorted in our culture. Rather than
taking place in the home, the cycle of life is begun and completed in a foreign,
sterile environment. Many of us don't see trafficked, sick, or disabled persons
on a regular basis. Therefore, we're not sure how to interact with these issues
when we encounter them. We don't know how to give or receive life.

But Jesus did.

The Life-Giving Green Shoot
The prophet Isaiah foretold, "A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse's stump, from
his roots a budding Branch. The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him, the
Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding ." Seven hundred years after
these words were written, they were fulfilled: Jesus brought life into the dry,
godless place that had replaced the once flourishing nation. He burst through
the stump-like Israel to bring new life to all who believe in him.
And how did Jesus breathe new life into Israel and all of humanity? By living
and dying as one of us, stepping "into our frailty," as worship leader Kathryn
Scott writes. Jesus died the death we deserve and lived the perfect life we
aren't able to live. Through his life, death, and resurrection, all of us can find
redemption for our weary souls and for our world.
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Jesus dignified all persons he encountered in gutsy, tangible ways. Born into
the rigid culture of the ancient Near East, one with clear social boundaries, he
was a radical. He loved unconditionally, recognizing no social, economic,
gender, or religious hierarchies. In this way, he humbled himself to elevate and
dignify human life as created in his very image.
Jesus isn't the benchmark for us, for we could never love as fiercely as he did.
But we can follow him by admitting our inability to love well and our need for his
life-affirming love to work through us. And we can look to other saints who have
dignified the undignified in society.
Henri Nouwen was one of these life givers. Once a well-known scholar at
universities like Notre Dame, Harvard, and Yale, Nouwen spent the later years
of his life in obscurity, serving mentally handicapped people at a L'Arche
community called Daybreak. To many, this choice was foolish. To Nouwen, it
was a chance to follow Jesus by loving those our society ignores. He did this
not through theology, but through a humble spirit that affirmed the significance
of each life he touched.
Every Man a Father, Every Woman a Mother

All of us are called to build a culture of life. Some of us are called to be like
Henri Nouwen, gentle servants who love and respect others simply through
quiet humility. In this way, we dignify the existence of all persons, the little ones
in our society. We can express, as philosopher Josef Pieper writes, that "it's
good that you are here; it's wonderful that you exist!"
Others, however, are called to fight for issues of life, to heal the leprous limbs of
society. We shouldn't fight through violence or force, but we certainly shouldn't
be passive either. We desperately need Christians in politics and in

conversations with society's leaders to bring Christ's light into the darkness of
our world, to be a voice for the voiceless.
We are all called to foster this culture of life, whether or not we are parents who
witness the miracle of new human life. My pastor has a phrase he often uses to
illustrate a culture of life: "Every man a father, every woman a mother." We are
all intrinsic life bearers, for we know the light of a life in Christ. The possibility for
new birth and spiritual formation is all around us.
In the Nicene Creed, an ancient yet relevant profession of faith, God is referred
to as "The Lord and Giver of Life." Only he is able to truly create the miracle of
life, but we can share with him as he works, affirming it in others and fighting for
life where we see death and decay in our hearts and in our world.
Bonnie McMaken is a freelance writer and worship leader at Church of the
Resurrection in Glen Ellyn, Illinois