There is a distinct and memorable moment in pregnancy, around 16 weeks, when there is an undeniable awareness of movement within the womb–initially a fluttery feeling, but then over the next few days, there are tickly sensations, then rolling, then pushes.  It is referred to clinically as “quickening”–an emphatic evidence of life within–and there is profound acknowledgment that one’s life is no longer one’s own.   It is now shared.

Jesus is called the “second Adam”  through his death and resurrection,   a quickening spirit now shared with us, so much more than the  simple life and breath of the first Adam.  The spirit lives and breathes within us, fluttering and rolling, pushing us from inside, creating in us more than we ever could become on our own.  We are startled by its presence, amazed by its touch, forever transformed, and never, never to be the same again.

1 Corinthians 15:45