11 Pentecost, Proper 16
21 Aug 2022
You walk into a place for the first time and look around at the people who are there. Young people, old people, tall people, short people. Some are laughing and some are quite serious. There are people who look like you and others who look very different. You approve of the attire of some and cringe at what others are wearing. There are a couple of people with canes and one in a wheelchair. Perhaps this is the annual town festival. In Boone it is called Pufferbilly Days, a throwback to the time when Boone was a railroad center for the Chicago and Northwestern and steam engines filled the repair shop and roundhouse. Looking at the calendar for Denison, I saw several events and festivals this year. Celebrating diversity and having fun; what could be better?
Jesus is at one of the synagogues this week, teaching as he seems always to do. I suppose if he were alive now, he would be in great demand as a speaker!! Or maybe not, given what he so often said.
In the synagogue would be Jews of different ages and social strata, likely different theological perspectives as well. It was not a homogeneous group of people. The woman in the story may well have been a regular attendee. We don’t know her name or anything about her life. Was she married? Was she wealthy or poor? Was she a devout Jew? None of that was addressed by Luke or by Jesus. The story hinges on one thing: the woman’s condition. Jesus did not ask her how this had happened. He did not care!! All his concern was directed at healing her and relieving her of her burden. No conditions attached, no strings at all. It is a gift; freely given. I think that most of the time we humans either think we are not worthy of such grace or that the person receiving it is not worthy.
For a moment, imagine yourself as that woman. You have done nothing to deserve your affliction; it is the work of an evil spirit. You must feel different, conspicuous perhaps, because of your physical appearance. Everyone notices a person bent over. And you are unable to see well because your gaze is always down; trying to raise your head and eyes to see strains your neck so that you only see the ground before you. The world in which you dwell is very narrow. You are trapped in a body that has in many ways failed you. This day you go to the synagogue to hear the word and to praise God. Suddenly a voice says, “Woman, you are set free of your illness.” You feel a gentle touch and suddenly you can stand straight and see the world around you. Grace; unmerited and unearned, but that is the fullness of grace given to us by God.
What if the woman thought her condition was due to some sin she had committed? Or what if she had experienced many adversities in her life? Perhaps she felt, like so many, that her condition was due to her own sin, wrongdoings she could not even understand. Afterall, it was thought by many that illness and adversity were a result of wrongs. What if she was punishing herself? How many of us “beat ourselves up” over things gone wrong and how many of us think ourselves unworthy of God’s love?
That is why this is such good news! The love of God and the love of Jesus for each one of us has nothing to do with worth, or following a set of rules.
Jesus is chastised by one of the leaders of the synagogue for healing on the Sabbath. But what is the Sabbath if not a time for healing and for holy rest. Sabbath is a day for which we rest in God and with God. It is not wrong to tend to the needs of others on the Sabbath; what is wrong is to dishonor God by not resting and taking time to worship and praise. Nothing could honor God more than to heal on the Sabbath.
In the beginning, God created all the world and called it good, good because it is in deed a place with the deep seated potential to sustain all of us; it is a place of beauty and awe and wonder. God rested because creation is good; if it were not good , then God could not have rested. So for us to honor the Sabbath we must call the world good. Yet we know there is more work to be done. Healing the sick, releasing the captives, and ending oppression are all part of honoring the Sabbath. Don’t ever let yourself be caught in Sunday legalism, meaning you can’t do anything on Sunday beyond what one must do to stay alive! That does not honor God or the true meaning of Sabbath.
What if Jesus had said, “Come back tomorrow when it is a workday and I will heal you.” What would that say about the nature of our God? Jesus points out that they saw the woman as less than their livestock, which they would feed and water on the Sabbath.
This story reveals all we need to know about God and Jesus. We are all made in the image of God; we are all children of God. Honor God by setting captives free, by performing works of justice and mercy, on the Sabbath. But take the time to renew yourselves, for in all of us there is a bent woman yearning to be made whole.
Comentários