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Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day." The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.
- Luke 13:10-17
We were told in yesterday's reading that here were present at that season some who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of the vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground? But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'" See The fig tree.
Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." And He laid His hands on her and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. Let us take a good look at this woman: a binding, an infirmity and affliction for eighteen years. Jesus calls her out of the crowd, seemingly No one has prayed or asked Him to help her, but He spots the woman and calls her to Him. He lays His hands on her, a healing by touch. Immediately she is straight and glorifies God. It is similar to the story with the healing of Peter's mother-in-law: she was immediately up and about her work. When this woman is able to be upright, straight, she is in her "right place" and glorifying God.
But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, "There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day." The Lord then answered him and said, "Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" My study bible tells us, "Acts of help toward others on the Sabbath were considered work and were forbidden, except in life-threatening situations. Jesus notes that if animals needing water were cared for on the Sabbath, certainly a woman of Israel could be delivered from Satan's bondage on the Sabbath." Jesus teaches us what kind of Liberator He is. In the reading from this past Saturday, Jesus was accused of casting out demons by the power of demons. He taught then, "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters." He spoke as the "Stronger Man" and in His role as liberator He expresses here what that means; it is ultimately to heal. The woman "standing straight" is a clear symbol for correction, restoration, the "right way."
And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. Here the multitudes respond appropriately; everyone can see the sense of what He does and says. As often happens in His confrontations with the leadership, the common people are pleased to see His victories.
What do we make of this story in today's reading? It is quite unusual. This woman doesn't ask for help, doesn't come up from behind Him as the woman who touched the hem of His garment. She's not a public sort of figure as was the widow of Nain who mourned her son. No friend brings her to Jesus. But instead, He is in the synagogue and picks her out of the crowd, because of the intensity of her affliction. She is literally bent over and cannot be straight; but in redeeming her from her affliction which bends her over, Jesus restores her position in the temple, and she glorifies God. This is a great and powerful metaphor for healing, on all levels that we can receive it. As Liberator -- and the language in this story is very much a "liberating" kind of talk -- Jesus is here to free us from what afflicts us. Our reconciliation and salvation -- our restoration -- are found in His healing. I read an interesting article lately on the nature of the Persons of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). It said that we know God not by "what" God is -- for we can't know that, this is a mystery beyond our understanding and capability. Rather, through grace such as the healing witnessed here, we know "how" God is. We see in this gift of this story what God is "like" -- because we see how Christ is in the world: His liberation is one of mercy, of a desire to heal and to restore, to take away affliction, and to give us capabilities in turn to be "like Him." His liberating mission is to relieve us from what binds us, in all sorts of ways. This is "how" Jesus walks in the world, in the revelation of God to us through His incarnation as a human being, and this is "how" we know what it is for us to grow in God-likeness, to be "like Him." Let us remember that healing and liberation are synonymous, and that His plea here is for a kind of mercy that people know, but that abstract concepts and rules can get in the way of. Does it make sense that farm animals are cared for in a way that expresses their value, but that human beings are not? Let us remember the Liberator and what He teaches us; from His "how" we learn "how" we are to be too.
