Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word

 

 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; was have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

 

- John 8:33-47 

 

 In our current readings, it is the last year of Jesus' earthly life.  He is at the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn harvest festival, and has been disputing with the religious authorities, who have sought to have Him arrested.  Yesterday we read that Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.  Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

 

They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  To be a child of Abraham, my study Bible comments, it is not enough to be simply related by blood; rather, Abraham's true children share his faith and virtue (Luke 3:8).  St. John Chrysostom, it notes, teaches that the Lord wanted to detach the Jews from racial pride and to teach them no longer to place their hope of salvation in being of the race of Abraham's children by nature, but to come to faith by their own free will.  Their idea that being a descendant of Abraham was enough for salvation was the very thing that prevented them from coming to Christ.  

Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; was have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word."  My study Bible says that proceeded here refers not to the Son coming eternally from the Father, but to Christ being sent from the Father to His Incarnation on earth.  

"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Just as being a child of Abraham is based on sharing Abraham's attributes, as has already been touched upon above, here Christ says that those who reject Him share the same attributes as the devil (and in particular, my study Bible notes, a hatred for truth), and therefore are rightly called the devil's children.

What a dizzying array of concepts in today's reading.  They are related to Jesus' teaching in chapter 4, to the Samaritan woman, that "the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."  In that discussion with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, the issue was a dispute with the Samaritans over the proper place for the temple.  But Christ seeks to make her -- and us -- to understand the true nature of God and the true nature of worship.  Here He does the same with the religious leaders, but they, as contrasted to the Samaritan woman, are secure in their conviction that as the descendants of Abraham, they share Abraham's quality of love for God, and of righteousness.  But Jesus contradicts this by declaring that whatever He speaks is not from "Himself" as Jesus, but rather from the Father who sent Him, and the Father is true, and His word is true because He seeks only to do the Father's will.  In today's reading, He makes it clear that these words of truth themselves become a kind of light and life, and it is their response to His words that expresses where their hearts are -- that they are far from knowing and loving God.  It is because of their hostile rejection that they display in fact, a fealty to the one who is against God, the liar who hates truth, the devil.  If this is too much to grasp, consider that Jesus is ultimately speaking of spiritual matters here.  He teaches us something that was accepted within the context of Jewish understanding, that there were spiritual forces that were antagonistic to truth, rebellious to God, and that these seek influence over human life.  It sets the stage for our understanding of ourselves as in the middle of a spiritual battlefield.  We human beings have the capacity for choice, to seek God or not, to seek to know God or not, and to seek God's righteousness and truth for ourselves.  But we can also be tempted by that which is against God, and against God's truth, a corrupted influence which wants its own power, and human beings in thrall to it, even to make us slaves to it.  It is that corrupted entity that is called the devil, that rejects Christ the Son, rejects Christ's truth that He brings into the world.   So, when we seem to be caught between ideas that seem good but aren't really, or concepts that seem difficult but yet compel us to love God, to know Christ, to seek His light and life, then we are, in a sense, caught in the middle of a spiritual battleground, and the place of that battleground is in our hearts and minds.  We are the ones who must understand that it is pride in our own righteousness and conviction of infallible capacity that leads us astray, when humility accepts that we need spiritual guidance, that Christ was Incarnate in our world to bring that to us.  It is in this sense that we seek that light, because it is so easy to fall into the trap of a false pride, of assuming that we know all the answers, and that our truly limited spiritual understanding always suffices.  It is for this reason that we worship in spirit and in truth, we seek God in daily prayer to keep us on that right road, Christ's light for the direction and illumination of our lives.  But most importantly, we seek to become His "learners," disciples, and our work is to keep growing on His path, in His way.  Today Jesus touches on these spiritual realities, challenging the religious authorities to come to terms with their own pride or self-righteousness, and telling them they don't know God or they would be capable of hearing His words.  When we seek Christ's light for ourselves, then, we are asking for that light to guide us, accepting that we don't know all, there is a mystery into which we plunge when we accept the spiritual life as part of ours and our world.  His is the light we seek, His love the power to make us the adopted children of God in spirit and truth, His word the only ultimate freedom from lies and falsehood.

 

 

 

 

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?

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that 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 his 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.'"

 

 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.  Jesus makes an extraordinary remark when addressing the crowd regarding the woman's eighteen years of suffering.  He says to them, "Think of it."   My study bible comments that the patristic tradition sees this command as directing us to a spiritual meaning for the eighteen years.  It says that as the Greek expression is literally translated "ten and eight years," both St. Ambrose and Theophylact see ten as representing the Ten Commandments and eight as representing grace, for the day of Resurrection is often called the "eighth day."  Thus humanity is lifted up by faith in Christ, who fulfills both law and grace.  This is surely borne out in the action of this story itself, in which grace fulfills the healing of a daughter of Abraham and in the rejoicing of the multitude.

 

In Luke's Gospel, we can read the consistent revelation of grace on the part of Jesus Christ.  In today's reading, it's quite remarkable that all Christ's adversaries were put to shame.  In the general context of the Gospel, that would have something to do with the fact that all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.  During Holy Week events, we're told by Luke that the leaders wouldn't speak openly against John the Baptist for fear of the crowds (Luke 20:1-8).  So, we are given to understand that the leadership does care about their standing among the people, at least out in the open, giving us a picture which modern people can understand as highly political; in fact, reminding us of politicians.  These same leaders will also stir up the crowds to clamor for Jesus' death on Good Friday, no doubt well-planted with rumors and exhortations and their own supporters in the crowd.  Again, we have a familiar picture to modern people of political machination, even of large numbers of people, and the legacy for an entire nation.  But here in today's reading, Jesus' expression of grace manifesting before all in the healing of this suffering woman is on display, and nothing can stop it.  This is the graciousness of God that breaks through by revelation.  Jesus makes it clear that the insistence upon ownership of the laws of Moses by these religious leaders and their legalistic interpretation in such a harsh way is, in fact, not what the law calls for, and does not reflect the gracious and merciful God of Abraham, of whom this suffering woman is a daughter.   Jesus, in fact, gives us so much psychology, as He shows quite clearly through His actions how the hard-hearted may indeed thwart even the word of God to act in harsh injustice, like denying this woman healing on the Sabbath.  Jesus emphasizes her suffering when He tells them "think of it" -- that they must first comprehend eighteen years of suffering.  It's as if she is bent over with punishment, a sentence of eighteen years by Satan who seeks to enslave and imprison human beings -- and Christ comes as Liberator, Deliverer, Savior to release her from her imprisonment and torture.  The image comes to mind of punishments of the time, of "stripes" or whipping, and beatings:  things which would cause one to be bent over in pain.  Jesus speaks of the common practice of releasing an animal from its own binding and confinement be led to necessary water on the Sabbath in order to restore health.   And so, by comparison, what about this daughter of Abraham who is bound and confined by Satan?  The people rejoice and glorify God, as Christ's adversaries -- inadvertently or not -- were helping the adversary by opposing Christ.  Over the course of the past several readings, Jesus has made reference to the importance of first and foremost our reconciliation with God, the One who has power not only to kill but to cast into hell (see this reading and the subsequent readings).  Here in today's reading, Jesus openly calls the suffering of this woman a binding of Satan; that in her suffering she has been bound like a hostage or prisoner.  It is subtle reminder, again, that to be reconciled to God in the heart before all things is to be in communion with the One who can release us from the bonds of the "strong man"  because God is the stronger (see Luke 11:14-23).   It is the revelation of Christ that is at once both grace and the stronger power who overcomes the adversary (Satan), and who is here to help to liberate human beings.  This is the true inheritance of the daughter of Abraham, the fulfillment of the Law in the coming of the Christ (or Messiah).  Our gracious Lord shares all the attributes of power but works through grace and is characterized by love and mercy.  What are the bonds you need to break?  How do you need to be liberated?  It is only this power that can release us from the ruler of this world, who causes pain for human beings.  In fact, one name for the evil or the devil in Greek is poneros/πονηρός, the root of which is literally "pain" but can also mean toilsome labor.  In the original text, it is this one from whom we pray to be delivered in the Lord's prayer (in Luke 11:4).  Christ' reveals God's splendid power and grace in today's reading, and the people understand and rejoice.  This is the glory of God, and we should never accept anything or anything who would limit that understanding of the One who loves us so that He came to our world, as one of us, to show us.

Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs

From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs." Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter." And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, He sighted, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

- Mark 7:24-37

On Saturday, our previous reading told of an encounter between Jesus and some of the leadership of the temple, the Pharisees and scribes. These men were complaining about Jesus' disciples, that they did not perform the ritual purification of washing. They ask Jesus why His disciples do not hold to the tradition of the elders; this is an oral tradition of interpretations of the Law. Jesus replies that they are hypocrites, for this oral tradition is upheld in instances where it in fact prevents the purposes of the Law of Moses from being carried out. He teaches the crowds that "there is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man." Later, he explains in private to His disciples that it is not food - what goes into a man - that defiles, but rather what comes out. That is, the things that come from the heart can pollute such as evil thoughts, envy, "adulteries, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness." See This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.

From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. In Mark's gospel, Jesus repeatedly travels from Jewish to Gentile territory, and back again, and we are given His encounters in each. Now Jesus is in Gentile territory again. These are Gentile cities on the coast of Palestine.

And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. It's really so fascinating that Jesus tries a number of times to escape the crowds that follow Him everywhere. He has tried to get away with the apostles, to rest and speak with them, just before the feeding of the five thousand. After this event, He withdrew to the mountain to pray alone, but we learned that His disciples needed Him, prompting another astonishing miracle. Yet again, in today's reading, Jesus goes into a home and didn't want anyone to know of Him, but "He could not be hidden." The mysterious Messiah would be elusive, but try as He might, He cannot be hidden. Everyone seeks Him out, everywhere - even here in Gentile territory.

For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. This story appears elsewhere in the Gospels, and I quite love it. This Greek-speaking woman pursues Jesus for a purpose - she wants healing for her daughter. The sense in which she asks is kind of like a "special request" or a question posed from a student to a teacher. She needs an answer.

But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." This seems like an extraordinarily insulting and harsh answer. Perhaps it reflects His growing tiredness during this ministry where He is seemingly forever seeking rest, to elude the crowds that follow Him everywhere. But if we think more closely about it, there are several other things going on - in this particular answer. Women play such a great role in all the Gospels, and here is no exception. This is unusual, first of all, for a Gentile woman to be speaking to a Jewish man at all - especially in such a forward way! She's pushy! Secondly, she asks as if she is in personal relationship with Him, like a favored student, a pupil who's been chosen by a master to be a disciple. So when He says, "let the children be filled first," it's understood that He's speaking of the "children of Israel," to whom He has first been sent. But there is more here. Jesus' answer, while seemingly insulting, is also a little sly and subtle. He doesn't send her away. Rather, in some way, He goads her. She's already pestering Him; in this sense we might think that she is like a small dog, under the table, begging to be fed.

And she answers likewise, immediately catching on to the metaphor: And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs." She's not one of the ones sitting at the table with the other "students," but she is there, and she also wishes to be fed and to be heard. My study bible says, "That the mother kept asking Him for her daughter's deliverance teaches perseverance in prayer. Jesus resists her, not to make her persuade Him, but to test her faith. Such persistence the Lord seeks from all." She's not put off at all, rather she answers back!

Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter." And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed. He rewards her persistent behavior. In a commentary by Chrysostom, he notes that Jesus must have intended all along to help the woman, otherwise the healing of the daughter would not have happened. But her great persistence, her deep desire for something from Christ - a healing for her daughter - is something special and rewarded and desired. Chrysostom writes that Jesus goes out of His borders (as a Jew in Gentile territory) and so does she (as a non-Jewish woman who speaks up to Him), and so they come together in relationship. This is the image of prayer; it is relationship and communion. It is also a sort of "wrestling with God" as appears earlier in Scripture. In the best Jewish tradition, this woman does the same. Jacob was told, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." But note, this struggle is for blessing and communion and a recognition of the mastery of God; likewise this woman asks for the Master of all to command the enemy, a demon, out of her daughter. She becomes a subject of this kingdom, and this she begs for her daughter.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. The Decapolis is again a Greek-speaking region, and this is home territory to Jesus, near the Sea of Galilee.

Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, He sighted, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. My study bible says here: "Jesus heals in various ways. Sometimes He speaks a word, sometimes He commands people to act (take up a bed; wash in a pool), sometimes He touches people. Here He takes a man aside for a private and unusual act of healing. The ways of God at times do not make sense to us, not because He is illogical, but because His nature transcends our capacity to understand." Again, in this reading, we can't help but notice that at issue here is the speaking ability of a man, the quality of his being able to communicate and to express himself. As it was with the woman above, her outspokenness was encouraged and even goaded, and rewarded by Christ. So it is here that He seeks to open the mouth of a man, with an "impediment" -- perhaps he stutters, at any rate he cannot express himself, and it is also connected to his hearing. The language of the Gospel says that this is a kind of chaining or bondage, and his tongue is "unloosed" as if it is set free from bondage. My study bible also adds, "Looking up to heaven is a sign of intimacy with the Father in prayer. He sighed out of deep compassion for the man's pitiful condition." Jesus turns to God the way the Syro-Phoenician woman has turned to Him. There are many levels of prayer and communion that are happening in today's reading, and layers of freedom, of unleashing, throughout.

Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak." Here is the irony: the man's tongue is "loosed" and his mouth and ears are "opened" but we are back in Jewish territory, and Jesus wants the man and His friends to tell no one. "But the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it." To make the deaf to hear and the mute to speak is quite literally an attribute of the Messiah, straight from prophecy. My study bible says, "Here Jesus' attempt to keep His messianic identity a secret is foiled by the people's enthusiasm. The gospel is so powerful that it simply cannot be contained."

So, in today's reading, we receive layers of communication and freedom. Borders are crossed, boundaries are dropped. The woman is free to speak to Jesus, even to answer Him back in a quite snappy way while she demands help for her daughter and pesters Him for what He has to offer to the house of Israel: the healing and release from the bondage of demons. The man's mouth and tongue are "loosed" and his ears are "opened" so that he, too, can speak and communicate. His friends are astonished, and contrary to Jesus' words to them, they spread this great Messianic secret about Jesus. All in all the reading is about freedom - freed from bondage we become in communion with our Lord, we speak, we plead, we wrestle. As individuals, we come to Him, and He gives us our freedom to be ourselves in His recognition of our need, and His bringing us closer to God. Christ, if we pay attention to these Gospels, frees us and empowers us. In Him, we are freed to become ourselves, in the image in which we are created. His mastery is our liberation; He gives us who we are, we are restored and out of bondage and slavery and impediment. This is the message of this Gospel. Can you hear it? Can you wrestle with Him for yourself, or are you a slave to your own impediment? Clearly, He desires us all to come to Him. He declares to us all "Ephphatha" - "be opened!"

Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity

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

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught about the nature of judgment. Judge is surely to come, and how we respond to the Holy Spirit - the "fire" He will bring - has to do with that judgment; it is a spiritual sense of "how we are" that counts. We can't judge by the earthly disasters that befall people, nor can we judge by our good fortune, what the inner state of spiritual awareness or standing is. God's mercy gives us time, time to learn, to repent, to change, to come to terms with the things we need to learn. See If it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.

My study bible has a note which applies to today's entire passage: "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."

I think there are a few things to glean from the passage taken piece by piece: 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. First of all, to understand Jesus' compassion for women is something important, significant. We should understand this person as someone without great social standing in the synagogue: not only is she a woman, but we presume an affliction like this renders one powerless, helpless and perhaps penniless from seeking treatments for many years. She cannot even raise herself up: her affliction is indeed a burden. It is a good picture of how we characterize evil: a burden, an "affliction" and full of pain. (The Greek for "evil," poneros, reflects various meanings, including that of "pain.") It is an infirmity; it weakens her so that she cannot take her right place in the world, upright. Evil also creates excessive toil and hardship, and it is parasitical - it lives off our our lives, and has no life of its own. Jesus has also recently spoken (in Luke's Gospel) of the hardships and burdens imposed by a hypocritical leadership in His criticisms of the Pharisees, scribes and lawyers, and her posture reflects such "burdens." Her affliction is also bondage: the notion of spiritual freedom is as much a part of the evil that afflicts her as it is a part of Jesus' criticism of the leadership that will come. And for her part, she gives glory to God for her healing. She is in the "right place" in terms of her own understanding and relationship to 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." Here we have the voice of the law, but with a twist that is important for this story and for Jesus. The law is upheld not as a good thing, in the spirit of mercy, but in a spirit of hypocrisy. We may venture to guess also that at its root is envy - envy at the great things this Teacher does that dazzle the crowds, when He is not a part of their leadership, with no formal rabbinical training or title.

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. What is the right of this woman? Has she a right to the spiritual freedom from bondage that Jesus brings? The law, in this case, is used as a burden, to increase bondage - to keep the woman away from God's love and mercy. But even animals (possessions necessary for work and production), as Jesus points out, are treated better. It is a question of understanding evil as a bondage, an affliction, and Christ's mission to us as one of removing those bonds to set us in right-relatedness to God. Recently, He has spoken about the baptism He will go through so that He may send His fire to the earth - and this fire is also part of our liberation from the bonds of evil. It is the Holy Spirit which will bring us to a deeper degree in relationship to God and God's mercy, and freed from the bonds that keep us away. So, of course, this is an occasion for rejoicing, for all of us, as do the multitude in the synagogue.

While we speak frequently - because it is easiest to understand - of the personal aspect of this ministry and its liberating actions for each one of us, I think the context here and in recent readings also indicates a liberation for entire communities. We are freed not just on the personal level, but also on the communal level. Yesterday's parable of the fig tree teaches us this as the fig tree is a symbol for Israel - the community of the people of God. Today, it is the "multitudes" that rejoice. The Good News is not just for me or for you, but it is for the whole community of the people of God, for multitudes. It is a teaching of liberation for everyone, not only for each of us as individuals who come to understand personal liberation in this spiritual sense of relatedness to God and God's love and mercy. So, this is an important thing to consider. How does "right-relatedness" work in community? What does it teach us about "the least among us?" How do we understand love and care and mercy in community, and how does that create relationship? I have heard it said that real freedom -- true spiritual freedom -- does not exist for one, but for all. That is, it is not complete unless it is universal. In yesterday's parable of the fig tree, Jesus described actions of God's mercy as tending and care for the tree so that it bears fruit. Jesus' ministry is that loving care, so that we may all - as community - experience the spiritual freedom from bondage He brings. So may we all contribute to this goal of a community that lives in spiritual freedom, in God's love. As He "loosed" this woman from her burden, so may we also share in God's mercy by practicing love and care and tending our tree with our time in the world. In this way, we too can bring the whole community closer to Christ's freedom. He speaks of her as one who has the "right" to the loosing of her bonds, as a daughter of Abraham. Let us also understand the depth of our inheritance, and where it leads us, and how He teaches us to nurture and bear fruit in God's mercy. It is hypocrisy that uses burdens of false guilt to cover up injustice; God's mercy brings righteousness and asks it of us as part of His discipleship.