2025 Sun Aug 24

I. Theme – The universality of God’s invitation to wholeness and the difficulty of responding to it.

Woman set free from ailment

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

First Reading – Isaiah 58:9b-14 Psalm – Psalm 103:1-8 Epistle – Hebrews 12:18-29 Gospel – Luke 13:10-17

Today’s readings remind us of the universality of God’s invitation to wholeness and the difficulty of responding to it. Isaiah identifies some characteristics of the right relationship with God. The author of Hebrews reminds us that the trials we undergo, though painful, come from the hand of a loving Father who is training us in holiness. Jesus’ words and actions reveal the tension between God’s desire for healing and our need for genuine conversion in order not to hinder God’s plan.

We are all too often concerned about rules—either rules such as the Ten Commandments, which throughout tradition we have assumed were passed down from God—or unspoken rules in society, such as who is in and who is out, who gets to speak and who must be silenced. We become so consumed by rules that we forget the original reason for them. The Sabbath was a gift from God to the people, but some leaders had forgotten and made the Sabbath into following rules. Jeremiah didn’t think he could speak because he was only a boy, and only elders (being men) could speak in public, but God called him to do so anyway. God shows us time and again there is another way—when we love one another, show compassion, have mercy, and do justice for others—we are following God’s ways much more than following a list of rules. The writer of Hebrews shows us that Jesus fulfilled a rule—the rule of sacrifice—in order to break it forever. And so must we follow the rule—the law—of love, in order to break the chains that keep us from loving our neighbors as ourselves.

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Here is the scripture from Luke 13:10-17 for this week

Jesus continues on the road to Jerusalem but there is a change in venue. Jesus had been speaking to disciples and large crowds. Now, he appears in "one of the synagogues." His presence in a synagogue is his first since leaving Galilee, and he will not visit another in Luke’s gospel. The conflict with Jewish leaders he will experience then is foreshadowed this story.

Jesus enters the synagogue and he seems to be in search of something. Just before this scene, Luke records a parable in which Jesus’ vineyard owner says, “For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none” (Luke 13:7). His sensitivity is heightened as he continues to search for “fig trees” that are bearing fruit.

He enters the synagogue immediately following this parable and will heal a Jewish lady who has been suffering for 18 years. Jesus heals the woman in sacred space (a synagogue, mentioned twice) and within sacred time, namely on a Sabbath (noted no fewer than five times), and he is criticized for this breach of the law. Jesus insists that the synagogue and the Sabbath are not the only things that are holy — so is this woman’s life. He is also guilty of touching a ritually unclean woman in their eyes. Jesus isn’t abolishing the Law of Moses, but helping the people in the synagogue have a better understanding of how to apply the law.

This isn’t his first healing in Luke. Earlier, in Chapter 4, Jesus heals a man with an unclean spirit. In Chapter 6, he healed a man whose hand was withered. On both occasions, Luke describes Jesus teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, but we are not informed about the content of his teaching. On both occasions, prominent religious leaders take offense at Jesus’ actions because of their view of what is allowable on the holy Sabbath day. By the end of chapter 13, Jesus’ search will turn into lament, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” (cf. 13:34-35).

Jesus’ rebuttal is clever, for while untying an ox or a donkey on the sabbath was forbidden in one part of the Mishnah (a Jewish book of laws), it was permitted in another. His point is that the woman is far more important than animals, yet animals are allowed more freedom on the sabbath than is the woman. This woman is a "daughter of Abraham," heir to the same promise as Abraham.

Note the story is not about his teaching or even the faith of the people. Both stories are healing stories but, more significantly, for Luke, is the controversy these healings created due to questions of Jesus’ Sabbath practices. He doesn’t argue about Judaism, or the restriction.

So what is it all about ?

1. It is story of the Kingdom – a story of community. Healings and exorcisms are signs of the kingdom of God. In verse 12, "Jesus saw" is in the primary position in the sentence, a subtle emphasis.

Jesus seems to be ignored by the Jewish leaders. The “leader” (v. 14) speaks to the “crowd”, but his words are directed at Jesus. He is blind to God’s kingdom. The people in the synagogue seem blind to her presence also

After he saw her, he called her to him. Marginalized and in the shadows, the woman is brought to center stage by Jesus. He sees the person, not the condition. In the new world of Jesus, it is precisely people such as the "bent woman" who are moved from the periphery of society to the center, which is what Jesus has done here. He argues from legitimate allowances of restricted kinds of "work" on the Sabbath. There is a higher calling – all life as sacred.

One key point here is that the woman does not ask to be cured; no one asks on her behalf; Jesus notices her. How many do we notice in our lives that need to be freed ? We need to be observant extending the kingdom

The woman has done nothing to earn or even request this unfathomable gift of life/grace. Her response is one of standing up, living into the gift of grace, and publicly praising God

What are the human-imposed barriers (even well-intentioned ones) that prevent people from experiencing God’s grace? How do we, God’s stewards today, help to dismantle these barriers?

2. It is a story of freedom from bondage

Jesus operates within the confines of Judaism but there is a limit when one is suffering. He won’t exclude them based on religious customs to provide healing. He demonstrates his compassion and thus to us a way of life, a way to live out our community obligations. Both themes of praise and rejoicing are emphasized by Luke as appropriate responses to God’s work in Jesus the one who brings the reign of God in healing power to those who most need it.

Her problem is both medical and social. She is “crippled” but has been been ostracized from the Jewish community. At the time many human ailments were seen to be cause by Satan; the very being of someone with a serious ailment was thought to be hostile to God. (She is not under demonic possession.)

In verse 16, Jesus himself will attribute the woman’s "weakness" to being held in bondage by Satan. What is called for, then, is not just medical healing but release from bondage. She has suffered and been ostracized from the Jewish community.

The point of confrontation is on the role of the Sabbath. Does it mean just following the prescribed order of worship each week? Does it mean following the ceremony to the letter of the law no matter what happens?

There are two traditions concerning the Sabbath. One, recorded in Exodus 20, links the Sabbath to the first creation account in Genesis, where God rests after six days of labor. As God rested, so should we and all of our households and even animals rest. The second tradition, in Deuteronomy 5, however, links the Sabbath to the Exodus; that is, it links Sabbath to freedom, to liberty, to release from bondage and deliverance from captivity. Jesus is causing the Jewish leaders to remember this passage. The Sabbath is all about freedom and this scripture concerning the woman. How might we be encouraged to act on Sunday to provide hope and joy

Jesus reminds the Sabbath leader that, regardless of the day of the week, all of God’s creation must have access to God’s gifts of life – whether it’s the provision of water for God’s creatures (v.15) or manna on the sabbath for the Israelites in the wilderness

Jesus has taken the synagogue leader’s very argument, and its same scriptural source, and turned it against him. Jesus’ message is clear: "If the sabbath is about freedom, as your own passage from Deuteronomy clearly says, then it is entirely proper to celebrate the freedom of this woman from the bondage of Satan–yes, on the sabbath, even especially on the sabbath."

One might criticize Jesus for discussing the situation ahead of time with the Jewish leaders. However, as Jesus maintained last week , he came to cast fire on the earth and cause divisions.

How do we go beyond our bondages ? By forgiving those who have sinned against us, we are freed from bondage to resentments and feelings of revenge. By forgiving ourselves, we are released from continually beating up on ourselves for acting so stupidly or hurtfully. Forgiveness brings release and freedom. Thus, this text isn’t just about physical healing, but renewal that we all need.

Healing begins when people are seen as Jesus would see them:

• With unconditional acceptance
• With appreciation for their person and not their problem.
• With vision for their potential and not their limitations

The ending is significant going back to the growing confrontation with the Jewish authorities In Luke 6, the religious leaders depart from the synagogue trying to think of what to do with Jesus; and, they were furious (6:11). Their negative response will have major consequences later in the narrative. In Luke 13, the synagogue crowd rejoices at Jesus’ healing action (and teaching?). And, here, his “opponents” are disgraced. And that provides a greater motive for them in Jerusalem.

 

The story of the woman healed on the Sabbath after 18 years being dominated by an evil spirit is not only a tour de force of Jesus teaching, but it also tells us much about first century Israel.

After healing this women, the Jews object  citing the Old Testament prohibition against work on the Sabbath in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. Jesus responds by rebuking the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. They selfishly take care of the needs of their animals on the Sabbath, but then  object to meeting the greater spiritual and physical needs of a human being.  

The story is framed by passages that give us a glimpse into the culture at the time:

1. Sabbath … teaching in one of the synagogues (13:10). Visiting rabbis were often asked to give the sermon or homily for the synagogue service.
2. A woman was there (13:11). Though women were excluded from much of Israels religious life, including access to the inner temple court in Jerusalem, they participated in synagogue worship. Jesus gives her a name – the daughter of Abraham indicating her inclusion in the community.
3. Crippled by a spirit (13:11). Luke explains that the condition caused her to be stooped over, a condition many commentators have identified as spondylitis ankylopoietica. Verse 16 indicates that this was caused by demonic oppression of some sort. Demons were blamed from much when the cause wasn’t known. Demons are often described as inflicting actual illnesses, including epilepsy (Luke 9:39), muteness (Luke 11:14), lameness (here), and madness (Luke 8:29).
4. Synagogue ruler (13:14). This administrative officer maintained the synagogue and organized the worship services.
5. There are six days for work (13:14). This verse alludes to the prohibition to work on the Sabbath cited earlier. Notice that the synagogue ruler does not address Jesus directly, perhaps to avoid a direct confrontation or to respect his position.
6. Be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath (13:14). The rabbis debated whether it was justified to offer medical help to someone on the Sabbath. It was generally concluded that it was allowed only in extreme emergencies or when a life was in danger. Since this woman’s life is not in immediate danger, the synagogue ruler considers this a Sabbath violation.  Jesus does not reject the Torah’s rulings on the Sabbath, only their application.  He affirms the role of the Sabbath to bring freedom to people, the original purpose of the Sabbath,  in this case from the evil spirit. Both she and the crowd respond with appropriate praise to God.
7. Untie his ox or donkey … lead it out to give it water (13:15). The law  allowed  animals go out on the Sabbath, but restricted the burdens they can carry. While restricting the kinds of knots that could be tied on the Sabbath, the rabbis allowed animals to be tied to prevent straying. They also found ways to water their animals without breaking the limits of Sabbath travel. (Sabbath travel was limited to two thousand cubits, about six-tenths of a mile, from home. They would build a crude structure around a public well, converting it into a private residence. Since the well was now a “home,” animals could be taken there for watering, provided “the greater part of a cow shall be within the enclosure when it drinks.”) Jesus points out the hypocrisy of taking such measures to protect one’s property while objecting to an act of human compassion.

8. Then should not this woman … be set free on the Sabbath… ? (13:16).  If an animal can be helped on the Sabbath, how much more a human being.  Both the animal and women are set free, the latter by untying and the latter by Jesus.  She is also blamed by the synagogue leader for being in need. He chooses to go after her rather than Jesus who  it not rebuked

9. His opponents were humiliated (13:17). A great orator in this time was one who could baffle and silence his opponents. It is clear that Jesus had won this one. Of course, the story is more than a clash between cultures, it is reflective of Jeus sense of compassion toward others.