"Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, 'Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.' And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God." (Luke 13: 10-13)
Let's pray over this passage first as it applies to women, and then we'll pray over how it applies to all of us. Since the 1970's, women Scripture scholars and theologians have been doing research and, basically, reading Scripture with the eyes of women. In doing so, they have given us many new insights.
The very beginning of this story is remarkable. Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, which was divided into a men's section and a women's section. Suddenly - there was a woman. So, did Jesus deliberately summon her into the men's section, or did he deliberately go into the women's section? Mary T. Malone tells us
"At any rate, Jesus saw her, included her, counted her among those present, spoke to her publicly, went to her, touched her, and healed her. All on the sabbath, and all forbidden activity for a rabbi at the time of Jesus." (in "Woman Christian: New Vision.") Imagine what a powerful scene this was! And the woman didn't just disappear as quickly as possible. She stayed, and, erect and full of holy pride and self-confidence, and humility, because she knew the One who had saved and healed her, she sang the praises of God.
The ruler of the synagogue is indignant that Jesus has healed on the sabbath, equating healing with "work." He announces to the people "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days to be healed, and not on the sabbath day."
Jesus "calls him out," as well as all the religious leadership on this hypocrisy, and says to him "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or ass from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" His adversaries are put to shame, and the people rejoice at all the glorious things Jesus is doing.
What Jesus was clearly stating here is that surely a woman could be cared for on the sabbath if animals could be. Don't women have as much or more value than animals? And he has called her a "Daughter of Abraham." Elsewhere in the New Testament we hear of "Sons of Abraham" but only Jesus uses the loving, equal term of "Daughter of Abraham." "...this special naming of a needy woman considered by others to be in bondage of Satan, shows clearly the attitude of Jesus' attitude towards all women. Women are a part of the family of Israel. They are part of the community. They are to be counted. They are full human beings." (Malone)
Now, the risen Jesus, the Christ, is still at work in this world. Doesn't Hebrews 13 tell us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever"? Our risen Lord is the SAME PERSON as the Jesus who walked this earth and treated all with equal love, mercy, and concern! He wants to heal all of us of whatever inner pain, anger, or fear keeps us from standing up straight, full of holy pride, self-confidence, and humility, and singing God's praises.
One of the ways Jesus can heal us is by correcting and refreshing our image of Who God is. We can become confused and paralyzed, and even sabotage Jesus' healing work in us if we are confused about how God is at work in the world and even about Who God is. So often we are concerned about making it clear that Jesus is God. But the reverse is also true: God is like Jesus. Bradley Jersak, in "A More Christlike God," puts it this way:
"What are we to do? How are we to discover God as God is? As a Christian, pastor, and preacher, I would like to recommend we look to Jesus for our answer to the question. Or let me say it this way: What if God is like Jesus? What if the personality of God is identical to the personality of the man called Jesus of Nazareth portrayed in the Gospels? Jesus audaciously made this claim: 'Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.' What if this claim is true? Wouldn't that be good news? Ah, that is the good news! God is like Jesus!"
Pastor Brad recounts a conversation he had once with a teenager, Jess, who told him she had lots of questions. Brad said, "Fire away." Here's part of their conversation. Afterwards, we'll look at exactly what Pastor Brad is explaining to her:
"Jess: (more tears) I still have a lot of questions. God is the creator of everything and he's in control of everything and causes everything to happen for a purpose, so...
Brad: No.
Jess: Huh?
Brad: Like rape? God causes rape? Rape is for a purpose?
Jess: No!
Brad: No! Rape is just evil. There's no lesson. That's not how God teaches lessons. And he doesn't do control. That's why terrible things happen. But we wouldn't want him to control us. Would you?
Jess: (Shakes her head no.)
Brad: So he never causes evil and he doesn't use control to prevent us from doing evil. But he does care. He loves and cares and wants to come heal those who've been hurt by evil.
Jess: I have three relatives who were molested, but I wasn't. I couldn't understand because people always say that God is in control and everything happens for a reason.
Brad: So, no, God didn't cause that in any way. But if God were like Jesus, would you be able to put your relatives in his care?....
Jess: Yes.....
Brad: So, if God were like Jesus, could you put yourself in his hands, just like you did with...your relatives?
Jess: Yes...."
Brad says that we should remember that Jesus' favorite word for God is "Father," and that Jesus means the ever-loving, merciful, and forgiving Father Who waits for the Prodigal Son to return to him, and then embraces him. Jesus gives us the REAL IMAGE of who God is. Jesus is God, but that means that the entire Trinity is like Jesus is. The entire Trinity is Mercy, Love, Justice, Healing, as Jesus is. Jesus shows us the Face and Words and Attitudes of the Father. Such a God would never choose to control us. God didn't make us puppets, God loves us so God made us free so that we could make choices and freely choose to love God. We know instinctively that we can't compel others to love us. They have to freely choose to love us. God believes the same thing about us: we have to be FREE to choose to love God!
This means that the truly evil things that happen to us - like the woman bent over and in pain - are not God's way of punishing us. Does Jesus ever punish people? No. Jesus welcomes, heals, forgives. Bad things happen, in a fallen world. But God's love is always ready to free us, free our inner soul, from the resulting pain, bitterness, grief, anger, and fear that are the fall-out from evil. God even sometimes chooses to physically free us from sickness, in miracles of physical healing.
God always chooses to work inner healing for us. It's a process, it takes time, and God walks slowly with us until we're ready for each step forward, each inner movement that straightens our soul a little bit more. God does not control everything that happens to us. But God can give us the power to overcome the fall-out; God works with us to bring good out of the evil, to heal, to grow in strength and maturity, to walk forward perhaps with a new mission.
How many rape victims stand up straight and walk forward to tell their sisters that rape and molestation are not the end of the world, that God can heal their ravaged images of themselves so that they can rebuild their lives? How many people around the world - Anglos, Africans, Hispanics, Indigenous peoples, Asians, immigrants, police officers, rural farmers, the jobless, the poor and ill, the divorced, working women, straights and the LGBTQ community, people with developmental disabilities, people with mental illness, people who don't have clean water or clean air, the grieving, the despairing, any who have suffered from injustice, neglect, violence, and/or persecution, have found the courage and strength in, with, and through God, to stand up straight and move forward out of inner darkness? In some cases to non-violently protest injustice?
Hear the healing Risen Christ speak to you:
You are a full human being. You are worthy to approach me at any time, in any way. You are worthy to approach me, even enter into those sacred precincts that the elite want to keep for themselves. You should never be abused in any way, or called inferior or an abomination, or be treated as a tool, or a sexual object, or a burden or an inconvenience. You are completely lovable. You can always be forgiven. I do not send punishment upon you; but you do have to endure those punishing hurts which are the results of your own actions. I am here to free you and lead you out of darkness.
Jesus reveals to us not a punishing God but a God who goes willingly to the cross, and, in the midst of unjust pain, still mercifully loves and forgives us literally to his death. At the darkest moment of his life, he is filled with the Father's love and is resurrected by the Father. The Fallen One now stands straight - and empowers us to rise and rise and rise until our final resurrection. God in Jesus even empowers us to forgive our persecutors.
Brad Jersak quotes Pope Francis, who spoke on the power of a merciful God at a Good Friday Mass:
"One word should suffice this evening that is the Cross itself. The Cross is the word through which God has responded to the evil in the world... a word which is love, mercy, forgiveness. It also reveals a judgment. Namely, that God, in judging us, loves us. If I embrace his love then I am saved. If I refuse it, then I am condemned, not by him, but by my own self, because God never condemns, he only loves and saves."
The bent woman, gloriously healed, stands straight and praises God - as we are all called to do. We are all called by God to be prophets, which means we are called to stand up straight in front of those around us and praise God, praise God's powerful, healing work in our lives, and thus encourage one another. We can cry out "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people and set them free." Free from bitterness. Free from self-hate. Free from the addictive sins that hold us back from loving ourselves, others, and God. Free from the fear that holds us back from taking our rightful place in this world.
We can hear the words that Zechariah spoke over his son John the Baptist and know that this call is also meant for us:
"You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way..."
Every time we share the Good News of what God has done for us, we prepare the way for God to find welcome in another's opening heart. Every time we encourage another, we prepare the Lord's way to empower others and set them free from whatever keeps them crippled and bent over, held captive by their inner darkness.
Stand straight, God's beloved people. Be healed, be freed, stand straight, and, full of holy pride and self-confidence, and humility because you know the One Who has saved you, proclaim His praise.