HEALED TO HEAL

A Sermon for The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 26, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

Luke 13:10-17
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. (NRSV)

In Lansing, we’re pretty used to looking the people we meet on the street in the eye and nodding or saying hello. It is a simple thing, but it is a way of acknowledging others. River town people tend to be friendly like that. Even more so on the river. When we have out of town guests visit and we take them on a boat ride, they keep asking, “Do you really know all these people? Why does everybody wave at you?” It is surprising how courteous we can be, even to strangers.

It isn’t like that everywhere. I remember when I went to Nottingham England to study during my junior year in college. Not only was it a big city, but it was a British city. Everyone considers it good manners to keep to yourself. No where could I get a stranger to look me in the eyes, not even when I was squashed up right next to someone on the public bus! It astonished me. This was nothing like Iowa! So desperate was I to talk to strangers that I developed a set of silly questions like, “What’s your favorite blender speed?” and told people I was conducting a scientific survey and would they please answer a few questions. Almost nobody went for it. So much for trying to reach out and make connections.

Today's gospel lesson is all about making connection. Jesus is teaching in the temple when along comes a woman who is entirely bent over. Certainly, they see her, but do they really “see” her? Do they notice that she’s there? Do they even care that she is ailing? We so often walk around oblivious to the hurt around us, as if we’re the only ones that matter.

That’s not how Jesus operates. No, he sees the woman. He sees her as the beautiful daughter of God that she is. And he reaches out to her. We don’t know much about this woman, but I suspect that just being noticed by Jesus is already a healing thing. So many ignore a broken down person like this.

Jesus interrupts his own teaching to call her over. I imagine he looks her in the eye with compassion, giving her the dignity she deserves. She must have felt overwhelmed already. Then Jesus goes on to declare to her that she has been set free from her 18 year ailment. He lays hand on her brings healing to a person who has suffered so long!

And she stands right up after all that time of being bent over and she immediately begins praising God. In my mind’s eye, she’s singing and dancing. Clearly, she’s causing a ruckus because the leaders of the synagogue can no longer ignore her. It become apparent to them that Jesus has healed her. And they come to criticize Jesus for breaking a synagogue rule. Healing is so important to Jesus that he’s even willing to break the rules for the greater good of the people he’s called to serve.

What about us? We’re bent over too. Maybe it’s not physically, but all over us can get bent over with the burdens of our lives. People love to quote the cliché “God never gives you more than you can handle.” Personally, I don’t believe that one at all. We often have more than we can handle on our plates. At times, we feel so bent over that we could break. We cannot handle our lives on our own. We need the healing touch of Jesus. Just as he came and met that woman in her affliction, he meets us. He stoops down to pick our bend over selves off the floor time and time again. He treats us like the miracles that we are and he longs to heal us, no matter what the cost, even giving his own life to set us free.

And so it is our calling to offer this same compassion to those we encounter on our journey. And we have to do more than just wave at passing boats, we need to see people—really see them—and care for them. That’s a healing power that you and I possess.

In our reading from the prophet Isaiah this morning, we hear the timeless call of God to share our bread with the hungry, to bring the homeless into our homes, when we see the naked to cover them. And what if we answer this call and we reach out generously? This is such beautiful poetry—he says “ Then will your light break forth like the dawn and your healing shall spring up speedily." (Isaiah 58:8) Isaiah understands that it's not just the healing of those poor disenfranchised people that are at issue here, it’s OUR healing. When we heal others as Jesus did, we ourselves are healed. We can’t afford to just walk by those who need us, we’ve got to care, we’ve got to help.

May these scriptures inspire us to allow God to heal us and to lavish that kindness upon others, that we may be healed at an even deeper level.

Let us pray:
Dearest Jesus, in your loving gaze, heal us and free us from all that forces us downward and bends us over. May we experience the touch of your presence and be raised up to find the delight you share with all people. Teach us to see others in this same light and to share your love with them. Make us into a community that unleashes your healing power to the whole world. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.

Now may the peace of Christ, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

© 2007 Laura E. Gentry