Sermon: 13th Sunday after Pentecost

13^th Sunday after Pentecost

August 26^th, 2007

Luke 13:10–17

¹⁰Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹And 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. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." ¹³When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

¹⁴But 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." ¹⁵But 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? ¹⁶And 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?" ¹⁷When 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.

That’s Life

“That's life, that's what all the people say.
You're riding high in April,
Shot down in May
But I know I'm gonna change that tune,
When I'm back on top, back on top in June.

I said that's life, and as funny as it may seem
Some people get their kicks,
Stompin' on a dream
But I don't let it, let it get me down,
'Cause this fine ol' world it keeps spinning around”

This old Frank Sinatra tune might be the soundtrack to the opening part of this Gospel. This bent woman comes walking past the synagogue and the Pharisee takes a look at her and says, “That’s life…” It’s the Sabbath, after all. A day of rest, not a day of healing. But Jesus, no, Jesus has a different view of life, a different view of the Sabbath day, and he’s out to show that Pharisee what it is.

I love that we’re reading Luke this year because Luke is a master theologian. In his gospel we find more acts of physical healing than any of the other accounts. This is part of the reason why many think Luke was a physician. But I say that Luke is a physician of the soul more than the body, because when he gives an example of a physical healing in relationship to the body, he is also commenting on our spiritual relationship with God as well.

Take today’s gospel for instance. Jesus is teaching inside the temple, going through the scriptures with the gathered men. And Luke sets this scene up so perfectly, enter stage right, just outside the synagogue door, a woman who is bent and could not stand up straight. She’s not coming to Jesus for healing, she’s probably just walking by.

But you see, Jesus knows that what is preached in the synagogue must have legs in the world. And so he goes out of the synagogue, because women couldn’t learn with the men in the synagogue, and puts his hands on the woman. She immediately stands straight up and begins praising God.

And what happens? The Pharisees get mad. They like, as old Franky said, “stompin’ on people’s dreams.” It seems they don’t want the teaching in the temple to be applied on the street, at least not on the Sabbath. You see, that Pharisees thought the Sabbath was a day only for learning, it was a day only for sitting and listening and arguing. And so the Pharisee goes out to the assembled people, out to this crowd gathered around this woman who is now standing straight, praising God, and tells them, “Alright, that’s a freebe. But if the rest of you want to be healed, our office hours are Sunday through Friday. Saturdays, the Sabbath, we are closed for healings.” And I can imagine the outrage. I can imagine the people grumbling. And, just as clearly, I can imagine the Pharisee turning back to the people and saying, “That’s life! You may be down and out on Saturday, but you can always come on Sunday. Pull yourselves together, it’s the rules, and we must follow the rules.”

And Jesus takes the rules and stands them on their head. He points to the Pharisee as says, “You will untie your donkey for them to drink on the Sabbath. You will give them what is necessary for them to live, and yet you deny these people that very life sustaining food that you give your pets?” And then he points to the woman and says, “This is a daughter of Abraham! Your own bloodline. And yet you will not give her the same decency that you give your donkey, your ass?”

Now, I don’t mean to swear here from the pulpit, let alone in church, but that double entendre is so fitting, and it’s exactly the point that Jesus is making. The Pharisee was concerned about the rules; the rules for him dictated who was in, who was out, who got healed, and who stayed bent. But Jesus says, in effect, “What else is the time of God for than providing the healing that humanity needs? Forget the “rules.” When the rules prevent healing, prevent wholeness, we need to forget them, especially on the Sabbath!”

How slow we are to be merciful and use “the rules” as the excuse.

And, are we so quick to forget how God has bent the rules for us? It’s probably been years since you all have had catechism, so I’ll give you a quick refresher course. Luther’s explanation of the Third Article of the creed is helpful here. It says:

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

Now comes, Luther’s favorite line, “What does this mean.” You see, we affirm that these are not just words compiled together, but a meaningful statement of faith. So, what does this mean?

I believe I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him;

You cannot, by your own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ. I can’t either. Sounds to me like we’re all a bunch of spiritually bent people, walking outside the holiness of God. Sounds like we’re a lot like that woman, unable to stand in front of God, unable to even come close to God because our sin prevents us. We have not followed the rule to love God as we should, love our neighbor as we should, and so we’re an un-curably bent people.

But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

The Holy Spirit has called you by the Gospel. God has come out of the place of teaching with the word, just as Christ left that synagogue to hit the streets. You have been enlightened with gifts and kept in true faith by the God who comes to meet you.

Even as the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

So we’re not alone in this. God’s call is for everyone to be healed, especially on the Sabbath.

Let’s finish this out, now.

In which Christian Church God daily and richly forgives all sins to me and all believers, and will at the Last Day raise up me and all the dead, and give unto me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true.

You see, Luke is pointing out that we are all bent in front of the holiness of God, just as that woman was bent. And God in Christ has come out to us, reached out with that crucified hand, that hand with the nail mark clearly visible, to allow us to stand up straight in the presence of God. We can’t do it on our own, so Christ is sent to stand in solidarity with us. We are all spiritually bent. Here, on this holy day of the week, we learn, feel, hear, and see that. And it is also here where we come to be touched by Christ again, to confess that we are sinful, and stand straight before God again.

Every prayer, every prayer that we say here in this congregation is an admission of sin. When we pray for protection for our service men and women, we are confessing that we live and act in a society that hurts each other. When we pray for the homeless and the hungry, we admit that we do not always live in a way that provides for our neighbors. We come here bent on the Sabbath, and hear once again that God in Jesus has straightened us out, that the rules have been broken, that our sins are forgiven without our payment.

And so, what do we do? Do we, then, go out like that Pharisee and point out the ways that others are bent in this world? Do we go and hold the rules over people, withholding our healing hands that must do God’s work because the “rules of society” don’t allow it?

God in Christ has broken the rules for us. And so we must consider what our response to that is. Do we further push people who need healing, who need help, to the sides because “the rules” won’t let us help? Or do we provide healing, solace, wholeness back to humanity as Christ has done for us? This is the Christian dilemma, and one we must actively face. How will you, then, go out this day, knowing what Christ has done for you, begin to heal this world and the people of this world?

You know, Frank is right, sometimes we’re riding high in April and shot down in May. But that’s not life. That’s this world. Christ coming to meet us where we are, as bent and broken people, allowing us to stand up and praise God. Christ coming to restore us so that we can be instruments, tools, people that restore others. Now that’s life!

Amen.