Luke 13:10-17
Proper 16 / Year C
This morning’s
gospel reading about a woman bent over being healed brings to mind a painful personal
memory. My daughter Ellen was around
five years old and we were playing in a local swimming pool. She loved to be picked up and tossed high in
the air. The higher the toss, the bigger
the splash! She would swim right back to
me and insisted I throw her again. She
could do this for hours. I could
not. One time she was swimming beside me
and I twisted my back, grabbed hold of her, turned, and tossed. You don’t have to be clairvoyant to know
where this story is going. I wrenched my
lower back. I bothered me for the better
part of a year. And no, of course I
never went to see a doctor.
It was a stressful
time in the life of our family. My wife
was not able to be employed if the field of her choice. We were losing ground financially. I was in the midst of searching for a new call
and this became known to the parish when a small group of strangers from a
search committee showed up in church one Sunday. There is nothing pleasant about being a lame-duck
priest. And my lower back hurt.
In my experience,
at least, the process of finding a new position as a clergy person is not
easy. It is marked by periods of highs
and lows, inactivity and frenzied deadlines.
This long process came to a merciful end when I accepted a call from a
church in Richmond, where I served for ten years before coming here.
I tell you this
story because the morning after I accepted that call I woke up, got out of bed,
and realized for the first time in over a year my back did not hurt. What began as a legitimate physical injury
was prolonged because emotional stress will always metastasize at the weakest
part of our bodies. Take away the stress
and the physical problem may just go away.
Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘psychosomatic’ as “a
disorder of the body originating in or aggravated by the psychic or emotional
process of the individual.” It can run
the gamut from a mild form of hypochondria to actual blindness or
paralysis. I once read a book were the
author contended some people actually develop cancer as a response to emotional
stress. I know of one such person in my
ministry who may have had this happen to him.
When his stress was alleviated, he responded positively to treatment.
The text doesn’t
tell us what caused the women Jesus meets today to be bent over. No doubt there is a physical component to her
suffering. But surely there are mental and
emotional aspects which contribute to her chronic condition. She lives in a small village where everyone
knows your story and everyone knows your business. There is no place to hide. There is nowhere to get away from critical
eyes. And, based on how the religious
leaders react to Jesus, there are a lot of well-placed, highly critical people
in her community. It may or may not have
caused this woman to be bent over, but you can be sure it contributed to her
suffering.
In his book Jesus
the Village Psychiatrist, Donald Capps notes there are three different
definitions for the word “miracle.” The
first is “an event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws
and is hence thought to be due to supernatural causes.” In this sense, a miracle defies explanation. The second definition is “a remarkable event
or thing.” Used in this manner, a
miracle is a marvel. And the third
definition holds “a miracle is a wonderful example.”
Notice that all
three aspects of the word miracle are present in today’s reading. When the woman is able to stand erect, she
begins to praise God. She senses
straight away her healing is due to a divine act. Jesus, in confronting the religious authorities,
treats the event as being a wonderful example of doing good, even and especially
on the Sabbath. And the people who
witness all of this rejoice at the “wonderful things” Jesus is doing.
For Jesus there is
no time better than right now to alleviate human suffering and indignity. He demonstrates not just God’s power, but
even more so, God’s compassion for each and every one of us.
Where does this
holy compassion come from?
In this morning’s first
reading we hear God issue a prophetic call to Jeremiah, who is a mere youth at
the time. The Lord justifies this action
by saying to the lad, “Before you were in the womb I knew you and before you
were born I consecrated you.” It is amazing
to ponder God’s deep love for Jeremiah, and for you and me, began before we even
were conceived.
I recall vividly how
powerfully I was overcome with love the very moment the nurse handed our first child
to me and I held her. It was like being
hit by a lightning bolt. And I have been
wondering how expectant mothers bond with the person developing in their
wombs. Is there a single moment when you
recognize your love for the baby you are carrying or does it grow over time?
Well, thinking back
on those times of birth in your life will give you some insight into how God feels
about you and why God feels this way. God
rejoices when you rejoice. God laughs
when you laugh. God weeps when you
weep. God suffers when you suffer. And when you need it most, God heals when you
hurt. We see this so clearly in what
Jesus does for the woman bent over. No
critic or misapplied custom is going to prevent him from restoring her to
fulness of life and dignity.
I pray you will be
able look at every person you know and you encounter and recognize him or her
as deeply know by God from before conception and completely loved. And I pray you will have eyes to see yourself
in this same light.
