Pentecost 13
Year C
August 22, 2010
Isaiah 58:9b-14
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 13:10-17
She was bent over and quite unable to stand up straight.
That Sabbath, she had struggled to get herself out of bed, get dressed and walk the short way to the Synagogue for prayer.
The same struggle she had endured for eighteen long years.
But why? Why did she come to the Synagogue on that day? Certainly people would’ve understood if she had just stayed home. But she didn’t.
Perhaps she came looking for a miracle.
Perhaps she was drawn to the community for the comfort, for the support, and the encouragement they gave her.
Perhaps she came that day because she needed to connect with God. To join in the praise and the worship.
Then again, maybe it was just habit. Maybe she came every week, simply because she knew it was God’s command to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.
We don’t know why she came. But she came.
And after eighteen long years…
She finally met the one who could free her from her bondage. Who could liberate her from her suffering. Who could straighten out her bent life.
And he did. With a word, he did.
But, you know, the woman wasn’t the only one who needed straightening out on that particular Sabbath Day.
The leader of the Synagogue was bent too, though he probably didn’t realize it.
Like the woman, he had come to the Synagogue that day to pray and to praise and to hear God’s Word read.
And as leader of the Synagogue, he was, no doubt, responsible – at least in part -- for making sure those things happened.
He knew how to lead the liturgy. He knew all the rules. He knew when to stand up, and when to sit down, and how to handle the scrolls properly.
Due to his experience and learning, he thought he knew best how to honor God. He knew best how to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy… just as God had commanded.
And so, he was indignant when Jesus healed the woman.
Didn’t this wandering teacher know how things worked in the Synagogue? What was his problem?!
Yes, he was indignant…
And then, he was ashamed.
He was so caught up in making sure things got done right… that he almost missed a miracle. He almost missed the very One he was there to honor and praise.
He almost missed God.
But Jesus straightens him out too, doesn’t he?
He confronted his misunderstanding of the Sabbath day. He reminded this leader and those standing with him, of what Sabbath is really all about. About what it’s truly intended to be:
A day of liberation.
A day of blessed freedom.
A day dedicated to reveling in the God of steadfast love and mercy…
Who straightens us out so that we can live.
Who straightens us out so that we can serve.
We are bent people, you and I.
Like the woman, many come here bent down by heavy burdens.
Some physical. Some emotional.
Some come bent by broken relationships.
Others come carrying the weight grief and loss.
Yes, we are bent people, you and I.
Like the leader of the Synagogue, sometimes we come so wrapped up in ourselves and our need to be in control that we can miss the many wonderful ways that God is at work in our lives.
Yes, all of us… all of us… come here bent,
And here, we meet Jesus.
Week in and week out, we meet Jesus.
And sometimes he challenges us in our hypocrisy,
And sometimes he comforts us in our struggles.
But always, always he seeks to touch us, to change us, to free us from all those things that bend us over and beat us up and keep us from being everything he intends for us to be.
And that, ultimately, is what the Sabbath Day is for.
That’s the reason God gave us this commandment in the first place.
Because God knew we would need a day, once a week, when we could gather together with other bent people and to find strength in one another.
God knew we would need a day, once a week, to gather and be reminded of his great love for us.
God knew we would need a day, once a week, to have our burdens lifted, and our backs straightened and our eyes raised up to him in praise.
And so, we come, not just because God commands us to keep this day holy, but because it is here that we hear again and again the good news that God has acted to free us from everything that bends us.
Acted, so that we might go back into the world to be the people God intends for us to be.
So that we can go back into the world and live as people of faith, as people who reflect the very love and grace of God we ourselves have received from God.
Yes, we need to gather together to praise God and hear God’s word week after week because the world can be a pretty tough place.
It can bend us over again and again.
And that’s why we come and celebrate Sabbath: a day of liberty and joy, when we can gather with other once-bent people to praise God for God’s goodness and grace and mercy.
To celebrate our relationship with the Creator; a relationship that lies at the very core of our existence.
To be straightened and strengthened, so we can go out to serve, and to rejoice in all the wonderful things God has done.
A day when we can meet again the One who died so that we might have life:
Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.