ࡱ> LNK E/bjbjVV 8B<<'+8Gc40$N t-܆pt_0,d!d!-d!-\>,$2{|d! : Sabbath: Time to liberate Illustration: The first couple of months in Madagascar were certainly eye opening. I can remember travelling to the capital, Antananarivo or Tana as the locals call it, to visit a number of shops and to see, what use to be, the largest open market in the world. As i walked down a road i was greeted with this shape covered in dark rags lying on the pavement. As i got closer i realised it was a woman, whose skin was as dark as the torn rags she was in. She was bent over as though all her muscles and bones had ceased up. She was unable to look up and i could only image her view of the world, the micro picture of dirty pavement and people rubbish. She was unable to move unless others helped her apart from one hand that she held out beggingly to all those who passed by. She was in bondage to her useless body She was in bondage to those who would use her for their own needs She was in bondage to how people felt as they walked past her If only I thought she could be liberated from such bondage, but what could i do? The woman Today we hear a story about Jesus healing a woman on a Sabbath. A woman I believe was in a similar state to the one I experienced in Madagascar The narrator, which is Luke, gives little clue about why this woman is in the synagogue on this particular Sabbath day, saying simply that she appeared. Because she is crippled by a spirit of weakness, Luke reveals that the woman has been unable able to straighten up completely for 18 years A few lines later in the story, the womans condition is again attributed to evil powers; she has been bound by Satan. Although each of the Gospels contains stories that convey a belief in spirits and spirit-aggression, John Pilch notes that this motif seems particularly prominent in Luke. This story is not an exorcism, but the fact that the womans condition is attributed to an evil spirit connects her with other possessed people in Luke. The womans spirit of weakness can refer to various sorts of ailments, infirmities, or illnesses. Taken in its ancient context, the notion of illness or infirmity does not point simply to a physical illness but also relates to social and personal perceptions of socially disvalued states. The presence of an evil spirit within and the reality of an infirm or un-whole physical condition provided cause for the bent woman to be labelled unclean. Unclean persons were seen as a threat to the collective purity of the people of Israel Thus the combination of evil spirit and infirm body in the woman creates a double marginalization of uncleanliness that would have restricted her to the outer edges of her community. Perhaps the choice to describe the woman as bent over illustrates, at least in part, her low social position. This woman has the worst of both worlds An infirmity and an infirmed social status Lets pause slightly to consider those whom we know who are similar to this bent over woman Whom society might consider unclean today? What would we do if they entered our sanctuary on the Sabbath? What did Jesus do? Even though a spirit of weakness has kept the woman from straightening up for 18 years, the story offers no evidence that she seeks to be healed by Jesus. Her inaction implies that the woman knows that approaching Jesus for healing on the Sabbath day would be illegal. Instead Jesus summons the woman and places his hands on her. We are told that she was straighten at once and began praising God Later in the story, the synagogue ruler suggests that infirm people ought not to present themselves for healing on the Sabbath. Jesus responds with support for the woman, Revealing two essential points First, Jesus identifies her as this womana daughter of Abraham. Lukes Gospel reserves such an honoured title for only one other person, Zacchaeus. Second, Jesus describes the womans healing as an act of setting free or loosing one who has been bound Understanding the importance of Abrahams role in Lukes Gospel reinforces the significance of naming the woman a daughter of Abraham. For Luke, Abraham functions to represent Gods originating covenant and promise to the Hebrew people. Part of Gods fulfilment of the covenant made to Abraham is realised through radical reversals. Mary, for example, sings of such reversals in Luke 1:50-55. In her song, Mary describes how the powerful are brought down And the lowly are lifted up. The hungry are filled And the rich are sent away empty. For her all these reversals connect directly to Gods steadfast love and to Gods faithfulness To the covenant God made with Abraham. Marys song illustrates that Gods promise to Abraham and his descendants can be fulfilled only through radical social upheaval In which the powerful are brought down And the lowly are lifted The hungry are filled And the rich are sent away empty. When Jesus calls the woman a daughter of Abraham, then He essentially names her share in the blessing of Abrahams children And binds her forever to Gods faithfulness and mercy We need to note here that the woman does not become a daughter of Abraham at Jesus naming; Rather, she is already and has always been a child of the promise. Jesus public affirmation of the womans place in Abrahams lineage points simply to the womans restored place with her people No longer is she a social outcast A woman unclean Jesus says that the woman has been set free from Satans bondage. Lukes use of the language of loosing or setting free Points us back to Jesus proclamation Of mission in chapter 4 Where part of Gods saving work through Jesus involves setting prisoners free. Significantly, the womans freedom also comes on the Sabbath The day that serves as a remembrance of the Jubilee in which all debts are forgiven and all slaves freed. The liberation of a daughter of Abraham is total Encompassing both the physical healing that restores her to health And the social healing that restores her place in the Jubilee community of promise Jesus in relation to the woman Jesus acts with shocking boldness in relation to the woman in this story He is teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath when she appears Apparently moved by compassion for the womans condition Jesus takes initiative for her healing. Seeing her he calls her over to him and places his hands on her Ignoring any potential impurity or defilement that may come from touching a bent woman bound by an evil spirit Highlighting the authority of Jesus words and actions, the result occurs immediately after he declares the womans freedom from her weakness Not only does Jesus heal the woman Jesus also becomes her advocate He defends her to the crowd when the Synagogue leader suggests that her Sabbath healing is equivalent to law breaking The Synagogue leader The Synagogue leader takes centre stage just after Jesus healing actions that led to the liberation of the bent woman. The hopeful mood is very quickly eroded when this leader responds with anger to what Jesus has done And having done it on the Sabbath Indignant at Jesus seeming disregard for the law, the leader addresses the crowd Six days exist on which work ought to be done Therefore come and get healed on those days not on the Sabbath!! Imagine a boxer in a ring and the bell is about to ring for the first round to begin Jesus comes into the ring instantly and begins to spar with the leader Jesus calls him and all those like him hypocrites. When Jesus continues his discourse in a way that reverses the synagogue leaders views of the law and what ought to be done on the Sabbath The leader an all those like him are put to shame. Before we consider the character of this leader and his reactions to Jesus, It will be helpful to understand the leaders roles and responsibilities The honoured office of synagogue leader, acquired election Appointment Or inheritance Served a wide range of practical and spiritual leadership Duties included regulating worship Choosing Torah readers and prayer leaders Inviting people to preach and contributing to the building and restoration of the synagogue building. The leader also represented the congregation to the community and to outside authorities Functioning as the synagogues ambassador to the world beyond the synagogues walls. As a person of public authority in the congregation This leader had a specific view about healing that had just taken place. First, his response falls clearly within the expectation of his position. Second, the leaders interpretation of the law is at stake In the face of Jesus public Sabbath healing According to the leader, Jesus flagrant lawbreaking puts down the holiness that should define his behaviour as faithful and God fearing. Jesus is a law breaker and he should know better! Sabbath: time to liberate So where does this fit with our final study that many will be looking at this coming week? Sabbath a time to liberate One of the key things that we learn from this reading and Jesus actions is That according to Jesus interpretation of the law Gods chief attribute is mercy not holiness Although the Synagogue Leader was in many ways correct in treating the Sabbath as a Holy day Jesus is telling us that Sabbath should be a day of mercy before a day of holiness A day of liberation rather than a day of selfish law keeping A day of setting free rather than a day of binding people up What may this look like? Maybe we need to look at how we bind other up during our week Maybe we need to go further than that and look at how we may bind up our creation Or enslave the environment and our resources Examples: free range chickens Learning from our brothers and sisters in Christ in Myanmar about liberation How our not stopping may cause others to not to be able to stop. 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