Released from the Spirit of Infirmity (Luke 13: 10-17)

SERMON: St. Margaret’s Church

TRINITY 11 (22^nd August 2010)

Theme: Released from the Spirit of Infirmity (Luke 13: 10-17)

 

 

In our Gospel reading for this morning in Luke 13: 10-17, we heard the story of a woman suffering from spinal deformity who was healed by Jesus on the Sabbath.  We want to look, first of all at the four main characters in the story – the woman, the ruler of the synagogue, Jesus and the worshippers at the synagogue. 

We note that the woman had been suffering from deformity for 18 years.  The bible described it as ailment caused by an evil spirit. The ancient world believed without question in evil spirits, very much like us in this part of the world.  The idea of an ailing person being possessed by evil spirit or demons is common in the gospels.  Demons were held to be responsible, not only for disease like epilepsy and mental illness, but also for physical illness, as in the case of the woman in the story.

However, we don’t deny that this may be a real case of demon-possession. Remember that Luke was a medical doctor in those days.  He does not use word that would mean “illness, disease, or injury”, which in Greek would be “malkia” or “nosos”. Instead he uses the phrase “crippled by a spirit.” Then in verse 12 Jesus uses the word “infirmity.” It is the word “asthenia”, which means “weakness.”

Her weakness was probably caused by demonic influence because Jesus says in verse 16 she had been “bound by Satan” for 18 years.  We know that demonic spirits can provoke physical problems but not every illness or disease is caused by demons. There are 26 recorded miracles where Jesus heals someone of a physical problem and only seven of those are caused by demonic influence.

Demonic spirits can influence a person in a variety of ways, and Jesus has different ways of dealing with each situation.  Sometimes something dramatic and scary would happen. In almost all the cases he would not touch the persons concerned: he simply commanded the spirits to leave.  But in this passage Jesus touched the poor woman. And note that nothing dramatic happened: the woman simply stood up straight.

The way Luke describes it tells us that the woman seems to have no physiological cause for her illness.  It is possible that she could have been ailed by a lying spirit, which convinced her that she couldn’t stand up straight.  Doctors today tell us that there is a connection between the mind and the body. Some people are literally sick because they think they are sick, but there is no organic or physical reason to explain their illness. They are just as sick as someone who has an infection but the illness started in their minds.

Some of us may be suffering from this belief that we can’t change or do anything about our predicament.  There are people who cannot stop drinking alcohol, or abusing drugs, or being bitter, or being unforgiving” because they think that they can’t.   One of the devil’s greatest tools is to try to erect a stronghold in our minds to make us think we can’t do something God has called us to do.  That is why Ephesians 4: 27 tells us, “Do not give the devil a foothold.” If we give the devil an inch, he will rob us of our joy. 

There are a few things we can learn from this story. First, we learn that Jesus can deliver us from whatever infirmity we are in. Notice that when Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

If we have been carrying a weight of burden that we feel bent out of shape, we need to seek Jesus’ healing.  There are many things that can bend us over. Worry and anxiety can bend us over. Heartache, pain, frustration, and suffering can bend us over.  Problems like losing our jobs, being hurt, cheated, abused, or rejected by people can cause us to be downcast all the time. If we are trapped in some kind of sins, or carrying around some dark secrets, we can feel bent out of shape.  So when people invite us to do something or participate in something, we say, “I can’t”.  But I want to tell you now that if you allow Jesus to speak to you, or even touch you; he can put you back in shape.

Now, this poor woman was not the only crippled person there that day.  There is another crippled person besides her - the man who was offended by the fact that Jesus healed the woman on a Sabbath Day.  This man was the ruler of the synagogue, and he was responsible for good management of the synagogue, and to ensure that things were done properly and in accordance with tradition.  Like most orthodox Jews, he was very particular about the keeping of the Sabbath laws, and this was a serious matter to him.

There are many prohibitions with regard to Sabbath Law and these include going on a journey, buying or selling, lifting a load, working in a farm, lighting a fire, preparing a meal, riding an animal, travelling by ship at sea, killing animals or birds, fishing, fasting and going to war, among other things.    Healing a sick person is also work and therefore against the Sabbath Law.   

Our belief in God is meant to free us from the bondage of power of evil and death, but it often ends up binding us under greater bondage that we create ourselves.  It is very easy to be critical or to laugh at the superstitious or ridiculous ideas of people of other religions.  But there are Christians whose relationship with God is nothing more than obeying set of rules and prohibitions.  Their belief in God consists of “don’t do this,” and “don’t do that”, or that it only means staying faithful to past traditions and practices.    

So my questions are: How can we claim to have been set free by Jesus while we continue to live in fear and superstitions?  How can we claim to believe in the guidance in of the Holy Spirit and yet live a rigid lifestyle?   How can we claim to have love and yet we are control by fear and anxieties?  Is it not in to contradiction to 1 John 4: 18 that says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear”?  How can we say that we believe in the Holy Spirit but we get tied up with legalism, where there is no freedom to move and to explore, to implement new ideas, to realise visions and dreams?   

I believe the story we have just heard this morning is more than just a miracle of the past.  It has a message for us today that is not said in words but in action. We are told that the woman could not walk straight for 18 years, but that particular Sabbath Day she was given an opportunity to be healed.  The ruler of the synagogue, however, felt that the healing should be postponed to another day.  But Jesus decided that it was the day to give freedom to this woman, for the opportunity might not come again. 

I don’t know whether this miracle is speaking to you with regards to the situations you are in at the moment or not.  But I believe that Jesus wants me to bring to you his message in this short Gospel reading this morning.  One thing significant that we note in this miracle is the fact it was Jesus who called the woman to come over and be healed.  The woman could not see Jesus properly.  The woman’s focus was just her feet and the ground where her feet were.  Jesus could be saying to her something like this, “You have been looking at your feet and the ground you stood on during the last 18 years.   I want you to be freed from that because from now on I want you to experience the joy of looking ahead and looking forward and looking up”.  

Could Jesus be saying the same thing to us this morning?  Perhaps we may have been burdened by a similar spirit of infirmity that prevents us from looking outward and forward, to have vision and dreams.  Because of that we can only look our feet and the ground that we walked on all these years.  We may have concern outside ourselves, but the focal point is still ourselves.  I believe that there are so many Christians who walked like this bent woman – living in anxiety and fear, living without purpose and vision, without dreams, and without freedom.  So Jesus invites them to him today to hear him say, “Man, woman, you are freed of your infirmity.”   Remember that it does not matter when Jesus calls you, but when he calls you to him he wants to set you free.

This passage is also an important lesson for those of us who hold important positions in church.  The ruler of the synagogue did not want the woman to be healed on the Sabbath.   But he did not dare to challenge the power and authority of Jesus.  So he scolded the people and told them to come on other days to be healed.  I have seen people being condemned by church leaders, not because they done something wrong, but because God has done something in their lives.  I have seen transformed people who end up being labelled as religious extremists.  I have seen people inspired with new ideas, who got kicked out of the church committee.  I have known people who wanted to witness for Christ who got accuse of heresy.  And like the ruler of the synagogue, we don’t dare to blame God for what is happening but we blame the people whose lives are being changed by God.  The lesson this morning tells us to be careful against judging what is happening in people’s lives.  It is dangerous to conclude that the changes we see taking place in people’s lives are not in line with the will of God. 

Finally, there were the people who rejoiced at the glorious things that were done by Jesus.   Whenever Jesus is at work, he is bound to bring great joy in the lives of people.  Indeed, we still have challenges, crisis, difficulties and various needs here and there, but when Jesus is at work in our church there will be joy.  And when there is joy people will receive great encouragement from one another.  Out of it comes the fellowship that builds up love, peace and security.   Soon we become opened to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, instead of being under the watchful eye of the ‘ruler of the synagogue’ whose main concern is to ensure the people are obeying the rules and keeping the tradition.

Our gospel reading is about Jesus healing a woman with a crooked back.  Picture yourself in the place of the woman, with Jesus saying to you, “Man or woman, today you are freed of your infirmity”.   Today is the day that Jesus wants to free you of your burden so that you can stand up straight and look ahead of you.   Don’t listen to the voice of the ruler of the synagogue who said, “Not today – come again other days.”