Sermon - 2019-08-25
Within today’s Gospel lesson, we hear of a woman who has been afflicted with suffering for eighteen years. The woman is described as crippled but able to move about. Someone who was hunched over because of the pain that she felt. So this is something where every this woman felt this pain, not only that but probably ever step she took she felt that pain. She could not go to the medicine cabinet and take a pill and the pain would be gone. No, for eighteen years, she bore this pain.
For many of us, we have no idea what that is like. We are miserable just being sick for a week. Now after that week of rest, fluids and maybe having someone take care of us. We come out of that, ready to get back to life and hustle and bustle that is our daily routine. Some of us, have a pain in a joint from an old sports injury but the pain comes and goes. When that pain comes, it can bring us to our knees, where we have to sit down and rest until things subside. Yet when this happens and there is no cure for it, we just simply find a way to adjust our life. Ok, no more playing football or tennis. Yet still life goes on.
Which brings me back to this woman. She was hurting for eighteen years. Eighteen years of getting up in the morning, there was pain, at breakfast more pain, morning routine pain came along, during lunch, afternoon events, through dinner and time with the family, through work and even laying down for bed there was pain. After a time, we adjust our life to know that the pain is going to be part of our life. We just come to expect that the pain will be there. This woman has suffered for eighteen years, that would take us back to 2001, for some of you, you were not even born yet.
One day she enters into the Temple of God and there is a man who is surrounded by people and people have said that he has cured others of their illness, given sight to the blind, and now he is here. When Jesus heals the woman, she no longer has pain, she is able to stand up straight again, she is able to run (if she wanted), she is able for first time in a long time be able to walk and not think about the pain that had always accompanied her.
Now imagine, a priest from the Temple coming to the crowd and saying, you all should come back tomorrow for that is the right time for work to be done. One more day of waiting for relief? One more day of waiting in pain? What words would you say to that priest?
Jesus goes on to explain to the crowd that purpose of God’s House and God’s Laws are the benefit of the people. We should never regard the laws that we have from God as meaning that we should make others suffer. The laws are given to us that we may be aware of the ways that we may harm ourselves and others in the community but also find ways of helping one another who are suffering.
For many of us, we have no idea what that is like. We are miserable just being sick for a week. Now after that week of rest, fluids and maybe having someone take care of us. We come out of that, ready to get back to life and hustle and bustle that is our daily routine. Some of us, have a pain in a joint from an old sports injury but the pain comes and goes. When that pain comes, it can bring us to our knees, where we have to sit down and rest until things subside. Yet when this happens and there is no cure for it, we just simply find a way to adjust our life. Ok, no more playing football or tennis. Yet still life goes on.
Which brings me back to this woman. She was hurting for eighteen years. Eighteen years of getting up in the morning, there was pain, at breakfast more pain, morning routine pain came along, during lunch, afternoon events, through dinner and time with the family, through work and even laying down for bed there was pain. After a time, we adjust our life to know that the pain is going to be part of our life. We just come to expect that the pain will be there. This woman has suffered for eighteen years, that would take us back to 2001, for some of you, you were not even born yet.
One day she enters into the Temple of God and there is a man who is surrounded by people and people have said that he has cured others of their illness, given sight to the blind, and now he is here. When Jesus heals the woman, she no longer has pain, she is able to stand up straight again, she is able to run (if she wanted), she is able for first time in a long time be able to walk and not think about the pain that had always accompanied her.
Now imagine, a priest from the Temple coming to the crowd and saying, you all should come back tomorrow for that is the right time for work to be done. One more day of waiting for relief? One more day of waiting in pain? What words would you say to that priest?
Jesus goes on to explain to the crowd that purpose of God’s House and God’s Laws are the benefit of the people. We should never regard the laws that we have from God as meaning that we should make others suffer. The laws are given to us that we may be aware of the ways that we may harm ourselves and others in the community but also find ways of helping one another who are suffering.
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