Luke 13:10-17
Let’s continue to remember to pray for Jim and Marty.
“Notice what you notice.” …all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced… (v. 17) It would be nice sometime to go through all the Gospels and find each occasion where Jesus “violated” the Sabbath. It’s clear that on each occasion He wins the day with His logic – and makes further enemies of the Jewish leaders. But seldom is that outcome expressed as clearly as in verse 17, with His adversaries shamed and the people rejoicing.
One wonders at this woman appearing in the synagogue. Was that common? I looked online and found this comment: “At the Temple in Jerusalem, women were restricted to an outer court. In synagogues they were separated from the men and not permitted to read aloud. They were not allowed to bear witness in a religious court.” (https://www.franciscanmedia.org/jesus-extraordinary-treatment-of-women/) So somehow this woman appears in a synagogue and Jesus calls her over when He sees her (literally, When Jesus saw her…, v. 12a).
The picture in my head is similar to the one we have for the woman with an issue of blood. She was hesitant, but determined. Each woman showed up and did what she was not supposed to do – in the first case touching the hem of Jesus’ garment and in the second appearing at the synagogue door.
So what to take away from this incident? For me, if I am confident that I am taking the same position that Jesus would take, then I should not be afraid to speak out. Naturally I have to trust that I have “Holy Spirit truth” on my side. This is not just a theoretical or theological matter for me. Back in 2003-2004 I was Assistant Treasurer for the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington. During that summer and winter there were three occasions when I stood up to Bishop Sauls (the Diocesan Bishop at the time of St. Andrew’s split from the Episcopal Church) and on each occasion I was rudely shut down. But even after the first and after the second slam, I continued to speak out because I knew that “it was the right thing to do”. If you feel Holy Spirit nudges in some direction where you might feel uncomfortable, don’t be afraid to move forward. As Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20, NASB).
Slava Bohu!