Rugged Faith Journey Tools
Commentary
Today’s texts address various life situations where the Christian faith journey is rugged in different ways depending on where one finds themselves in life. One preaching path might to be identify which sort of rugged situations do we find people in our community facing? Might there be some bad news just around the corner, which cannot be soft pedaled in any way? The Jeremiah 1 text is empathetic. Are there aging Christians who will rely on more trust and hopes, as their bodies and minds decline in health? Psalm 71 is a good cup of herbal tea for the soul. Then are there people who are at a crossroads as to whether they really want to continue being part of this community of faith. Hebrews reminds preachers that we as a church have been here before. With the same words from scripture from times past, we are able to address these situations. We have similar choices. Finally, is there ever a wrong time and place for healing—especially for those who lack resources? Luke’s gospel is always good news for the ill, downtrodden and people without voice in any given time and society controlled by heartless elitists.
Jeremiah 1:4-10
When hope is a rare commodity in lieu of all of the chaos and disorder surrounding people, Jeremiah is brutally honest, yet provides an alternative script for hope. The book is divided roughly into two parts. Jeremiah 1-25 prepares people for death and dismantling, which soon to arrive in mean-spirited fashion. Jeremiah 26-52 reminds the people of faith that they will survive these ordeals. The entire book is a survivor’s guide for the dispirited people of faith who are living on the edge of despair. Losses do not signal the end of people of faith in the God of Israel.
Jeremiah the prophet had a forty-year career, 627-587 BCE. The book took shape after the exile in 587 BCE. The prophet wants to depict the unstable social and political conditions before and after the exile. For Jeremiah, “exile” is social dislocation and vulnerability. Today a person might need to relocate away from family, close friends and support systems in order to make a living or survive. It is addressed to the exiles on Babylon who have yet to come to grips with a past golden era that is gone and uncertain future.
Two key texts of the book include: Jeremiah 29:28, “For the Lord has sent us to Babylon saying, ‘It will be a long time; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat what they produce.” That is find some peace and serenity in the land of exile while remaining faithful to God. Another key text in our lesson today is, Jeremiah 1:10, which could be viewed as both the prophet’s mission and statement and an interpretative lens for reading all of the book, “See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Some major themes from this text include God choosing us for a mission even before our birth. Our task is to travel on our faith journey to discover how God has gifted us and empowered us to carry on our life’s calling, despite any detours, errors and bad decisions we might make in life. God works alongside us despite our efforts to dismiss God or seek other idols. Jeremiah is a prophet similar to Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18.
This means he will have to share hard, difficult news such as a health care provider who must share positive test results of a cancerous tumor or failing body part. It could be a community leader announcing that major employer is relocating to another nation or has opted to close its doors. In post pandemic times, many retail stores and once thriving shopping mall owners have had to face this reality.
The text clearly indicates that the prophet did not want this vocation. He would prefer to be a voice during the time of managers of prosperity rather than a voice of delivering bad news. God’s promises God’s presence. God places God’s Word in the prophet. Also, God affirms God’s sovereign rule over all of the nations.
Prophets in scripture also bracket their judgment news with hope! Jeremiah does this in Jeremiah 30:2-3, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For the days are surely coming says the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors and they shall take possession of it.” This might be a good news text to keep in mind while preaching throughout the entire book of Jeremiah.
Meanwhile, the faith tools in this text are to “build and to plant.” As many mainline churches ponder their future in the face of gloomy statistics in both demographics and economic instability, Jeremiah might remind church leaders to find ways to plan sees of the faith. This could be from the Bible, respective catechisms, doctrines of the church or fellowship as well as local traditions which have sustained people through the ages in the community. For example, in one Norwegian community, the annual Norwegian meatball dinner is popular in both normal and difficult conditions, such as a pandemic or weather disaster.
From this text, one might explore a three-point sermon such as: 1) Seeds from Moses. 2) Seeds from Jeremiah. 3) Seeds from Christ. (Jeremiah 31:31), “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and house of Judah.” Would Jesus the Messiah be a good fit for this prophecy? [Source: Stulman, Louis, Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Jeremiah, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005)].
Psalm 71:1-6
Psalm 71:9 reveals the context and concern of the psalmist, “Do not cast me off in the time of old age, do not forsake me when my strength is spent.” Kenneth L. Carder has written an excellent book on aging issues entitled Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia through a Spiritual Lens (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2019). Carder shares a personal narrative about his wife Linda, a trained Christian educator whose doctor pronounced in November 2009 that she had frontotemporal dementia. She would experience loss of mental capacity to remember and recognize familiar words, people and events in her life. When the brain soon forgets, it’s confused and rapidly erodes in other thinking abilities, spirituality must now be thought and practiced in different ways. Carder sees that much of Christian practice is surrounded by confession of creeds, abilities to perform cognitive skills in discussion of topics, coherent prayer petitions and exchanges of ideas related to life decisions. For people whose thought processes are diminishing such as in dementia patients, they still need to be affirmed as human beings. They are baptized children of God who remain members of the faith community. Presence, familiar hymns, images and efforts to simply love a person who cannot reciprocate become some faith tools for this difficult spiritual journey. Personhood, materialism, source of salvation and the meaning of discipleship are now to be revisited for those who have a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease. Respite ministries offered by churches to relieve caretakers to get away from the homebound person is a contribution that people of faith can offer. The Book of Psalms continues to be what I was taught to be “herbal tea for the soul.”
Psalm 71is written in retrospect by an aging person who anticipates the rugged journey which lies ahead for all people who feel their bodies and minds either slowing down or aging. Not being put to shame is at top of this person’s worry list. The same God who has delivered in times past listens, delivers and remains a refuge for this elderly writer. God is the rock and fortress similar to Psalm 46, on which the familiar hymn, “A Mighty Fortress” is written and could be played as musical reminder to a loved one who is unresponsive to verbal conversation. God remains trustworthy now as God was one whom people can still lean on since their time of birth.
Other Psalms related to Psalm 71 include Psalms 22, 31, 35, 36 and 40. All may be read aloud to anybody whose health renders them unresponsive. Psalms remain our prayers to God, as well as the Lord’s words of comfort to all people of faith of all times. [Sources: Brueggemann, Walter and William H. Bellinger, Jr., New Cambridge Bible Commentary: Psalms, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2014); Carder, Kenneth L., Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia Through a Spiritual Lens, Nashville, TN, Abingdon Press, 2019); Kidner, Derek, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms 1-72, Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press, 1973)].
Hebrews 12:18-29
“Indeed, the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” Hebrews 4:12. Imagine a clergy person dressed in his or her clerical collar or other clerical clothing entering into a grocery store late Sunday morning to get a few items of food. Other shoppers might observe this is a person of “the cloth.” For those customers who are still dressed from being in church, such an image is good news that people of faith also support local merchants. To the person who is either inactive in church or attends in a hit or miss manner when convenient, this same clerical wear represents possible conviction of guilt or being “busted” for skipping church (again). God’s Word in Hebrews has the same effect. Today’s text uses mountains to make a similar point.
The mountain image might be likened to a travelogue where a person has a choice of going to the same place. To some it is a trip to Mount Sinai. This elicits holy terror of hearing God’s voice of judgement. All that has gone wrong for Israel is symbolized in this Mount Sinai where they received the commandments, disobeyed them repeatedly and now know better and have other options. For other travelers to this same mountain, it could be viewed as Mount Zion, the place of King David’s camelot ruling period. It is a place where God refines a person’s faith; purifies the community and preserves the faithful righteous.
Hebrews is intended to be a pastoral letter or sermon for discouraged Christians who are considering leaving the community of faith due to persecution, weariness and the second coming does not seem in the near future (Dated 90 CE). This particular chapter is intended to offer words of hope. While God is a source of judgement, one has a choice of viewing such a refiner’s fire from the perspective of self-serving faith in that of idols, or the God whose son Jesus has taken on the sins of humanity which also points people to Mount Zion?’
The Book of Hebrews is a difficult book to read. Therefore, it is helpful to have key texts such as Hebrews 4:12 as an interpretative lens. We all travel rugged roads in life. Hebrews 12 simply says the same mountain can be either be viewed as our Sinai that convicts us or Zion which refines our faith in God.
A four-point sermon might look like: 1) Mountain on a City (12:22a), 2) Angels and the Firstborn 12:22b-23a 3) The Judge and Acquittal (12: 23b) 4) Jesus and the Sprinkled Blood (12:24). Other insights from this text include we do not climb up mountains in life’s challenges alone. Jesus as Christ is the first born who has travelled ahead of us (in the form of the cross and resurrection). Also, the one who was a little lower than angels (2:7) is now the mediator whose word continues to be a two-edged sword on our life’s journeys, which we can either shrink back from or have faith as we continue to face the next challenge and obstacles in life.
“The bottom line to this whole passage is through Jesus, God has brought people to a kingdom that cannot shaken, to a new order to a fresh spiritual reality…Our God is pure mercy, the God of peace (13:20), and at the same time he is a consuming fire (10:27)” (Smith, 167). [Sources: Long Thomas G, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Hebrews, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997); Smith, Robert H., Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Hebrews, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1984)].
Luke 13:10-17
Luke’s Gospel is the longest book in the New Testament. Luke has taken material from Mark’s gospel in addition to Jesus’ saying in the Q source. It is written to Theophilus (1:3) by a second-generation believer who has very refined language skills and has often been referred to as “the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14, 2 Timothy 4:11, and Philemon 2:4). Fifty percent of Luke’s Gospel is found nowhere else, including the gospel lesson this week. Generally, Luke is dated in the 80s CE around the time of Matthew’s Gospel. One of Luke’s messages to people of faith of all times is God is still at work in the universe, as God keeps God’s promises. The original audience had concerns regarding the death of the original twelve apostles and the second coming did not seem imminent. Yet Luke 21:25-38 is a reminder that it will indeed arrive one day. Meanwhile, God remains active in the world. Luke takes a universal outlook in terms of outreach ministry. Jesus’ mission statement in Luke is found in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost.” Today’s lesson might serve another example of Jesus fulfilling his mission in Luke.
The story is about Jesus’ healing on the sabbath. He will do so again of a man with dropsy in Luke 14:1-6. Sabbath laws served as identity markers between Jews and Gentiles. They were also measuring tools between the pious and impious. Jesus’ opponents were less concerned about God’s jurisdiction over humanity while losing sight of God’s grace and benevolence. The synagogue leader, scribes and Pharisees used the same sabbath laws which were intended to preserve humans from unrealistic seven day labor burdens with their warped attitudes of judgement and unrealistic demands for the common working person.
A woman is standing at the back of the synagogue who had been crippled for eighteen years with a form of inflammation of her spine that leads to fusion of her vertebrae, which renders her incapable of straightening her up. Her presence in the synagogue was undoubtedly frowned upon the leaders because many believed that physical abnormality is a result of divine retribution from God for sins committed. She is an unclean outcast by their standards. Instead of leaving her hidden in the back of the synagogue, Jesus summons her. He lays hands on her and “immediately she stood up straight and began praising God” (Luke 13:13). She is liberated and cured while praising God until a synagogue ruler ruins her holy moment of praise with criticism. Jesus is criticized for healing her on the sabbath day.
Some observations to be made here, is first Jesus does teach in the synagogue. This makes the point that in Luke’s Gospel, the traditional places of worship remain places where God is present and cando great acts of healing, as well as places to learn about the scripture. Also, certain rules from God are intended to serve humans not simply exist for their own intrinsic value.
Jesus makes this point in exposing these synagogue leaders as hypocrites. They do care for their livestock on the sabbath. This woman has suffered for eighteen years, yet the implication here is livestock is more important than this woman Jesus would call a daughter of Abraham (13:16).
This points to another theme in Luke. Jesus does give women dignity and gives them a voice for their concerns. They are just as much children of Abraham as any synagogue leader, Pharisee or scribe. A preaching path here might be Jesus gives voice to the voiceless whoever they are in a given community.
Finally, “in the grand scheme of things, her physical, social and spiritual restoration represents the most authentic expression of honoring the sabbath” (Chen, 195). His opponents are shamed. The woman’s wholeness is witness to what God can do in the synagogue through people who use scripture in a healing, restorative way. [Sources: Chen, Diane G. New Covenant Commentary Series: Luke, Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, Luke, 2017); Powell, Mark Allan, Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary and Theological Survey, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009); Tiede, David L., Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Luke, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1988)].
Application
In his book, Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex and Death in a World That’s Lost its Mind, anthropology expert Jamie Wheal makes the point in a tongue and cheek manner that any long-lasting religion be it traditional or indigenous native has the traits of inspiration, healing and connection as their core values. How one is inspired differs from life experiences and exposures to various media and music. However, houses of worship should be places of healing wounds and being able to connect to worshippers in meaningful ways which do not result in being judged or criticized. Wheal agrees with the teachings and acts of Jesus. He is critical of mainline religion being a bureaucracy and suggests in his book that many non-Christians and even non organized religion members often model the acts and teachings of Jesus than the more so than orthodox members of any organized church. The Gospel Lesson might make Wheal’s point. Though, Wheal’s book has some areas where he freely admits he thinks the Gnostics and certain hedonistic groups are onto something, he still supports the acts of healing and connection Jesus made in this ministry here on earth.
How can our places of worship be places of healing? One example might be Sunday school or youth ministry might have adult mentors who young people from chaotic homes may look up to as role models. Also, regarding Kenneth Carder’s book, a “respite ministry” to sit with a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease, so the family can have time away is both a healing and is a sign of Christ the suffering servant’s presence. [Sources: Wheal, Jamie, Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex and Death in a World That’s Lost its Mind, New York, NY Harper Wave, 2021)].
Alternative Application
What is the value of the sabbath these days? Does making money for both commercial and employment reasons negate this third commandment in Exodus 20:8? Does disobeying the sabbath command without a day of rest have its own intrinsic reward and punishment cycle related to the human body lacking rest? Also, the point needs to be made that the sabbath is a Jewish day of rest. Sunday as the Lord’s day of rest, is based on Jesus’ day of resurrection.
Jeremiah 1:4-10
When hope is a rare commodity in lieu of all of the chaos and disorder surrounding people, Jeremiah is brutally honest, yet provides an alternative script for hope. The book is divided roughly into two parts. Jeremiah 1-25 prepares people for death and dismantling, which soon to arrive in mean-spirited fashion. Jeremiah 26-52 reminds the people of faith that they will survive these ordeals. The entire book is a survivor’s guide for the dispirited people of faith who are living on the edge of despair. Losses do not signal the end of people of faith in the God of Israel.
Jeremiah the prophet had a forty-year career, 627-587 BCE. The book took shape after the exile in 587 BCE. The prophet wants to depict the unstable social and political conditions before and after the exile. For Jeremiah, “exile” is social dislocation and vulnerability. Today a person might need to relocate away from family, close friends and support systems in order to make a living or survive. It is addressed to the exiles on Babylon who have yet to come to grips with a past golden era that is gone and uncertain future.
Two key texts of the book include: Jeremiah 29:28, “For the Lord has sent us to Babylon saying, ‘It will be a long time; build houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat what they produce.” That is find some peace and serenity in the land of exile while remaining faithful to God. Another key text in our lesson today is, Jeremiah 1:10, which could be viewed as both the prophet’s mission and statement and an interpretative lens for reading all of the book, “See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Some major themes from this text include God choosing us for a mission even before our birth. Our task is to travel on our faith journey to discover how God has gifted us and empowered us to carry on our life’s calling, despite any detours, errors and bad decisions we might make in life. God works alongside us despite our efforts to dismiss God or seek other idols. Jeremiah is a prophet similar to Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18.
This means he will have to share hard, difficult news such as a health care provider who must share positive test results of a cancerous tumor or failing body part. It could be a community leader announcing that major employer is relocating to another nation or has opted to close its doors. In post pandemic times, many retail stores and once thriving shopping mall owners have had to face this reality.
The text clearly indicates that the prophet did not want this vocation. He would prefer to be a voice during the time of managers of prosperity rather than a voice of delivering bad news. God’s promises God’s presence. God places God’s Word in the prophet. Also, God affirms God’s sovereign rule over all of the nations.
Prophets in scripture also bracket their judgment news with hope! Jeremiah does this in Jeremiah 30:2-3, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For the days are surely coming says the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors and they shall take possession of it.” This might be a good news text to keep in mind while preaching throughout the entire book of Jeremiah.
Meanwhile, the faith tools in this text are to “build and to plant.” As many mainline churches ponder their future in the face of gloomy statistics in both demographics and economic instability, Jeremiah might remind church leaders to find ways to plan sees of the faith. This could be from the Bible, respective catechisms, doctrines of the church or fellowship as well as local traditions which have sustained people through the ages in the community. For example, in one Norwegian community, the annual Norwegian meatball dinner is popular in both normal and difficult conditions, such as a pandemic or weather disaster.
From this text, one might explore a three-point sermon such as: 1) Seeds from Moses. 2) Seeds from Jeremiah. 3) Seeds from Christ. (Jeremiah 31:31), “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and house of Judah.” Would Jesus the Messiah be a good fit for this prophecy? [Source: Stulman, Louis, Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Jeremiah, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005)].
Psalm 71:1-6
Psalm 71:9 reveals the context and concern of the psalmist, “Do not cast me off in the time of old age, do not forsake me when my strength is spent.” Kenneth L. Carder has written an excellent book on aging issues entitled Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia through a Spiritual Lens (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2019). Carder shares a personal narrative about his wife Linda, a trained Christian educator whose doctor pronounced in November 2009 that she had frontotemporal dementia. She would experience loss of mental capacity to remember and recognize familiar words, people and events in her life. When the brain soon forgets, it’s confused and rapidly erodes in other thinking abilities, spirituality must now be thought and practiced in different ways. Carder sees that much of Christian practice is surrounded by confession of creeds, abilities to perform cognitive skills in discussion of topics, coherent prayer petitions and exchanges of ideas related to life decisions. For people whose thought processes are diminishing such as in dementia patients, they still need to be affirmed as human beings. They are baptized children of God who remain members of the faith community. Presence, familiar hymns, images and efforts to simply love a person who cannot reciprocate become some faith tools for this difficult spiritual journey. Personhood, materialism, source of salvation and the meaning of discipleship are now to be revisited for those who have a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease. Respite ministries offered by churches to relieve caretakers to get away from the homebound person is a contribution that people of faith can offer. The Book of Psalms continues to be what I was taught to be “herbal tea for the soul.”
Psalm 71is written in retrospect by an aging person who anticipates the rugged journey which lies ahead for all people who feel their bodies and minds either slowing down or aging. Not being put to shame is at top of this person’s worry list. The same God who has delivered in times past listens, delivers and remains a refuge for this elderly writer. God is the rock and fortress similar to Psalm 46, on which the familiar hymn, “A Mighty Fortress” is written and could be played as musical reminder to a loved one who is unresponsive to verbal conversation. God remains trustworthy now as God was one whom people can still lean on since their time of birth.
Other Psalms related to Psalm 71 include Psalms 22, 31, 35, 36 and 40. All may be read aloud to anybody whose health renders them unresponsive. Psalms remain our prayers to God, as well as the Lord’s words of comfort to all people of faith of all times. [Sources: Brueggemann, Walter and William H. Bellinger, Jr., New Cambridge Bible Commentary: Psalms, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2014); Carder, Kenneth L., Ministry with the Forgotten: Dementia Through a Spiritual Lens, Nashville, TN, Abingdon Press, 2019); Kidner, Derek, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms 1-72, Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press, 1973)].
Hebrews 12:18-29
“Indeed, the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” Hebrews 4:12. Imagine a clergy person dressed in his or her clerical collar or other clerical clothing entering into a grocery store late Sunday morning to get a few items of food. Other shoppers might observe this is a person of “the cloth.” For those customers who are still dressed from being in church, such an image is good news that people of faith also support local merchants. To the person who is either inactive in church or attends in a hit or miss manner when convenient, this same clerical wear represents possible conviction of guilt or being “busted” for skipping church (again). God’s Word in Hebrews has the same effect. Today’s text uses mountains to make a similar point.
The mountain image might be likened to a travelogue where a person has a choice of going to the same place. To some it is a trip to Mount Sinai. This elicits holy terror of hearing God’s voice of judgement. All that has gone wrong for Israel is symbolized in this Mount Sinai where they received the commandments, disobeyed them repeatedly and now know better and have other options. For other travelers to this same mountain, it could be viewed as Mount Zion, the place of King David’s camelot ruling period. It is a place where God refines a person’s faith; purifies the community and preserves the faithful righteous.
Hebrews is intended to be a pastoral letter or sermon for discouraged Christians who are considering leaving the community of faith due to persecution, weariness and the second coming does not seem in the near future (Dated 90 CE). This particular chapter is intended to offer words of hope. While God is a source of judgement, one has a choice of viewing such a refiner’s fire from the perspective of self-serving faith in that of idols, or the God whose son Jesus has taken on the sins of humanity which also points people to Mount Zion?’
The Book of Hebrews is a difficult book to read. Therefore, it is helpful to have key texts such as Hebrews 4:12 as an interpretative lens. We all travel rugged roads in life. Hebrews 12 simply says the same mountain can be either be viewed as our Sinai that convicts us or Zion which refines our faith in God.
A four-point sermon might look like: 1) Mountain on a City (12:22a), 2) Angels and the Firstborn 12:22b-23a 3) The Judge and Acquittal (12: 23b) 4) Jesus and the Sprinkled Blood (12:24). Other insights from this text include we do not climb up mountains in life’s challenges alone. Jesus as Christ is the first born who has travelled ahead of us (in the form of the cross and resurrection). Also, the one who was a little lower than angels (2:7) is now the mediator whose word continues to be a two-edged sword on our life’s journeys, which we can either shrink back from or have faith as we continue to face the next challenge and obstacles in life.
“The bottom line to this whole passage is through Jesus, God has brought people to a kingdom that cannot shaken, to a new order to a fresh spiritual reality…Our God is pure mercy, the God of peace (13:20), and at the same time he is a consuming fire (10:27)” (Smith, 167). [Sources: Long Thomas G, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Hebrews, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997); Smith, Robert H., Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Hebrews, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1984)].
Luke 13:10-17
Luke’s Gospel is the longest book in the New Testament. Luke has taken material from Mark’s gospel in addition to Jesus’ saying in the Q source. It is written to Theophilus (1:3) by a second-generation believer who has very refined language skills and has often been referred to as “the beloved physician (Colossians 4:14, 2 Timothy 4:11, and Philemon 2:4). Fifty percent of Luke’s Gospel is found nowhere else, including the gospel lesson this week. Generally, Luke is dated in the 80s CE around the time of Matthew’s Gospel. One of Luke’s messages to people of faith of all times is God is still at work in the universe, as God keeps God’s promises. The original audience had concerns regarding the death of the original twelve apostles and the second coming did not seem imminent. Yet Luke 21:25-38 is a reminder that it will indeed arrive one day. Meanwhile, God remains active in the world. Luke takes a universal outlook in terms of outreach ministry. Jesus’ mission statement in Luke is found in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost.” Today’s lesson might serve another example of Jesus fulfilling his mission in Luke.
The story is about Jesus’ healing on the sabbath. He will do so again of a man with dropsy in Luke 14:1-6. Sabbath laws served as identity markers between Jews and Gentiles. They were also measuring tools between the pious and impious. Jesus’ opponents were less concerned about God’s jurisdiction over humanity while losing sight of God’s grace and benevolence. The synagogue leader, scribes and Pharisees used the same sabbath laws which were intended to preserve humans from unrealistic seven day labor burdens with their warped attitudes of judgement and unrealistic demands for the common working person.
A woman is standing at the back of the synagogue who had been crippled for eighteen years with a form of inflammation of her spine that leads to fusion of her vertebrae, which renders her incapable of straightening her up. Her presence in the synagogue was undoubtedly frowned upon the leaders because many believed that physical abnormality is a result of divine retribution from God for sins committed. She is an unclean outcast by their standards. Instead of leaving her hidden in the back of the synagogue, Jesus summons her. He lays hands on her and “immediately she stood up straight and began praising God” (Luke 13:13). She is liberated and cured while praising God until a synagogue ruler ruins her holy moment of praise with criticism. Jesus is criticized for healing her on the sabbath day.
Some observations to be made here, is first Jesus does teach in the synagogue. This makes the point that in Luke’s Gospel, the traditional places of worship remain places where God is present and cando great acts of healing, as well as places to learn about the scripture. Also, certain rules from God are intended to serve humans not simply exist for their own intrinsic value.
Jesus makes this point in exposing these synagogue leaders as hypocrites. They do care for their livestock on the sabbath. This woman has suffered for eighteen years, yet the implication here is livestock is more important than this woman Jesus would call a daughter of Abraham (13:16).
This points to another theme in Luke. Jesus does give women dignity and gives them a voice for their concerns. They are just as much children of Abraham as any synagogue leader, Pharisee or scribe. A preaching path here might be Jesus gives voice to the voiceless whoever they are in a given community.
Finally, “in the grand scheme of things, her physical, social and spiritual restoration represents the most authentic expression of honoring the sabbath” (Chen, 195). His opponents are shamed. The woman’s wholeness is witness to what God can do in the synagogue through people who use scripture in a healing, restorative way. [Sources: Chen, Diane G. New Covenant Commentary Series: Luke, Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, Luke, 2017); Powell, Mark Allan, Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary and Theological Survey, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009); Tiede, David L., Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Luke, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1988)].
Application
In his book, Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex and Death in a World That’s Lost its Mind, anthropology expert Jamie Wheal makes the point in a tongue and cheek manner that any long-lasting religion be it traditional or indigenous native has the traits of inspiration, healing and connection as their core values. How one is inspired differs from life experiences and exposures to various media and music. However, houses of worship should be places of healing wounds and being able to connect to worshippers in meaningful ways which do not result in being judged or criticized. Wheal agrees with the teachings and acts of Jesus. He is critical of mainline religion being a bureaucracy and suggests in his book that many non-Christians and even non organized religion members often model the acts and teachings of Jesus than the more so than orthodox members of any organized church. The Gospel Lesson might make Wheal’s point. Though, Wheal’s book has some areas where he freely admits he thinks the Gnostics and certain hedonistic groups are onto something, he still supports the acts of healing and connection Jesus made in this ministry here on earth.
How can our places of worship be places of healing? One example might be Sunday school or youth ministry might have adult mentors who young people from chaotic homes may look up to as role models. Also, regarding Kenneth Carder’s book, a “respite ministry” to sit with a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease, so the family can have time away is both a healing and is a sign of Christ the suffering servant’s presence. [Sources: Wheal, Jamie, Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex and Death in a World That’s Lost its Mind, New York, NY Harper Wave, 2021)].
Alternative Application
What is the value of the sabbath these days? Does making money for both commercial and employment reasons negate this third commandment in Exodus 20:8? Does disobeying the sabbath command without a day of rest have its own intrinsic reward and punishment cycle related to the human body lacking rest? Also, the point needs to be made that the sabbath is a Jewish day of rest. Sunday as the Lord’s day of rest, is based on Jesus’ day of resurrection.
