Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. Luke 13:10-17
We got up early this morning to watch the midterm election tallies. What we received were joy and hope for the healing of our nation. People spoke and people voted, showing we are still a democracy and still people who care for others. Money and power never do any good nor do they bring healing. For the first time in history, an Indigenous woman was elected governor. She was once tossed aside by the powers that be, and now she will lead others. The woman that came to Jesus was tossed aside and them derided by wealth and power. Yet she stands, for all of us, as a symbol of where we are bound. Jesus calls us to heal, whatever the personal cost, so all may be set free from the bondage they have suffered.
Magnificent Creator, who brings healing and justice
when the world seems turned against the suffering
and who gives voice and strength to the powerless.
We have been so angry and jaded we forgot to ask
we forgot to pray without ceasing and forgot to care
yet even in the darkest of days, you did not abandon us.
Jesus, heal us so we might serve where we are planted
let love and healing be our only goals for every day
and let justice rain down again and heal the nation and the world. Amen.
