Coffee With God

Reflection: Luke 13: 10-17 Today’s passage is an illustration of the unwillingness of the religious leadership to bear fruit. According to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus began his public ministry with the proclamation of his manifesto in the synagogue in Nazareth. Here Jesus is seen fulfilling his professed mission: to set free the oppressed [4:18]. This would be the last time Luke would present Jesus in a synagogue. Luke goes to the detail of the story and tells us that the person cured was a woman. In a patriarchal Israel, women were among those most oppressed and a crippled person was regarded as cursed. Luke pays attention not to miss the significance of the event. If she were in Jerusalem, she wouldn’t be allowed to enter the temple because she was crippled, that is, punished by God. Our pains and sufferings do not go unnoticed before God. The suffering woman immediately grabs the attention of Jesus. Luke went on to narrate that she was suffering from her infirmity for 18 years. There is a certain symbolism in the fact that she was badly stooped and was not able to stand up straight. She represents all the people who are despised, abandoned and bowed down with all the burdens and worries of their lives. Jesus saw the woman, called her to him, laid his hand on her and immediately she stood up straight and began thanking God. Even in such a spectacular healing, the synagogue official is so furious. He doesn’t confront Jesus, but the crowd. Do not look for healings on a sabbath day! In fact, it was not the woman who asked for a healing, instead, Jesus healed her even without she asked for it. Jesus was quick to seize the opportunity. Sabbath in its original meaning was as a celebration of life and of freedom. It was connected to God’s resting after the work of creation had finished and later on, to celebrate the Hebrews’ liberation from the slavery of Egypt. Over the period of centuries, the day of celebration had become a rigid and lifeless observance. Sometimes, similar things do happen in our liturgies too. There are people who complain of the altar-servers not wearing black shoes while serving at the altar, while they have no idea about the readings and the Gospel of the day! We are as good as the synagogue official to point fingers at others. The story is an example of taking the beam out of our own eye before dealing with the speck in someone else’s or of none being so blind as those who refuse to see. Once again, it is the religious leaders who were sad for the miracle of Jesus, while the ordinary people, joyfully marvelled at his works.