The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost - August 24, 2025

Summary

Mother Suzanne preaches on Luke's story of Jesus healing a woman who had been bent over for 18 years, emphasizing how Jesus saw her when others overlooked her and called her "daughter of Abraham." She challenges the congregation to recognize that we all live "bent over" by various burdens and struggles, but Jesus calls us to "stand up straight" as God's beloved children. The core message is that no matter what weighs us down, we are perfectly made and loved because we are God's beloved.

THE GOSPEL                                                                                                                                              Luke 13:10-17

Now Jesus 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.

Artwork: Jesus Healing the Sick, by Kenneth D Dowdy

Transcript

Mother Suzanne:

Upon being healed, I can only imagine this woman proclaiming. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. And all that is within me, bless his holy name. In the name of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Please be seated. Well, this morning's gospel is one of three healing stories that only Luke mentions. Perhaps Luke is often thought of as being a doctor and this woman was in such desperate need of healing that as a physician he couldn't help but tell her story. Jesus is teaching in the synagogue and it's the Sabbath. On this particular Sabbath, there was a special excitement at the synagogue. This is where she regularly attended worship. She had heard a Galilean preacher and prophet by the name of Jesus of Nazareth would be there teaching today. She'd also heard reports about how Jesus was, how he talked about God's coming reign arriving soon and how he healed very sick people.

And so she went.

Upon arrival, everyone was engaged and listening intently to Jesus. She makes her way as quietly as she can, and she tries her best to find a seat without being noticed. But Jesus looks out, looks up, and notices strangely this, a body coming towards him, but he doesn't see a face. All he sees are shoulders and feet. Her body is so bent over that her face can't be seen. In an instant, Jesus knows that this woman's been forced to face the ground, only knowing where to go by where her feet will take her. Her world is feet, dirt, and the bottom of people's tunics and robes. Her ability to look up, look people in the eyes, or simply smiling for pleasure is something she hasn't done in so many years, 18 years to be exact.

She has simply gotten used to living her life from a perspective of loneliness. And for the last 18 years, she has lived with the humiliation and the difficulty that this has brought. Conversations have been kept to a minimum. Social engagement went out the window a long time ago. Status disappeared so many years ago, replaced with a life feeling like an outcast and one that was very lonely. Fast forward to the 21st century, times have changed. Years have passed since the writing of this gospel, but the human condition just hasn't. When one looks vastly different from everyone else, people just notice.

And sadly, that's the last thing this woman wanted, another person to notice how different she was. And sadly, her present condition was not because of anything she did. In Luke's narrative, Luke was certain to make clear that this ailment was not caused by her own doing. Luke states she was a woman with a spirit that intentionally crippled her for 18 years. She'd been held captive by a force greater than she that had maimed her body taken control over the most basic function of what makes humans different from all other species. And what is that? The ability to stand up straight.

Her dignity, social standing, and humanity was gone because that spirit had chosen her to make a home. Her low hanging posture was reflective of her low place in life. And sadly, the distinguishing feature was how she was known. Up to this point, she was known as a crippled woman. In fact, the actual Greek word is even more striking than that. It's called double bent or bent double, if that makes any sense. That's how disfigured she was. This woman also has no name, and she is only known by this distinguishing characteristic. But this is where the story changes.

Even though she was double bent over, the spirit inside of her, that evil, evil spirit couldn't stop her from doing something she knew she had to do. She made her way to the synagogue that day because she knew Jesus was teaching. And unbeknownst to her, Jesus saw her. He noticed her. "Woman, you are set free." Jesus laid his hands on her body and in an instant, she stood up straight. She knew she had been healed and immediately without thought, she started praising God. This woman's healing moment, oh, isn't it ironic? It is in direct contrast to the synagogue leader who was indignant, angry because Jesus broke the rules. Dad gunned. He did it again, didn't he? He broke the rule and healed on the Sabbath.

This woman, double bent, crippled, disfigured, stands before her house of worship now, healed as a sign of restoration and the religious leaders don't see the miracle standing before them instead. They are mad. They miss God right in front of them. But Jesus in his Jesus-y way wasn't having any of it. He quickly called them out as hypocrites and he reminded them that their own animals needed water to drink on the Sabbath. Telling them, "You also work on the Sabbath." He wasn't going to allow the religious leaders to have this moment. So Jesus rightfully directs his attention back to the healed woman who was not named before and gives her a beautiful name, daughter of Abraham.

It's significant. This woman who was once an outcast by this name is now equal with all. And Jesus says, "You belong to God just like everyone else." Jesus, if you read the gospels over and over, he is so consistent on this point. He operates well within Jewish tradition of the day, but he will not allow the tradition to exclude people from access to the community and the potential for their healing. Rules go out the window. This woman, she is our reminder that though we might want to come in and sneak in the back and go unnoticed or do our best to hide whatever ailment, sickness or habit we have, there is one who sees.

Why? Because we are created in his image. I'm not sure what may have you bent over today. What may have a hold of you, the things that consume you, and the struggles that present themselves from day to day, or the names you have come to know yourself by. But I do know this. Each and every one of us live lives that are bent over, held captive by the weight of what we carry. It's the human condition. In a passage like this, it's easy to get hung up on Sabbath law and what's right and what's wrong, but I don't really think that's the core of this passage. I don't want to go the way of the synagogue leader. It's too easy. My focus wants to be on this woman whom Jesus touched and healed.

I can't help, but even today through this woman, if Jesus is telling all of us to stand up straight, don't live lives bent over anymore. Held down. Maybe he's telling all of us, "Stand up. My beloved daughter. Stand up, my beloved son. I see you. You don't have to live bent over to anything or anyone else because the one who knows the truth about you sees you, all of you, all of me, the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between. And even knowing all of this, guess what? He still calls you beloved daughter.

You, beloved son. We are God's beloved. There isn't a thing that can take this away from you. You are forever, God's own. And whatever struggle, or trial that is absolutely bending you over, maybe even to the point where you feel like you're going to break. Remember, you are God's beloved. Just as Jesus recognized that the religious system of his day was so bent over that it was crippled in terms of basic ministry and connection to God and neighbor. Y'all, Jesus wanted to heal it, to straighten it out. I have to believe so too. Jesus sees us when we are bent over, crippled and held captive to whatever that weight is. You know what it is for you? I know what it is for me is that exhaustion, stress, our love of our works, carrying things that aren't even ours to carry.

You know, whatever arises up in your mind, that's it. But here's the thing. The good news is that there is one who offers life and healing, who extends his hand and says, Don't live a life bent over anymore. Stand up straight. Don't face the ground. Look up. Face forward. And know that I have promised you life. You are perfectly made and loved because you are God's beloved. There aren't any more powerful words than those that I can offer you today. Close your eyes and let me tell them to you once again. You are God's beloved. You are God's beloved. Stand up straight. Amen.