Luke 13:10-17 (NRSV)
Read Luke 13:10-17 on biblegateway.com
Verse 10Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. Verse 11And 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. Verse 12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." Verse 13When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. Verse 14But 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." Verse 15But 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? Verse 16And 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?" Verse 17When 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.
Devotion
There is no word in Luke's gospel about what exactly afflicted the woman crippled for eighteen years. It might have been a serious back problem. Or it might have been a burden of grief, guilt or shame that made her "quite unable to stand up straight" for so long.
Years ago I volunteered at an addiction recovery center. My role was to listen to persons share their Fifth Step. The Fifth Step in the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is for a person to "admit to God, ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." I remember meeting one young man who came to our meeting literally bent over with the weight of his past. His posture changed as he gradually unburdened himself of his misdeeds. He walked out of our conversation standing tall. Jesus' healing power mends bodies, minds and spirits. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Mender of bodies, minds and spirits, pour out your healing power today upon those who are bent over by illness, injury, shame, or sorrow. Raise them up to new life. Amen.