WHEN JESUS SAW HER, HE CALLED TO HER. - Luke 13:10-14
Points to Ponder/Discuss:
What does it mean to be patient in suffering?
How can I silence myself to hear God’s call to holiness, wholeness, and healing?
How can I unite my prayer life and my active life for a truly human life?
Is God concerned about our sins and debt, or about our love and gratitude?
Do I live according to this belief?
But, could the man have refused this healing? Of course, remember that Christ heals us specifically to free us, but that we can always refuse him. But, it is also true, that after years and years of waiting we might still bear open sores. Like the woman in this next story, we must keep the doors of our hearts open for that moment, and we must accept it in His Time in His Place and on His Terms.
“There was a woman there (in the synagogue) who for eighteen years had been crippled…” 18years! And she was not ignoring the Lord or crying out in anger, nor was she wandering helplessly like the hemorrhaging woman. She was there, in the synagogue, waiting.
“When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said…”
In the synagogue, this woman would have been with the other women on the outer edge of the synagogue. She would not have been permitted to enter the center among the men. Unable to look up, she would not even have known that Jesus was looking at her. She was there, presumably not to get anything, but to give – to fulfill her Sabbath obligation. Still, Christ willed for her healing, and called her to Himself and said, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”
He then “laid his hands on her.” It seems that she was a woman at peace with her brokenness. That is, she recognized the possibility of healing, but was not fighting against her broken body. She recognized that this was who she was… and it was not going to stop her from living a truly human life. And still, when she heard the call of Christ, she did reach out and approach the Lord, and finally she received His healing touch. In fact, she received it with readiness: “She at once stood up straight and glorified God.”
We sometimes get caught actively searching for God, when really we need only to pay attention - Christ is right here with us….watching, waiting for our peaceful surrender. This surrender, as demonstrated by the woman in the Gospel, is demonstrated in what may be called a life of contemplation and action. Attentive, prayerful silence fosters ready willingness to serve God in all things. Slowly, we begin to hear His voice reverberating and echoing within ourselves as He frees us from our countless infirmities in order to continue to serve.
Remember, listening is not enough, and after we’ve reached out or approached the Lord, we must allow ourselves to be touched. After 18 years of sickness and likely of derision, this woman was not hardened to the healing touch of God. In a similar situation we might question: What if I get my hopes up, and Jesus turns out to be a fake? What if being healed isn’t all it is thought to be? What if I am still disappointed, bent by my own weakness, after the healing? We fear to be healed of those things that drag us down, and stoop us over so that we cannot stand erect before God… maybe so that we have an excuse NOT to stand erect before Him. Unworthiness is not an excuse to be unworthy. Unworthiness is the REASON we must allow the Good Lord to place his hands on us. In this way, we become whole and holy.
Listen to Jesus’ voice, calling us to hear and believe His words: “YOU ARE SET FREE FROM YOUR INFIRMITY!” Let us accept this gift, and be unafraid to stand erect, honest in the presence of the Lord. Let our response to His goodness be to simply GLORIFY HIM.
We are indebted, we are weak, we are little, but we are loved infinitely and our lives are treasured as the Father treasures His only begotten Son.
He asks only that we love Him back.
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