Pentecost 14

August 30, 2016 in Sermon by Scott Landrum

Luke 13:10-17
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 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. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 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.” 15 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? 16 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?” 17 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.

“Woman you are set free from your ailment,” Jesus said to the woman in the synagogue. Eighteen long years this woman had been bound by the evil one. How horrible it must have been to have your field of vision reduced to just the area around your feet. The pain was no doubt excruciating not to mention the shame of her deformity. She knew all about bondage. Still, she was not the only one bound that day. He wasn’t crippled, Satan hadn’t plagued him for eighteen years, but the leader of the synagogue was in bondage also. His vision was limited to the letter of the law and even a selected view of the law at that. How sad that so limited was his view that God’s miraculous act of mercy for the crippled woman was less important than the everyday needs of oxen and donkeys. Of course you and I both know bondage isn’t confined to crippled women and synagogue leaders. We live in the “land of the free” we’ve heard over and over these last two weeks as the flag is hoisted, the fingers wagged, the medals bitten, and the endorsement contracts inked but we aren’t free.
The law that turned that leader of the synagogue into a tyrant is still right here to point out all the ways we aren’t right. If you’re having troubling believing that just ask those closest to you to help you understand. Since those closest to us are the ones we hurt the most they are the ones who can help you see just how bound you are to the bottle, the pills, your pride, your anger, your money, your narcissism and a million different idols. Ask them if you dare. Indeed, our sin against God and our neighbor is among us still and by our on confession this morning cannot and will not be stopped by us. The evil one just delights in this and just like he did that woman so long ago, he keeps us bent so that all we can see is ourselves and what we’ve done and left undone. Furthermore, I’ve shaken your crooked hands, heard about the medical procedures you’ve endured, waited with you for a prognosis, and observed a whole host of other reminders that the final enemy, death, is breathing down your neck. And you’re not alone. The frequency of my doctor visits has increased significantly these last couple of years and you remind me that my hair is getting quite gray. The shadow is on me too and it’s only a matter of time. Don’t be fooled, sin, death, the devil and the law, the enemies that stand against us, are on the loose and we cannot free ourselves. Our bondage is real and our national anthem can’t help. Truly the writer of Hebrews was speaking to us when he said, “the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them” so I won’t, at least about that. But there is another word that must be spoken because God commands it be spoken. The reason he commands this speaking is because he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love just like the psalmist tells us. I know this because he was in the synagogue that day when the crippled woman appeared. Not only was he there but he cared. Not only did he care, he was able to do something about the enemies that stood against her. Not only did he care and was able to do something about the tyrants, he was willing and so it is for us. You see lurking behind our lawlessness and mortality and the evil one reminding us of it all is our real problem. We are the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve and so we bear the guilt and the curse of their original sin even as we demonstrate our own ability to do the same. So our hope isn’t in getting our act together, pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps, and getting ourselves out of bondage even though we can and should do all that we can in that regard for the sake of those around us who have to put up with us. Our real hope is in the power of Jesus’ word to do exactly what God intends it to do, even forgive the root of all problems, original sin. That is the word that I give now to you. As an ambassador of Christ and for his sake I forgive you the entirety of your sin. There is your word from God and believe me, God’s word does exactly what he promises. Sin, death, the tyranny of the law, and the devil stand against you, and they always will this side of the grave, but what of it. You have a promise from God that makes crippled backs straight, tyrants mouth close, the evil one flee, and the grave give up it’s dead. This promise is a wonderful thing God is doing and he is doing it for you. Amen.