Life is messy! I am not just talking about when the ingredients for making homemade cookies from scratch with grandchildren get flour, sugar, and even raw eggs are scattered over the countertop.
Life is messy with the human complexities of emotions, abilities, and our personality traits. All these things are impacted by our level of love for God. Our emotional responses, the way we engage others, and how we enact compassion, forgiveness, patience, gentleness, kindness, and generosity through the ordinary events and conversations of our life all express how nearly our heart action and responses in life are aligned with the nature of Christlikeness.
Sometimes we get it spot on! We are truly encouraged by the ways we live love of others, self, and God as we engage in prayer, conversation, and make our plans for daily living! At other times we may find ourselves caught in a loop of hurtful habits such as lashing out at others in our exhaustion or maybe just because it is the way we have always handled our negative emotions. Or perhaps we find it really, really difficult to truly release old grudges, or we become embittered because someone else has something that offended us and we are not able bring ourselves to extend forgiveness to an offending party.
Not one of us is immune to anger, fear, doubts, or other things that make human life relationally messy! When we give attention, time, and credence to these negative thoughts – over time they truly can make deep ruts in our ways of engagement of others and keep us bound, or weighted down and bent over with the heaviness of life – just like the woman from our Gospel lesson this day.
The Scripture
She was bent over for 18 long years. The woman from Luke 13:10-17 was unable to look people in the eyes when she really wanted to tell them of her love, or even to look up and see if it was safe to cross the street. Maybe it wasn’t just the messiness of life with the human complexities of emotions, abilities, or personality traits that caused her to be bent over. She may have had an illness which kept her bound, suffering from pain, isolation, or seeking and enduring medical treatment for her aliment for all the long 18 years. Or perhaps as some scholars suggest this story by Luke highlights the diminishment of women during that time.
Whatever it was that had her bent over for 18 years, many years ago when the story was first lived, she found herself in the synagogue. Women were not counted in worship; they were not noticed by others. They were insignificant to the life of the synagogue. Yet, Jesus noticed her and instantly set her free. He released her from captivity of 18 years of bent-over-ness.
Jesus conferred on the woman dignity. He laid hands on her, which was accompanied by a blessing as he named her a “daughter of Abraham.” This scene points to a new status for women in the Kingdom of God. It emphasises that the Kingdom of God is for anyone who is demeaned, or denied their proper status of being a beloved person of God’s creating, and those who are oppressed by religious or social restrictions.
Today’s Prayer Practice
You are invited to take time to journal and reflect upon your life this day and discover again Jesus’ straight talking love for you and others. Two wonders cross my mind for your prayerful consideration and journaling this day.
- When and how have you been / or are you at this moment bent over and weighted down with the messiness of human life? Record your story for Jesus to read. Pause now and journal your experience of bent-over-ness. Once you are done articulating how the messiness of life has caused you to be bent over, then imagine with assurance that Jesus notices you. Next, imagine what words Jesus speaks over and to you as Jesus pronounces freedom and release from what is weighing you down. Write a blessing from Jesus to you as you straighten up from your bent-over-ness. What is your response?
- Now that you have embraced your own healing, it is imperative to consider how and with whom Jesus can use your voice, your hands, your heart for the blessing of other(s) so that the other(s) may experience the liberating freedom of Jesus’ love and blessing. Spend time journaling how you can encourage others in their bent-over-ness and live Jesus’ love for them to stand tall in the love of God. What ways will you live compassion and God love out loud for others?
When you are finished praying, offer all you have journaled to God in thanksgiving and gratitude for Jesus’ strengthening and healing love.
