On the night of December 16th 1773 .... a small group of men banded together, ...... boarded three merchant ships in Boston Harbor ...... and dumped 342 chests of tea into the bay.
This group of men, .... who called themselves the Sons of Liberty, ...... took this action .... because of the taxing policies of the English Government.
But, only when we look at this act in Boston Harbor against the backdrop of the big picture .... will we see it's true significance.
The 'Boston Tea Party' was not just an isolated incident; ....
Rather, .... it was one of the first acts.... of what became known as ...... the American War of Independence.
We can only see the meaning and significance of this individual act .... in light of .... the bigger picture. (Pause)
We also need to see the story in today's Gospel .... in the same light.... In the light of the bigger picture.
What is this Gospel story telling us?
What is the Big Picture behind this story?
If we look at the small picture, .... We see an act of love and grace in which ... Jesus healed a woman.
A woman who had suffered for eighteen years .... from some form of the curvature of the spine.
In itself .... this is wonderful enough.
But Luke is inviting us to also see this event in terms of .... the big picture.
This is not just an isolated act of healing; ......
Rather, it is one of many victories .... in Jesus' war of liberation ... against the forces of evil.
Jesus invites us to see this woman's illness .... against the backdrop .... of a larger picture;
The picture of Satan's work ... of binding ... the human race.
He invites us to see the healing of this woman ... as a sign of how the Kingdom of God works.
A work ... to transform the world .... A work to set people free from bondage.
As we remind ourselves of this story, .... keep the bigger picture .... This larger picture in mind. (Pause)
Now... While Jesus is teaching in the synagogue...... He would be sitting at the front .... sharing a message.
And close beside him ... would be the ruler of the synagogue.
An elder .... who was responsible for ensuring ... that the teaching ... was sound ... and orthodox.
As Jesus is teaching, .... a woman appears; ...... she is bent over ... and unable to straighten up.
We can assume that this is a small community ...... and that the woman is known .... to the people in the village.
And They would have known ... that she has struggled with this ailment .... for eighteen years.
Now.... Luke, who was a physician, ......describes her symptoms for us .... in some detail.
Yet he also attributes the ailment to a deeper cause; .... Luke states ....... she was a woman with quote .... 'a spirit that had crippled her' (Luke 13:11).
Jesus stops in the middle of his message ... and calls her to the front.
He speaks words of freedom to her, .... lays his hands on her.
And immediately, ...... for the first time in eighteen years, .... she is able ... to straighten up ... and look straight into ... another person's face.
The ruler of the synagogue immediately challenges Jesus.
The elder firmly states ...." There are six days in which you can heal people .... come and be healed on those days, .... not on the Sabbath!" (Luke 13:14)
Jesus recognizes in the ruler's words .... Which are an allusion to the book of Deuteronomy, which state BIBLE 'For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day ... is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; ... you shall not do any work -- you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey...' END (Deuteronomy 5:13-14)
So in his reply to the ruler of the synagogue, .... Jesus points out that the text does Not just forbid work by ... humans; .......
Oxen and donkeys ... are also forbidden ... to work on the Sabbath!
However, .... there is not a man in the synagogue ... who would think twice about setting his ox or his donkey free from bondage ... on the Sabbath!
So why then should he, ... Jesus, not set this woman free from Satan's bondage?
That is the close up view.
Now let us step back ... and look at ... the big picture.
Doctor Luke describes the woman's symptoms in detail.
She 'was bent over and she was quite unable to stand up straight'
However, .... Luke seems to be more interested in the cause of her illness; ...... he states that she had 'a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years'
Is he then telling us ... that an evil spirit ... had caused this illness?
At first sight ... it certainly seems .... as if he is.
But when we look a little deeper .... we may want to reconsider ... that thought.
This story does not read like other stories in the gospels in which Jesus sets people free from the power .... of evil spirits.
Jesus does not speak a word of rebuke .... to an evil spirit.... in this passage.
There is no sign that the evil spirit ... convulsed the woman .... before coming out.
And, most telling of all, .... Jesus lays hands on this woman, ... which he never does in the other instances of deliverance ... from demons.
In light of these details ... I believe that Luke is not telling us that this illness is specifically caused by demons.... Evil spirits.
Rather, .... I am convinced .... he is inviting us to see that illness in general ... is one of the signs of a fallen world.... and of the devil's activity ...... in this fallen world.
God's original plan for creation did not include disease .... It did not include illness.
Disease and Illness .... is one of the ways that Satan ... binds the human race.
Of course there are many other ways Satan can bind .... war, ... violence, ... compulsive habits, ... fears, ... injustice, ... oppression .... and on and on.
These are not just isolated incidents; .... they are also evidence .... of the power of evil .... The power of sin .... at work ... in the world.
(Slow) Evil .... And Satanic Works ... have a strange fascination ... for some people.
C.S. Lewis, ... the great Christian author ... and theologian, ...... admitted that as a young man .... he had a fascination with the occult.
However, ... in his twenties he had an experience with a close relative who was deeply involved with the occult.
Whose mind was destroyed by it... and the relative eventually died .... in an asylum.
This experience opened Lewis' eyes to the big picture .... to true nature .... of what is going on in the world .... and in the spiritual realm.
In the same way ... Jesus is opening our eyes .... in this Gospel passage.
It is as if Jesus is saying.... You see this woman?
You see how she is bound .... by this illness?
This is what happens in a fallen world.
This is what the power of evil does to human beings .... it binds, .... it cripples, .... it seeks to destroy.
(Slow) Dabbling in the occult might seem exciting in a dark kind of way, .... but do not let that fool you .... in the end ... it wants only to devour you.
Remember Beloved.... The Scriptures Are Clear...
Our war is not against flesh and blood ... but against forces of wickedness ... in the heavenly places. (Pause)
But of course .....there is another part of that big picture ... that God wants us to see: .... the big picture concerning Jesus' work.
Remember the illustration of the Boston Tea Party in 1773; ...... its true significance was not just as an isolated event, .... but one of many acts leading up to the revolutionary war.
It was a part of many acts.... which finally led to the founding of the United States of America.
And in much the same way, .... the story of the healing of this woman ... is not just about her life.
Rather, ...... it is part of the story of how the kingdom of God .... triumphs over the power of evil.
That is why Jesus adds this explanation at the end of this story, in verses 18-21:
Jesus said therefore, BIBLE "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches". And again he said, "To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened". END
Jesus saw the kingdom of God working in a gradual way ... to transform the world.
It starts with a small seed, .... which gradually grows ... until it is a tree big enough for birds to nest in.
It starts with a handful of yeast, ... which works gradually in the flour ... until the whole lump has been leavened.
In this gradual process, ...... Every healing is evidence that the power of evil is being broken .... as it comes face to face with the power of the Son of God.
This gradual growth does not mean that God is power-less.
Far from it!
The day of complete deliverance will certainly come, .... the day when the tree will be fully grown, .... the day when the lump is fully leavened.
On that day ... the world, and the humans in it, ... will be completely free from all that binds, .... and we will experience life as God created it in the beginning. (Pause)
Now Beloved, how does this story apply to our lives today?
This woman was bound by a disease.
This woman was obviously .... in bondage.
But there are other forms of bondage, ... which are not so obvious.
What binds you?
What binds me?
What prevents us from standing up straight ....in a spiritual sense?
What is holding us back ... from being transformed into the image of Christ.
What is holding us back from being able to enjoy life fully .... as God has planned it.
Jesus has much to say about forgiveness, .... about loving our enemies, .... about turning the other cheek.
I have known people, .... and I am sure you have as well, .... who just do not seem to be able to let go ... of a particular resentment.
Someone has done something to them .... which... in their eyes.... is so bad .... that they just refuse to forgive.
And as I watch them, .... it is very clear to me .... that the one who refuses to forgive .... is the one who ends up .... suffering the most.
It shrivels up their spirit, ...... slowly turning them into a cold .... angry ... and resentful human being.
It is binding them up .... It is hindering them from becoming ... all that God wants them to be.
From being transformed .... into the image of Christ.
And...This is a fairly common form of Spiritual ...... 'curvature of the spine'.
And for some, .... it has lingered for far more than eighteen years.
And if that is you, .... then I know .... and in your spirit you know.... that Jesus is saying ...... It is time to be set free.
Are you ready to be free?
Now... part of you ... will not want to let go of this bondage, ....... Satan does not want you ... to let go of this bondage. (Pause)
Yet take heart ... That as assuredly as God's power was able to set this woman free, .... so his power can .... set you free.
It might not happen in an instant, .... as it did with this woman.
It may be more like a seed growing into a tree, .... or a bit of yeast... gradually leavening a handful of flour.
Whether it happens gradually or suddenly, .... (Slow) it can happen for you.
Beloved .... Jesus is inviting you to have faith in him, .... To trust that he truly loves you .... that he wants the very best for you.
Our Lord wants you to be free from all bondage....
And Beloved.... When our Lord Jesus Christ sets you free...
Well .... (Slow) Beloved You will be ....... Free indeed.
Amen and Amen!
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