“When Jesus laid his hands on her, immediately she stood
up straight and began praising God.” - Luke 13:13
The prophet Hosea (11:4) describes God as one who “bends
down … to feed, to lift up and to hold.” Strength and flexibility are both
necessary in the act of bending. We have a God who is willing to bend on our
behalf and who invites us to bend on behalf of one another. In Luke, Chapter
13, we see the strength and flexibility of our reliable God in the life and
ministry of Jesus Christ. The one who was willing to bend down and join us in
our humanity takes the time on this Sabbath to heal a woman who has been bent
over for 18 years.
Eighteen years is a long time to be bent over – it is the
time it takes a newborn to unfold into adulthood and is the coming of age in
many societies. Luke, the physician, attributes her chronic condition to “a
spirit of weakness.” The word for “weakness” can simply mean “illness,”
however, her condition can also be indicative of her diminished status within
the culture at that time, a culture that continues today in many parts of the
world. She is bound up by the limitations and the burdens placed upon her
through those customs and laws.
As the story unfolds, we learn that what is almost as
important as the healing itself is the fact that Jesus heals on the Sabbath,
bending the rabbinic law. In this valiant act Jesus announces that the
suffering of a fellow human being takes precedence over obligations related to
keeping the Sabbath. The same law that limited healing on the Sabbath allowed
for the loosening of tethered animals so that they could drink water.
The synagogue ruler is “bent out of shape” over this
healing! A religious observation intended to honor the liberation of God’s
people has become a means of social control and oppression. By healing a person
held captive on the Sabbath, Jesus offers wholeness in the unfolding of this
woman’s life and gives the religious leaders an opportunity to see the
absurdity and cruelty of unbending laws.
My husband, Dr. Peter Kieffer, recently shared with a group
of medical students a favorite movie. The 1999 movie Cider House Rules,
based on John Irving’s 1985 novel, develops a setting and plot which explore
the complexities of adoption, abortion, infidelity and disability. The movie’s
exploration of the relative ethics of abortion are especially poignant after
the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and during this election
cycle.
The setting of the story is a Maine orphanage during the
1940s which is run by Dr. Wilbur Larch, a skilled physician who delivers the
babies of single women that come and go quickly, passing through the night. He
and his team then lovingly care for the children left behind. Conditions at the
orphanage are sparse, yet the children are loved, given respect, lifted up and
become an extended family. Each night after reading to and praying with the
boys, Dr. Larch leaves them with these words, “Goodnight you Princes of Maine,
you Kings of New England.” Like Jesus’ affirmation of the bound-up woman, Dr.
Larch affirms and blesses these orphaned boys, reminding them that they, too,
are beloved children of God.
Dr. Larch also ends pregnancies in secret for the women who
request it because he has seen the tragic consequences that can unfold when
people do not have options. “Cider House Rules” reminds us how complicated life
can be and gives us pause about rigid, morality-based rules which, like the
first century Sabbath laws, are often unbending, oppressive and unjust.
To those of us who are bound up and bent over in whatever
our circumstances may be, Jesus offers freedom, blessings and wholeness. To
those of us who are in positions of authority, Jesus calls us into
accountability and invites us to bend and to create communities where people’s
lives can unfold into wholeness. The wisdom articulated in this gospel story is
especially relevant in these times of polarization, where the give and take,
the strength and flexibility, the bending and stretching of democracy is
lacking. These attributes are essential in the governing of our communities and
the unfolding of our lives.
May God give each of us the strength and flexibility in the
unfolding of our lives, to bend without breaking in the challenges before us,
the wisdom to live with humility and reverence, and the courage to create just
laws in our care for one another.
The Rev. Dr. Blythe Denham Kieffer is pastor and head of
staff at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Springfield.
