Sun. Aug. 25, 2013 (Veronica Dyck)

Veronica Dyck's meditation looked at the story of Jesus teaching in the synagogue, stopping his talk to ask a severely stooped woman to come forward, healing her instantly (without her asking), and then being criticized by the ruler of the synagogue for 'working' on the Sabbath (Luke 13.10-19). This complaint was based on a close reading of Deuteronomy 5.13, but Jesus cleverly responded by showing how most men commonly broke the next verse (Deut. 5.14). If it is acceptable to untie an animal on the Sabbath in order to lead it to water ('work'), why would it not be acceptable to untie a woman from 18 years of physical disability on the Sabbath? The woman really celebrated her new freedom and was not about to be silenced. This is yet another story illustrating how God's Torah, studied every Sabbath, needs to be interpreted through the lenses of mercy and grace, rather than being viewed as harsh rules. Consequently, gatherings on the Sabbath need to find ways to lift up the lowly and reconcile them back into God's community (the woman would have been thought unclean). What keeps us captive and prevents us from being fully part of God's kingdom? [JEK]

Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday, August 25th, 2013 using your browser's preferred media player.