Pastor’s Corner – August 24, 2025
You Are Set Free! – Luke 13:10-17
All human endeavors at their best are human liberation, that is life giving! Liberation from what? Human misery and suffering; from the power of death and oppression that comes in many forms. All religious quests seek to address this fundamental question of human predicament. Jesus’ ministry that healed a woman crippled for eighteen years is a story that speaks to us today. Jesus said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” People who witnessed this event were in awe. However, not all were impressed but judged him. Jesus had violated the Sabbath in their view. It was against their law. It was against their policy, politics, their moral code of proper conduct. As a matter of fact, the religious leaders were indignant! They said, “There are six days on which work ought to be done, come on those days and be cured and not on the Sabbath day!”
They missed the point. Sabbath is a means for human liberation, not an end in itself. The point Jesus makes is clear. “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give water? And ought not this daughter of Abraham who Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”
While this debate raged on with onlookers standing in awe wondering what just happened, we need to tell the story from the perspective of the woman who just received her freedom. It was a long journey of seeking healing. She didn’t just appear out of nowhere. It was many years in the making and she positioned herself when opportunity came. Against those who dismissed her, judging her as a woman condemned by God, she sought out Jesus in the synagogue. It took courage, faith and perseverance, never giving up! So, when Jesus laid his hands on her, she immediately stood up straight and began praising God! Imagine how she must have felt after years of suffering and humiliation! Her new found freedom gave her strength, hope, dignity and her humanity back. Whether it was on the day of Sabbath or not, whether it was lawful or not, no matter, that day God answered her cry, she was free!
What does this gospel story tell us about God and ministry of Jesus Christ? What does it teach us about the ministry of the church, the body of Christ, the head of the church being Jesus Christ? Whatever we do, is it lifegiving? Our mission is human liberation, to give life, to raise the dead! Theologically, we call it salvation from sin, the human condition of alienation; spiritual disconnection and separation as the source of human suffering, violence and anxiety. We need healing within ourselves through faith in God, to be reconciled to God and the world. We need healing in our broken world toward peace and restore our humanity and dignity. Does this story of freedom speak to us today where we are crippled by different ideologies, dehumanization, oppression and war? As Jesus would say, “Ought not God’s children, who are all people created in the images of God, be set free from the bondage of suffering and break free from impediments that dictate who is in or out?”
Let us once again hear the message of the gospel come Sunday and join in celebration with the woman who was set free that all who are suffering from the bondage may be free. Let us praise God and lift up our prayers in worship. Thanks be to God!
Pastor Dae