Luke 13:10-17 The woman in today’s gospel reading doesn’t ask to be healed. In other contexts, Jesus makes people ask for what they want before he gives it; in this case, he calls her over and heals her without even asking for her permission! He should have known this was going to be an issue. Such a Sabbath healing has happened before in this gospel, in Luke 6:6-11, right after Jesus’ famous pronouncement that “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” That healing generated a firestorm of controversy, and so did this one. The leader of the synagogue is indignant, and we can imagine his speech: “This is a church! This is a holy day! Take care of your problems some other time!” Knowing that Jesus was aware of the ramifications, we are led to a couple of conclusions: Either he was spoiling for a fight, or he was so moved with compassion for the woman that he couldn’t help himself. I prefer the latter, but given the confrontational personality of the Synoptic Jesus, I suspect the former is in play as well. One view of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) is of a Jewish teacher who is consistently given to interpret Torah in a way that is most beneficial for life and health. Torah is a force for good, and therefore, should not be a constraint against healing or life-giving activity – even on the Sabbath. Or put another way, “the Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 16:08:34 +0000
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