The Time is Now

A Sermon on Luke 13: 10-17 by Paul Heins

Preached August 26, 2007

We had a medical emergency of sorts, this past week. We returned from our vacation to California on Monday afternoon, and Carrie had to leave on a business trip early Tuesday. This means that the kids and I (and Timber our dog) were left to guard the homestead.

You need to know that on our trip, we had received a gift from Carrie's sister of 3 cans of Macadamia nuts.

Timber's job is to guard the homestead while we are out and about, ready to vigorously lick anyone who tries to gain unauthorized access to our house. Well, on Tuesday, when we arrived home in the afternoon, I found that he had been occupied with more than just guarding the house. As I entered the bedroom, I found the mangled remains of three cans of macadamia nuts, not a nut left.

Later that evening, Timber wasn't feeling so well. He was moving very slowly and stiffly. He could barely make it down the stairs to see us. I faced a decision. Should we wait for morning to call the vet or not? Though the hour was late, and the vet had probably gone home for the night, I realized, as I looked at the expression on his face, that we couldn't wait.

The time was now.

As it turns out, Macadamia nuts are toxic for dogs. After carrying him into the van and into the vets office, we found that all we could do was to let whatever toxin it was to run through his system. He was going to be fine.

In that moment of decision whether to take him right away or wait, I thought about the cost for just a second. But then I saw his face, and I realized just how much I loved him, and I knew that the time was now.

We saw the need. We knew what needed to be done, and we did it.

That timing, that moment of decision is tied very closely to our story this morning. Timing is, after all, the issue in the story. Jesus could have healed the woman any other day of the week, and it would have been no problem. The issue in the story is that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, and on the Sabbath, at least according to the religious rules of the day, work (which healing was considered to be by many) was a no no.

Couldn't Jesus have waited? Why couldn't she wait a few more hours until the sun went down and the Sabbath was over? Jesus certainly could have waited one more day. He could have whispered in her ear, ÒI know you are in pain. I know that you need to be healed, but it's the Sabbath, and the law says I can't do any work. It would just stir up a lot of controversy and trouble if I did anything now. More trouble than it is worth. It might put me in a little bit of a pickle. You understand don't you?Ó Jesus could have said this; and she could have hobbled out the door to survive a few more hours or sleep one more night bent over. Just one more night. Certainly this was not too much to ask when she had already suffered for 18 years?

Jesus could have said that to the woman. Then he could have given a great sermon in the synagogue, healed the woman the next day, and had everybody on board at the end.

He could have done that...but he didn't.

He saw a need. Human timing said it should wait, but he saw a child of God bent over and he knew that this was not the way God intended her to live. So he called her over right then. I imagine him drawing close to her, and getting real low to look her in the eye with compassion and grace, and gently raising her up until she stood straight and tall. I imagine that when she stood up straight, her arms kept rising in praise and thanksgiving.

Jesus freed her: not after the service when no one would be around to see him bend the rules; not the next day when the healing would have been within acceptable religious parameters, when his own standing and reputation would not be at risk, but right then, in that moment.

He saw a need. He could do something about it, and he did. The time was now.

Is this a lesson for us?

Something tells me that this story is not only about the healing of that one Daughter of Abraham. The healing is indeed at it's heart, but it is only half the story. There were others there in that synagogue who were bent over, not physically like the woman, but spiritually.

The leader of the synagogue had entered that day standing tall. He was a leader after all. But as the story unfolds, we see that though he stands tall on the outside, on the inside he is bent over, bent over by an understanding of the law as an end in itself, an understanding of the law that would place observance of a regulation over the healing of a child of God.

I believe that Jesus timing was intentional, not just to free the woman as soon as possible, but he intentionally healed on the sabbath because wanted to set free the leader of the synagogue.

He wanted to show that leader the reality of God's grace that is bigger than he could imagine. He wanted to show him that God's love isn't limited by the stipulations of the Law, even the divine Law. He wanted to look that leader of the synagogue in the eye, place his hands on his shoulders of his spirit, and raise him up to see majesty, the steadfast stubbornness, the life changing, eye and spirit opening wonder, of God's love.

It says at the end that all of Jesus opponents were shamed, and this sounds harsh. He calls them hypocrites, and this sounds offensive to me. But the resultant discomfort is just what Mary predicted Jesus would do in her song, the Magnificat, sung before Jesus was even born.

Remember what she sang back in the first chapter of Luke?

ÒMy soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted up the lowly;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

It turns out that to get some of us to straighten up, God needs not to gently place our hands on our shoulders, but to grab our shoulders and shake us up a little. I have felt God's shaking before, when God was trying to open my eyes to something I hesitated to see.

Now that Jesus has left his ministry in our hands, God is inviting us to straighten up: not after the service, not tomorrow, not when our human rationale says it would be better, but now. When we straighten up, what do we see?

font size="3" face="Palatino-Roman">We see many in our community who are bent over by hunger or homelessness, or bent over by guilt, or grief. We see those who are bent over by questions, and responsibilities. We see those who are so bent over, they don't come to church because they can't make it to the door. Our community is full of people who are bent over, physically, emotionally, spiritually, children of God who need God's healing touch.

We see the need. We can do something about it. Will we? Do we hear the call of God's grace.

We are reaching out. We are starting a new service. Committees are working hard to move forward with God's love. We are working on the building program. We can do these things and more.�

It is no coincidence that immediately following our story are the teachings of the mustard seed, that tiny seed that grows into a beautiful tree, and that little bit of yeast that leavens a whole lump of dough. Great things can be accomplished with the mustard seed faith of our congregation.�

We live a faith that discovers that God's love is always bigger than we can imagine. The bonus, the kicker, is that the more we focus on helping others to straighten up, the more we see the need for healing and respond, the more we ourselves are straightened up, healed, and set free.

Tony Campolo tells a story about heaven. I heard it once when I went to hear him on a Sunday evening in NJ. In this story, Paul the apostle is put in charge of all the administration in heaven, and St Peter is, of coarse, in charge of letting people in through the Pearly gates.

Well Peter and Paul keep getting confused because when they go over the regular counts of people in heaven for the day, they always get a number that is larger than the number that Peter has let in through the Pearly gates.

Every evening, with God painting another perfect sunset, Paul comes to Peter and says, ÒIt happened again! I don't know what is going on! Every time I count there are more people here than you let in!Ó They were perplexed.

Finally, one day, Paul comes running down one of the golden streets to Peter at the pearly gate, and has an excited expression on his face. ÒPeter! Peter! I finally found out what is happening, why there are more people than you're letting in. It's Jesus, he keeps sneaking people over the wall!Ó

Friends, such is the nature of the grace of God. It is mysterious and surprising. It is larger than we expect or imagine. It is active whether we perceive it or not. It comforts the afflicted, and afflicts the comfortable. It moves; it touches; and it heals. It straightens up those who are bent over, and it calls us to do the same. Amen.