What makes you bent out of shape?

This coming Sunday's gospel reading (Luke 13:10-17) tells of Jesus healing a woman whose body has been crippled, bent over, for 18 years. In this little healing story - there are so many neat things to chew over, so I offer you these little questions/devotional seeds. (Refer to the text at the bottom of this post)

• The woman in the text does not ASK to be healed. Just her presence moves Jesus to heal her, no questions asked.
• How often do we get so caught up in the asking of our prayer and faith life? Isn't it amazingly comforting that as in this story, we know that God knows just what we need, even if we do not ask.
  
• As simple as it is, this is a powerful reminder that our faith is not about if/then. . . (If I ask God just right, maybe then God will act). God is always acting on your behalf, breaking in, trying to heal you. It's not about the asking or having perfect prayers. God is about relationship.
• Jesus is then criticized for doing this healing on the sabbath. What does "sabbath" mean to you?
  
• Why do you think Jesus refer to the woman as a daughter of Abraham? Very rarely are women and figures like this in the gospels given names. How is this title a powerful one?
  
• Jesus describes his action of healing as setting the woman free from bondage, liberating her, untying her from her worries. What is binding you up? What makes you bent out of shape? Where do you pray that Jesus' liberating action will move?
• As so often in Luke, the response of the people is to rejoice and praise. Where is our rejoice and praise? What do you praise God for this day?
  

¹⁰Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." ¹³When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. ¹⁴But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." ¹⁵But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" ¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Peace+
Vicar Brett