Today’s Scripture Readings

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And 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. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But 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.’ But 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? And 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?’ When 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.

In today’s Gospel, we encounter a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years, bent over and unable to stand straight. Seemingly, without even asking for Jesus’ help, and despite it being the Sabbath and therefore technically against the law for Jesus to heal her, He calls her over declaring ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ This act is more than just another example of Jesus’ ability to heal, or a challenge to the religious leaders to interpret the law with compassion and mercy. Rather, it is a powerful example of Jesus’ radical love, the kind of love that knows no bounds… the kind of love that sets us free.

While we may not be dealing with the same physical ‘ailment’ as this woman, there are burdens, limitations, illnesses, anxieties, circumstances and personal sufferings in our own lives that cripple us or weigh us down, preventing us from living life to the full. Jesus’ actions however remind us that His love is not confined by anything, even the limitations we might place on Him, whether it is the right ‘time’, our hesitation to ask for help, or what we think is or is not possible. Jesus’ radical love is so powerful it frees us from our fear, shame, frustrations and hopelessness, liberating and transforming us so that we may live the fullness of life. In remembering the power of Jesus’ radical love though, let’s not forget the woman and how she used her newfound freedom to give glory to God. In being freed from our burdens we might do the same.

Take a moment today to offer your burdens and limitations to Jesus, listening patiently for Him to say to you: ‘you are set free.’