JESUS THE LIBERATOR

Luke 13:10-17

In Luke’s Gospel we hear the story of the healing of the crippled woman. This poor woman had been bent over and unable to stand up straight for eighteen years. It is unusual for Jesus to initiate a healing without being asked, but when he saw her, he must have felt great compassion for her suffering as he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”  She didn’t have to ask for it, he simply told her she was free and then he laid his hands on her. And he chose not to wait for sundown when Sabbath would end to heal her.  

   I know what being bent over feels like. I spent many years of my life in an unhealthy relationship which bore down on my spirit and life force. I can easily relate to this woman seeing the world from such a contorted view. I lost my agency and felt isolated and really, I lost my will to live.  I was unable to ask for help and felt utterly alone in the chains of despair and misery.  

   I love that Jesus doesn’t need her to ask for her liberation he simply sees her suffering and grants it. This feels so loving, so compassionate our beloved Jesus sees the torturous state this woman is in and cannot wait to free her. I too was set free through the love of Jesus. But that is a story for another day.   

   One of my favorite professors in seminary once said that all religion is meant to bring liberation. I found her words stunning, breath-taking. I had never imagined religion this way. In fact, so much of organized religion I perceived as being restrictive or limiting. I have heard many stories of how wounding Christianity was for many, having grown up being told the rules or who is good and who is bad, what behavior was acceptable and so on. This is the hypocrisy that pisses Jesus off. He clearly prioritizes healing and liberating and not rule following.

   In this story today the leader of the synagogue is indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath. Breaking the sabbath rules was punishable by death. So, we can also have compassion for this rabbi who felt compelled to follow the rules. But for Jesus compassion was always more important than tradition.

   In the Los Angeles County jails where I was a chaplain for 13 years, some of the chaplains in the facility were hypocrites. They acted devout yet they berated the women and threatened them with hell and damnation. They told the women that if they were gay, they would go to hell forever and never know God. Many women came up to me and said that if this is Christianity, they wanted nothing to do with it. They sought out the Buddhist Chaplains instead.

   But what is more important than pointing out the hypocrisy of others is for me to reflect on my own. Where do I not see my own hypocrisy? Who do I judge and how do I contradict the commandments to love?  

   For me it is not hard to love the least. Ever since I started going into jails and prisons in 2008 my heart has broken open with love. I find the bent over people in these oppressive places, and I find Jesus. Just as he is quoted in Matthew 25 “I was in prison and you visited me… what you do for the least of these who are my family, you do to me.” And indeed, I have found Christ in prison. Sitting in a listening circle with men seeking to transform themselves and become better men is where I am most aware of the presence of Christ.

   No, what is difficult for me is to find compassion for religious leaders who act self-righteous and domineering. Even in our own beloved Episcopal church there are men and women in leadership who lead with a dominating spirit. I am also easily triggered by my brothers and sisters who feel anyone is a disposable being, who think that sending undocumented people to Africa or Alligator Alcatraz is acceptable. My biggest challenge is to find compassion and not judgment.

   I think we all have a bit of hypocrisy hiding inside of us. We act sanctimonious but can be triggered to be rule followers or condemners. This is a growth edge – to learn to recognize our contradictions and make the better choice of love and compassion again and again.

   And this is the path of liberation that Jesus invites us on. To be free of our limited thinking of who is worthy and who is not, and our virtuous rule following so that when we see a bent over human being suffering under oppression we act without hesitation to ease the burdens and not wait.

   Jesus is the great liberator. He breaks the bonds that keep us bent and contorted so that we can live into our fullest potential. Imagine living truly free of all forms of oppression, both external and those of our own making. Sometimes I think the greatest oppressor is the one living inside of us telling us that we are not good enough. Jesus wants us to be free of this lie. In fact, he invites us to remember that we are children of God just like he is.

   Lastly, as St James considers candidates for a new spiritual leader, I would like to point out that Jesus demonstrates again and again leadership that is power with and not power over. Our church is hierarchical and that is what it is. But look for someone who demonstrates lateral leadership not a top-down approach. It certainly is the way of Jesus. Amen.

The Reverend Sister Greta