Sabbath Healing: Where Law and Grace Collide

 Luke 13:10-17         

            There was a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease.  Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.  The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.  He hesitated for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her."  As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as everyone else did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks.  Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.  He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?”  Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.   

            Our text for today enacts a similar type of healing.  Healing that is done to provide life more abundantly.  Healing that puts the neighbor’s interests at a high priority.  Healing provided by Jesus, the one who would later give his life for the life of the world.

            This text finds Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath.  On this holy day Jesus enters a holy place.  For the Jewish community the Sabbath is a day for rest and renewal.  Keeping the Sabbath was part of the law.  This law, along with others, was given to the Israelites after their Exodus from Egypt.  This law commanded them to rest, to set aside time, one whole day, to rest their bodies and their livestock.  This was good news for them after spending time in Egypt as hardworking slaves, never having any time off. 

            So, Jesus enters their holy place on this holy day of rest and he breaks the law of the day.  He works on the Sabbath.  More specifically, he heals on the Sabbath.  Now he is not an uninformed citizen, he knows the laws.  He knows what is acceptable and what is not.  Regardless, he makes an exception to the law.  He sees a woman who is crippled and bent over.  She has been this way for eighteen years.  He thinks she shouldn’t live one more day like this.  So right then and there, Jesus sets her free from her ailment and heals her.

            The leader of this synagogue is upset with Jesus.  He cannot believe that Jesus would break the law of the day and heal this woman.  The leader of the synagogue is probably worried that if we start making exceptions to the law then we will never stop.  If there are enough exceptions to a law then it doesn’t carry much power anymore.  This exception to the law is more than just an exception.  This is grace.

            Often there are moments where the law needs to be interrupted with a little bit of grace.  Sure, the law is important because it helps order our lives and keep the peace.  The law sets boundaries.  Jesus doesn’t just forget about the law, but he provides a new interpretation of the law, which has some grace in it.  He does not think the law should have the ability to withhold life, grace, and freedom from this woman.  He thinks she deserves to be healed and she deserves that today, not tomorrow, when it would be more socially acceptable.

            So, what can we, as people living in the 21^st century, take away from this lesson of healing on the Sabbath?  First we can learn the importance of the law.  The law of the Sabbath is also a law that is important in our lives.  It is part of the law, the Torah, the Ten Commandments.  The 3^rd commandment, as you may remember, is “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.”  We are all in need of some rest and renewal.  We each need to find some time, preferably a whole day, to call our Sabbath.  When we factor in our work schedules and other events that day will not likely be the same for all of us, but it should provide the same rest and renewal.  I am often reminded that we all do not rest on the same day when I have my day off on a day that is a work day for most and when I work on days like today, when many others are allowed a day for Sabbath time.

            We can also be reminded of the new commandment and the greatest commandment that Jesus gave “Love God and love your neighbor.”  In summarizing the whole law he gave us this ultimate command of love.  This is the love that Jesus shows to the synagogue leader and to the crippled bent over woman.  In so doing, it is the love he calls us to share as well.  Love that knows no boundaries.  Love that crosses all boundaries.  This commandment of love is what bridges the gap between the law and the grace of this healing story.

            Through this lesson we also learn the importance of grace.  This is grace that often breaks into our world and provides healing and wholeness.  It is grace that sometimes interrupts the law and comes when we least expect it.  Nevertheless, it heals us.  It picks us up when we are crippled and bent over from the weight of the world, either physically or metaphorically.  It gives us life and life more abundantly.  It reminds us of the one who gave his life for the life of the world. 

Just like Liz’s brother said, “I will do it if it will save her,” Jesus says to us and to the bent over woman, “I will do it if it will save her.”  Jesus’ grace can and will save our lives on this day of Sabbath and everyday, and for that we say “Thanks be to God.”  Amen.