Homily

This poor woman who was stooped over must have had a difficult life. Think of all the things she couldn’t do, or could not do easily because of her condition. Most all the time she could only see what was below, what was on the ground and it took some effort even to look at someone in the eye. Luke doesn’t say but there may have been some pain involved as well.

Now St. Luke writes that the woman was bound by Satan. He doesn’t mean that her condition was caused by some sort of demonic possession. Notice that Jesus doesn’t cast out a demon here. But the idea is affliction, disease and infirmity are evidence of Satan’s hold on mankind. The healing miracles of Jesus and His ministry reveal the gradual taking back from Satan his control over humanity, and replacing his power with the power of the kingdom of God.

There are two different ways to see this miracle. As the Gospel tells us, the leader of the synagogue becomes angry that Jesus has cured this woman because it is the Sabbath, and you are not allowed to practice medicine on the Sabbath. I guess even miraculous medicine was forbidden. You have to wonder if that woman had been his mother would he have been so angry that she was cured on the Sabbath? He’s not just upset about it. He is indignant. A miracle right in front of his eyes and he’s angry. What’s the cause of this anger? Maybe, since he is the synagogue chief, he is angry because Jesus has upstaged him, and he is jealous of Jesus’ power to heal. Notice he tries to assert himself over the whole situation as the man who can rule over what is going on here. Jesus can’t fool him with His miracles. He knows what is going on here and it is a violation of the law of Moses.

The synagogue chief sees the world not as it is in the eyes of God and with an understanding of faith. Instead he sees everything only on the natural level, likely as any pagan would. He’s not impressed by a miracle that takes place right in front of his eyes.

It doesn’t connect with his view of the world, where God may exist somewhere but He’s irrelevant to daily life. He has no eye for a miracle, he has no place for a miracle, he doesn’t care if there is a miracle, but he does care that it looks as though Jesus is stealing his importance away from him—and he won’t have that. He is the head of the synagogue. How dare Jesus try to upstage him! So he charges Jesus with being a lawbreaker, and thereby a sinner. The man who seems to care little about God uses God’s law to assert his authority. It is pretty astounding. Thank the Lord nothing like that ever happens in the Church!

So it reminds me to think about my world view. Do I see the world with the eyes of faith, with the understanding that God is ultimately in control, that I do not need to be the master of my own fate, nor do I need to gain as much power, influence and money as possible in order to have a good life, but rather that my life is in the Lord’s hands? Do I see and understand my life, my actions, my world, my family, my job, my hopes, my fears, my talents, my weaknesses, my very self—do I see them all from the perspective of faith or am I short-sighted by self-concern, ego and unfaithfulness?

Here is an example. You are driving and the speed limit is 35 miles an hour. The car ahead of you is going 25 to 30 mph. You start to get annoyed. Now on a bad day you start to get annoyed after a few blocks. On a good day, it takes half a mile. Finally, the car turns, and you notice it’s a little old lady. There are two possible thoughts. First, she’s too old, she shouldn’t be driving and inconveniencing me because I have given up precious seconds of my life to her ridiculously slow driving. Second, my reaction could be: What if she was my mother—just like the synagogue chief could have thought? Isn’t it better to have patience here than to allow frustration or even anger to get in my way? Now what could be worse than the fact that she was in my way. Isn’t it a chance for virtue here rather than an opportunity for anger? If my peace is so easily disturbed, maybe I need to think and pray some more about where, and in Whom, I am finding peace?

Have I ever witnessed a miracle and been so caught up in my own self that I did not even recognize it? Have I missed seeing moments and action of God’s grace in this world because I was more involved with trying to manufacture good things for myself? Have I been ungrateful because I see more often what I do not have, rather than seeing what God has blessed me with? If I knew today was my last day would I be clinging to the things and people of this world or would I have my hands stretched out to Christ?

St. Paul said today in the Letter to the Colossians that we have been rescued by God from the power of darkness and been transferred into the kingdom of His Beloved Son. I’ve been rescued. I need to see the world in that light, as one who has been rescued, saved and delivered, not as one who is struggling to save myself, all the time, in ways large and small, and therefore very focused on myself, not on my neighbor, not on the Lord. Shall I mentally scream at the elderly driver, “There are six other days in the week when I won’t be on the road. Come and drive to the store on one of those days.” Or shall I peacefully think, “This is a way to test my ability to be patient. Thank you, Lord. Could we wait until tomorrow for the next test, please?”

What do I see? What do I see? What do I understand is going on here and how will I respond? With grace or with whatever emotion happens to grab me at the moment. There are a hundred situations every day that call for a response from me and I will answer them from the viewpoint of the chief of the synagogue or from the viewpoint of the woman who has just be healed from her infirmities. She was rescued. I have been rescued. I will answer with the awareness that I belong to the kingdom of God, or else that I’m just another person who has to struggle in the world. So, if you are that little old lady driving very slowly to the supermarket, I just want to say, and that is “Step it up Grandma.” (You didn’t see that coming, did you?) And that is often true of God’s grace. Let’s not be afraid to laugh at ourselves because though we are weak we can trust we are secure in Christ’s hands.