Sermon for August 21, 2022
Sermon title: "Compassion, Not Rules"
Scripture: Luke 13:10-17
(Other lectionary choices include Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, and Hebrews 12:18 - 29.)
Luke 13:10-17
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman
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.
It has long been one of my convictions that Jesus was interested more in compassion than he was about keeping the rules. He was not ANTI-rule......but when it came to choosing between the two, he chose COMPASSION. Also, I believe Jesus was born into a very legalistic society, and he was out to spread the word that being compassionate was more important than always following the rules. Also, I think Jesus believed that being truly religious meant being compassionate first. Look at his story of the Good Samaritan. As we know, the Jews of Jesus's day hated the Samaritans - and yet in that parable, the hated Samaritan was the HERO, and why? Because he showed COMPASSION on somebody he didn't even KNOW!
In today's Scripture reading, Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath, and he is attacked for doing so. But did you hear the way the leader of the synagogue objected? He didn't speak directly to Jesus! He "kept saying to the crowd"! What a SISSY! What a CHICKEN-HEART! He didn't have the guts to confront Jesus, but he tells the congregation! I think in psychological terms that's called TRIANGULATION! If you have a beef with somebody, tell him to his face, don't tell that gossip Myrtle out in the parking lot! Go speak to the person with whom you have a disagreement! One of Harlane's former co-workers, who has passed away, used to say about conflict or disagreement...Be Direct, Honest, and Respectful. In this case, the leader of the synagogue was certainly honest and perhaps respectful. But he was definitely not DIRECT! When YOU have a disagreement with somebody, even the pastor, tell that person to his face. Don't go behind his back and don't gossip. That's the chicken's way out! Stand up! Be Direct.....and, of course, honest and respectful.
Also, something else: some people worship the rules more than they want to be compassionate. Can you believe this synagogue leader? He said, "There are six days on which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be cured, not on the sabbath." What a bureaucrat! It's as if he said, "I'm sorry you are suffering, but come back tomorrow." The Scripture doesn't say so, but Jesus was livid, I believe. He says, "You hypocrites!" Do you think he said that in a nice way? How can ANYBODY say, "You hypocrites!" without saying it in anger and probably with a raised voice? And then Jesus went on: If you have an ox or a donkey, don't you untie it on the sabbath for it to get a drink of water or a bite to eat? OF COURSE you do, because there was an allowance for animals to be cared for on the sabbath. That makes sense. Animals don't understand about the sabbath, and the rabbis of Jesus's day knew that. So, there was an allowance for that kind of "work" on the sabbath to care for animals. (Can you imagine saying to your dog: "No food today, Fido. It's the sabbath!"? Of course not!)
But Jesus wasn't done yet! He went on to say, as if people were more important than animals (!), "And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham.....{{she was one of US, meant Jesus, a fellow JEW!}} be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" Again, can you imagine Jesus saying these words in a really sweet voice? I can't. If you can, fine. But I think he was LIVID!
Something else: Jesus did not want this woman to have to suffer even ONE MORE day. The guy following the rules at the synagogue probably thought, "Well, she's been this way for 18 years. One more day won't matter." But that's not how Jesus thought! If he could heal her NOW, he was going to heal her NOW! And he did.
One commentator suggests that just as this woman was bound up for 18 years - a long time, certainly - so was Israel bound up to its rules, and for a long time. Is there an implication that by freeing this woman because of the compassion of Jesus that Israel itself can be freed from the stifling legalism that was keeping it bound up? Maybe. It's just one act, but is the author of Luke implying that every time you and I do just one act of compassion, we help to bring God's kingdom nearer? Perhaps.
We may have more in common with that leader of the synagogue than we like to admit. Some of us worship rules over concern about the suffering of people. Look at our border crisis and all the illegal aliens streaming across our border. The situation does seem impossible, and members of both political parties are responsible. Problems with undocumented people coming into the country didn't start with Donald Trump. Presidents of both parties pretty much kicked the can down the road. Let's be honest: some of our farmers liked having the cheap labor. Mexican authorities probably liked it that there was a "safety valve" to their north for THEIR poor to have someplace to go! I am not trying to assign blame on either party or on you or me. But what is the solution? It's a tough one, and there does not appear to be a quick fix or an easy answer. But before we start to talk about "the rules", let's not leave compassion behind. I just saw on the news a Venezuelan woman with her young daughter, and they are fleeing their country for lack of food. How about those fleeing their homelands for fear of gangs and crime? As followers of Jesus, you and I can't really say to them, "Follow our laws and all will be fine." Some may die of starvation before their cases come up, and some may die at the hand of Mexican drug cartels, waiting in line to enter the country according to the rules. Really, what would compassionate Jesus do? I think you and I need to ask ourselves that question every time we're tempted to say, "Follow the rules."
I had a seminary professor who used to say, "Some problems are insoluble." Then he would point to the Israeli-Palestinian situation - and that's still not solved 50 years later! This illegal alien/undocumented immigrant situation may not be impossible to solve, but it IS going to take time and it IS going to take compassion. Let us be more like Jesus and less like those who worship the rules. As Disciples of Christ, can we do anything else? I don't think so. Let us not love systems or rules more than we love people.
"In Christianity, the individual comes before the system." Let us always remember that. Amen.
Pastor Skip
