Gospel: Luke 13:10-17
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
“There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?”
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
The Mass intention is for Fr Bill Saunders RIP.
Reflection:
Imagine yourself bent over for the past eighteen years attending a service in the synagogue. Then this itinerant preacher saw and healed you. What a relief it would have been to stand erect again, right? We may not be physically bent over, but we could be spiritually. Take for example pride. Full of ourselves, we thought we could rise higher than the rest. Or how about avarice? Our greed may bring us wealth, power, and influence. And yet, we are poor and weak in the sight of God. And how about anger? We easily get annoyed with the smallest of things. Did your annoyance make you better? Perhaps. But how about those around you? These and the other four deadly sins become a burden that prevents us from standing erect in God’s presence. These deadly sins prevent us from entering through the narrow door of God’s kingdom.
Have you been overburdened by your sins? The woman in today’s Gospel humbled herself and approached Jesus when He called her. Jesus is calling you too to experience His healing mercy. Don’t delay. As Servant of God Luis Maria Martinez once said, “At length we shall come to cast ourselves into His arms, since there is no hope or peace or pardon or anything in anyone else.”
- What keeps your spirit bent over the years?
- What are you doing to address such spiritual situation?
- If you were a witness in Jesus’ miracle, would you be indignant synagogue leader or overjoyed crowd? Why or why not?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Humbly, we come to You for healing. As we receive healing, may we also be agents of Your healing. Amen.
Sincerely,
Pietro
