Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is a welcoming community: growing closer to and more like Jesus; making Christ known; joyfully serving each other, our neighbors, and all God’s creation. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today.
Some of you listening/here today know all about chronic suffering. Childhood trauma. Mental illness. Cancer. An old back injury. A genetic condition. PTSD. Maybe it is you. Maybe it is a loved one. What do you do with that? How do you cope year after year? A woman in today’s Bible reading had lived with a debilitating, painful, chronic back condition for eighteen years. And Jesus heals her.
I hope that today’s podcast conveys God’s mercy and faithfulness, no matter what you might be going through these days. I hope that God’s word sets you free today, brings you healing and freedom. I hope that today’s message will help you care for others in their suffering as well. Let’s read from Luke 13:10-18.
On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she [was] straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
Here ends the reading.
