Tuesday January 23, 2024

Today is Tuesday, January 23 and we are finding delight in God’s Sabbath.

As I enter a time of solitude with God, I sit quietly and still my mind. I breathe deeply in and out and center my whole being on God’s presence. I seek to learn how God wants to bless me in the practice of Sabbath.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, I delight in your presence, I rejoice in your loving kindness, and I celebrate your goodness. I want to learn your way of living in this world. Teach me the rhythm of life you designed for your creation and help me find Sabbath rest in your love. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s saving grace and praise him with the words of Psalm 35.

Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation. My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, LORD?” Psalm 35:9-10a

Pause and Pray

In the Gospels, Jesus is often criticized by the Scribes and Pharisees for doing the work of healing on the Sabbath day. But for Jesus, the Sabbath is an appropriate time for the healing of God’s people. When I delight in the Sabbath, I delight in the freedom, restoration and healing God provides. The story of the crippled woman is only found in the gospel of Luke. The woman is not given a name – but is called a daughter of Abraham. Luke tells us that she has been crippled by a spirit, bound by a personification of evil for eighteen long years. She is completely bent over and unable to stand up straight. The woman’s disease traps her daily existence, she cannot participate fully in society. To be crippled in that time was to be unuseful, unable to earn a living, and deformed.

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 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. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 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.” 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? 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?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. Luke 13:10-17

The crippled woman spent years looking at a familiar sight – the ground beneath her feet. She did not come to the synagogue for healing, she had lost hope for that. She came on that Sabbath day to worship God and delight in his presence. Jesus saw the woman and called her to him. She could not look up to see his face, but she surely felt his touch. He reached out and put his hands on her and declared her free. The woman immediately recognized the difference in her body. After years of being bound she instantaneously stood up. She rose to her feet, praised God and the surrounding crowd rejoiced.

Ask: Where in my life do I feel bound or trapped? What kind of healing is needed in my life, my heart or my relationships?

Pause and Pray

Holy Lord, help me recognize the places where I need healing. Maybe I have been suffering alone for many years, unable to receive help and freedom from a particular type of infirmity. Perhaps I remain bound by sinful behavior or chained by shame and regret over the past. Whatever it is for me, let me find delight and joy in the freedom and healing you offer. Set me free to love and serve you. I read the words from Luke again and listen for the message you have for me.

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 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. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 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.” 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? 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?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. Luke 13:10-17

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

In addition to the crippled woman, there is another “bound” image in Luke’s short story of healing. Jesus compared the woman to a tied donkey or an ox. Jesus disputed the complaints of the synagogue leader that he healed on the Sabbath day. In response he quoted an Old Testament law that provided exceptions for Sabbath day work. If a donkey or ox was left tied by the manger on the Sabbath day without water, would you not lead it to a drink? The animal is helpless to free itself and relies on others to provide for it. In the same way I can be certain that God wants to free me and heal me from all that binds me on the Sabbath day and always.

Pause and Pray

Come, Lord Jesus, reveal the things that bind my soul and weigh down my spirit. I am tied up and unable to drink from the living water you provide. Set me free from the shackles of the past and heal the crookedness of my heart so that I can live a life fully healed and restored by your love. Amen.

He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 2 Samuel 22:18-20

I leave this time of prayer set free by the powerful love of God. I go to work for restoration, healing and freedom in the lives of others.

Amen