"When (Jesus) said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him."
Luke 13:17
Pray-As-You-Go invites us to pray with this Gospel and consider who we identify with in the story. Are we the bent-over woman, cured by Jesus on the sabbath? Are we the leader of the synagogue, who calls Jesus out for curing on the sabbath (again!) Are we the stunned crowd, who witness a woman, disabled for years, rise up straight and glorify God? Oh, I found myself immediately. I am in the crowd, rejoicing, but for all the wrong reasons. I'm rejoicing, not because the woman is set free by Jesus. I'm rejoicing because the adversaries of Jesus are humiliated. Sad to say, Friends, I like it when the "bad guys" get their comeuppance. But that is the wrong reason to rejoice, certainly. It's highly dualistic for one thing. It separates Us from Them and divides, rather than unifies. Instead of rejoicing with the woman, who had so much reason to rejoice in her healing, I'm pointing a wagging finger at the adversaries. How do I know the guy didn't come around and say, "Nice healing, Jesus. Next time you could just do it on a Tuesday?" I know nothing of him and shouldn't judge him even though he is painted as the unenlightened in the story. The unenlightened are not my adversaries. The enlightened are not my "team." I need to rejoice in healing and unity and live my life accordingly. Love, heidi
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