A Sermon On Luke 13: 10-17

Sermon for August 25, 2019

Luke 13: 10-17

Who are we in this story? Who are you in this story?Cast of characters-

  • Jesus
  • Woman who is healed
  • Person in the religious establishment of the day
  • Person in the crowd following Jesus

Most adults will not pick to describe themselves as Jesus in a story as that might be assuming I’m thinking too highly of myself. Now, kids and youth will be glad to play the part of Jesus in a story. They know that Jesus gets the fun lines and gets to do the cool actions. If you are Jesus in this story, you get to speak the words of healing and lay your hands on the woman as a sign of blessing and healing. Pretty cool, huh? And later in our story you as Jesus are going to answer the religious leader and tell that person they are wrong and here’s what they should be doing. All in all not a bad part to play in today’s story.

Who doesn’t want to be the woman who is healed? You have been ailing for 18 years unable to stand up straight. By now you have adjusted to this. You don’t ask to be healed because you probably just try to blend in with the crowd so no one teases you. Jesus sees you. That is one of my favorite things about Jesus-he sees people. He sees this woman who most people probably ignored both because she was a woman and because she was a person with a physical disability. So you are simply going about your day and you are seen. With some simple words and a touch of his hands, Jesus heals you. You stand up for the first time in years and begin praising God. Although you don’t appear anymore in today’s story, your life is forever changed because Jesus saw you.

Person in the religious establishment of the day. It is easy to see this person as the bad guy of the story. You are described as being indignant. And you share what you know to be true that anyone can be healed any other day of the week except the Sabbath because we cannot work on the Sabbath. You are a faithful person who lives by the Torah. You have studied and worked hard to live in the correct way. And then Jesus answers you in a way you wouldn’t expect and tells you that you are wrong. And you feel shame or humiliation at being corrected.

A person in the crowd following Jesus. Your only line is that you are “rejoicing at all the wonderful things that Jesus was doing”. A pretty good part in our story. You are following Jesus and cheering him on.

So who are you in this story? Who do you identify with?

Probably not Jesus as most of us want to be like him and yet don’t feel like we can say we identify as him.

Maybe you can identify with the woman who needs to be healed. Most of us would love to be healed from something. Maybe a relationship that has left you feeling broken. Maybe your life isn’t what you hoped it would be. Maybe you are grieving the death of someone and that emptiness inside you is too much. Maybe you are angry at things beyond your control and you can’t let go of your anger. Maybe your body is no longer allowing you do things you used to enjoy. If we think about it for a bit, everyone would like healing. Everyone would like to have their need acknowledged and their brokenness restored. And my hope is that if we are healed, we will react as the woman did in our story. She praised God. She knew that God is the only one who can heal our wounded souls and so she offered up her praise.

Who doesn’t want to identify as part of the crowd following Jesus? What a gift it would be to follow Jesus learning from him, watching him heal, hearing him teach and preach, and seeing him see people and things that the rest of us overlook.  

You might have noticed that I skipped over the third person in the story-the synagogue leader. I prefer to say person in the religious establishment of the day. If we call this person, the synagogue leader it is easier to think that we have a little less in common. We could easily call this person pastor, church council president, Sunday School teacher, youth minister, choir member, person who sits in the third pew at church every Sunday. That’s right. This person is us. Please notice that I said us. This person is me and you. I am a rule follower. I love rules. I love knowing what I am expected to do so I can do it. I pride myself on doing what I am supposed to do when it is expected to be done. And I am very hard on myself when I cannot meet those expectations.

And maybe that is why I love the church. We are a place and a people full of rules. Some of them are written down in our constitutions and bylaws and covenants. These are the ways we govern ourselves and what makes everything work in our church. Many of our rules are unwritten and just the way we do things. Let me tell you about one of those unwritten rules in a church where I served as their youth minister. The youth loved to play sardines. Do you know this game? First of all, shut off all the lights in the church and then one person hides. Everyone else is seeking that hidden person and when you find the hidden person, you hide with that person. So as more and more people are crowded into one space, you are like sardines in a can. The game ends when only one person is still seeking. So I sent the youth off to play and then was walking through the darkened church to ensure everyone was okay and having fun. I went into the sanctuary and was quickly told by one of the youth-we aren’t allowed in the sanctuary for playing games it is only for worship time. This was an unwritten rule of the church that was so established that no one even thought to tell me until that moment as everyone just knew it. Every church has unwritten rules like this.  

Don’t worry fellow rule followers. Jesus isn’t instructing us to throw out all the rules. Jesus is encouraging us to think about the rules that govern our lives. A day of Sabbath makes good sense as our bodies need rest and time to worship and renew. And we are called to love each other. Would Jesus have been loving this woman as he loves himself if he had not healed her? Jesus could have asked her to come back tomorrow when it isn’t the Sabbath and then I will heal you. He didn’t. He reacted out of love.

How might we act out of love when we are living out our faith?

Jesus gives us several ideas of how to do this in today’s Scripture.

1-See each other. Look at the people you know and those you don’t yet know when you meet them this week. I recommend starting slowly as this can be overwhelming. Start by doing something you wouldn’t normally do. For example, ask your cashier at the grocery store how her day is and maintain eye contact as she answers. This shows that you are seeing her and care about her answer. Notice the people who are easy to overlook as you go about your busy life.

2-Observe the Spirit of the law. I’m using Spirit here with a big/capital S. Look and listen for how the Spirit is encouraging you to live as a person of faith. God has given each of us gifts and we are expected to utilize them. And sometimes God encourages us to use our gifts on Sunday because it will make life better for someone else. How can you use the gifts God has given you to lighten the load of someone else? How might you accept a gift someone else is trying to share with you? How is the Spirit pushing you to live with mercy, kindness, and love?

3-Consider how we can best be the church. Where might the Spirit be calling us to change the way we have always done something because it will make it easier for someone else to fully participate in the life of faith? Where might the Spirit be breathing new life into a ministry or idea and helping it flourish and blossom if only someone or many someones step up to help? And is the Spirit telling us that we need to thank everyone who supported a ministry and end it because it is no longer meeting the needs of this congregation?

This Scripture calls us to consider our actions and our inactions from a variety of perspectives. From the establishment, where life is good and we are familiar with how things should work. What do we need to change to make things more accessible for all of God’s children? From the crowds following Jesus and soaking up his witness-soon they will be called to go out into the world and proclaim the good news. How do we take what we hear and experience in worship on Sunday mornings and live it out the rest of the week? From Jesus who kept his eyes open to see the people in need and the problems in society that needed to be called out. May we be so compassionate and brave. And from the perspective of the woman who was healed who was called a daughter of Abraham and seen as a beloved child of God for the first time in too many years. May we see ourselves and each person we meet as a beloved child of the Living God.

One theologian (Karoline Lewis) shared that she imagined this woman praising God with the first eight verses of Psalm 103. I will end with those words and the prayer that we may feel so amazed by the wonders of our God that we too are called to praise God using these words.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
   and all that is within me,
   bless his holy name. 
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
   and do not forget all his benefits— 
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
   who heals all your diseases, 
4 who redeems your life from the Pit,
   who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 
5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 
6 The Lord works vindication
   and justice for all who are oppressed. 
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
   his acts to the people of Israel. 
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

Sermon preached on August 25, 2019 at Immanuel UCC in Cambridge, Maryland.

Liturgy for Luke 13: 10-17

Call to Worship

One-You are welcome here.

All-We are welcome here.

One-Jesus calls us to come as we are.

All-Jesus asks us to open our hearts and be ready to let him change us.

One-Come to this time of worship not knowing how God will speak to you today.

All-We come ready to hear God’s word and to follow Jesus where he leads.

Invocation-Too often, we put you into a small box and pretend we can easily describe you, Amazing God. You created the heavens and the earth. You love humans and you love fish, birds, and animals. Why do we try to shrink you down to a more manageable size when you are bigger than we can imagine? Help us to see you in each other and to hear your words in the music of this place. Help us to know you better through the Scriptures and the wonder of creation. Shape us and mold us, O God. Amen. 


Invitation to Offering-All that we have and all that we are is a gift from our Gracious and Loving God. Each week when we collect our offering we have an opportunity to respond to God’s goodness in our lives. Let us now give with kind and generous hearts trusting that what we give changes us and those who receive it.


Prayer of Dedication-Receive these tithes and offerings, Holy One, as a thank you for all you have given to us. We do not know the impact these gifts will have on people here in this place and our siblings around the world we will never meet. Multiply and use these gifts just as you use us to do your work in this your world. Amen. 

Hearing What Needs to Be Heard and a Prayer

This week I was talking with a friend who asked me how things are going. I replied with life is hard. And she said every time I have talked with you lately you said life is hard. She wasn’t arguing with me or disputing what I was saying. She was pointing out that she has been listening to me and has heard a common response from me over the last few months. 
This was a wake up call for me. It was a reminder to be aware of my words and outlook. I made myself step back and see why I kept saying the same thing. 
Since that time, I have been more aware of my answers. I add and plus a second word to describe how even in the midst of challenges life is good. Life is hard and beautiful. Life is hard and funny. Life is hard and wonderful. This small change has changed me and encouraged me to look for the good among the hard.
Gracious and Loving God, Thank you for the people you put into our lives to keep us on track. Open our ears to words we may not want to hear. Open our eyes to see the wonder of creation and the gift of life you give us each day. Open our mouths to sing your praises as we thank you for the hard and beautiful lives we lead. Give us the strength and courage and motivation to keep moving forward for you. Amen.

A beautiful art therapy project by my dear friend, Susan Harry.


10 Lessons Learned from Vacation

Recently, I spent a week with my family. It was a week away from work and my normal routine. It was a week of laughter, fun, good food, and memories made. Here are 10 lessons I hope to remember as I am back at work and into my routine again.

1-Celebrate each other!
2-Be yourself! Let your personality shine!
3-Look for beauty wherever you are.
4-Spending time with your family is time well spent!
5-Sit down and eat together. It doesn’t matter where you are eating or what you are eating. Take the time to sit down, give thanks, eat, and be together.
6-Try something new. And, it is okay to throw things (sometimes).
7-Be creative. We were created to use our gifts and talents, so use them and have fun doing it.
8-Be proud of who you are!
9-Siblings know you and love you.
10-Take time to rest!

Early Morning Memories

If you know me in real life, you know I am not a morning person. I can get up early in the morning, however, I prefer to wait until the sun is up before I get up. This morning I was up before the sun as was my hard working husband. We leave for a much needed vacation soon, and have a long to do list that must be accomplished before we leave. So in order to check things off that list, we got up before dawn.

One important task for me was to ensure that my Woodstock Windchimes from my best friend were carefully moved before work on the deck began. I don’t know how long ago she gave these to me. I do know that they have hung outside my each place I have lived and called home. When I hear them, I think of her and I smile.

So taking them down is one way I say good-bye to a home. We have purchased a new home where new memories will be made. Our move is just across town to a beautiful new place that will be a lovely home for myself, my husband, and my wonderful mother-in-law. We have much to celebrate as we prepare to create new memories, and we all will be bringing with us (too much stuff and) many memories. This morning as I packed my wind chimes I gave thanks for the people who have walked this journey with me as well as the people who will join me on the next chapter of my journey.

Creator God, You made us in your image and you gave us the ability to be in relationship and to remember. Thank you for those amazing gifts. In changing times, you are our constant companion. In challenging situations, you seek to steady us. Thank you, God, for memories and for the time to make new ones. Thank you for this day, and thank you for the gift of life. Amen.

Numi Tea by Mood

This delightful collection of tea was a recent gift from loved ones. It includes eight different types of tea that you are encouraged to select based on your mood or the mood you could like to achieve.

So far, I have enjoyed Focus, Balance, and Energize. And I’m looking forward to enjoying Invigorate, Inspire, Sleep, Reflect, and Refresh. The first tea I tried was Balance which is an Aged Earl Grey. It is delicious. Very smooth and not at all bitter. Next I tried Focus which is their Breakfast Blend. Another delicious tea perfect for getting me moving on a weekday morning. Yesterday was a morning when I needed more pep in my step, so I tried Energize, Emperor’s Pu-erh. And again, I was not disappointed. All three of the teas I have sampled have been easy to drink and tasty. I am looking forward to enjoying the rest of the teas.

On the back of the wheel of tea is a detailed description of what is in each tea. This side is called Tea by Flavor. Numi includes descriptions of how much of each tea is fair trade certified and all of their teas are organic. These are teas you can feel good about drinking while also improving your mood. I’m hoping this weekend I’ll find some time to try the remaining teas as the weekend is the perfect time to Refresh, Reflect, Invigorate, Inspire, and most importantly Sleep.

A Day of Rest Prayer

Life has been very busy lately. I haven’t taken the time to write on this blog. My to do list keeps getting longer and longer. Major changes are happening in my life (good ones which will be the focus of other writings). So with all this to do, guess what I did on Saturday? I went to the beach with a friend. We sat together with our toes in the sand. We talked, and we sat in silence and watched the waves and all the people.

Some might say this was a wasted day. Sure, I did not cross one thing off my to do list, and yet I do not consider it a waste at all. If God took a day off to rest, then we should too. (Genesis 2:1-3). I came back from my day of rest renewed. I heard music that made me smile and saw dolphins swimming in the ocean. I sat in wonder amazed at creation and God’s love for all of us.

Life is busy and we all need time to rest. So find your time. Mark it on your calendar if needed. And rest in a way and a place that is meaningful to you.

God of All Creation, You created this amazing world and all who live in it, and then you rested. Why do we think that we are more important than you? Why do we think there is no time for rest? As those created in your image, remind us to rest. Remind us to find those things or places or people that bring us calm and joy and to seek them out regularly. Open our eyes to all that may renew our spirits whether it be prayer and quiet time, a walk in nature, loud music to sing along with in the car, a good meal with friends, a good book, or anything meaningful to bring rest. With you as our example, Loving God, we will strive to find more regular times for rest. Amen.

My niece in 2017. We were preparing to get off our cruise ship, and she jumped on the chair and closed her eyes. She said-I just need to relax one more time before we leave the boat.

Pentecost Benediction

As you celebrate Pentecost, you might enjoy this call to worship or sermon used on past Pentecosts.

Here is a benediction to end your Pentecost worship time.

Go out into God’s world filled with the spark of the Holy Spirit. Let love guide your actions. Listen for the Spirit of Truth. Spread the peace of Christ and remind everyone you meet that each one is a beloved child of God. Amen.

Worship Space at Taize

Tidying Up (Again)

Earlier this week, my husband suggested we watch Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix. Halfway through the first episode, he paused the show and said, “Are you ready?” My bewildered look was enough to let him know I was unsure for what I was supposed to be ready. He said, “We start with the clothes.” Looking at the clock and seeing it was 8:45pm on a work night, I wondered from where this burst of energy and excitement came. So, together we decided to modify the plan and begin some of the clothes that night as sleep is important. Now, after two nights of tidying all of the downstairs clothes have been sorted (we find ourselves in a complicated season of life with clothing upstairs and downstairs). Seven bags of clothing and shoes are ready to move on to new homes.

My long time readers may remember that this isn’t my first time time tidying. I reviewed the book and tidied up back in 2015. Keeping up with tidying is challenging. When I do this process (whether it is exactly as suggested or with my own variations), it is freeing. I smile when I see a piece of clothing that has been a part of important celebrations like the dress I wore to a wedding or the shirt I wore to my Grandma’s birthday party. And just because something played an important role in my life does not mean it still sparks joy, so I smile, remember, and thank the item for its time with me.

So despite all that must be done in the day, we are taking the time to take evaluate what we have and what we need. It is challenging and it is exciting too. If you are feeling overwhelmed with all the stuff living in your home, you might try this book or show and spend some time tidying up!

Gracious God, Why do we hold on to stuff we don’t need? Why do we let our stuff control us? Free us, Holy One, from the power our stuff has over us. Help us to surround ourselves with what sparks joy and to let the rest go. Amen.

A Rainy Day Prayer

O Great Creator, Rain is one thing that is hard for us humans to understand. Why is there too much or too little of it? Why does it rain so hard it bounces right off the dry ground instead of soaking in to nourish the soil? Why does it rain when I want to be outside? Why do we complain so much about the rain?

Today, O Holy One, we pray for the rain to fall softly on the fields in need of moisture. We pray for the rain to not fall on the parts of the world that are flooding or near flooding. Keep safe all those near floodwaters. We pray for all who need better shelter from the rain. Help us to give thanks for the rain even when it disrupts our plans because this planet we call home needs regular rain to provide food for all your children. Amen.

O God, thank you for my awesome purple raincoat that keeps me dry. Amen.