Rev Gav
How and where should we be Jesus to the world?
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the Sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured and not on the Sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it to water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame, and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things being done by him.
The miracles of Jesus were, of course, a demonstration of God’s divine power, God’s compassionate love, and signs or pointers that Jesus was God’s anointed one — the Christ or Messiah — however, we must ask the question, why did Luke include this particular miracle? As always, to discover the answer, we need to examine the context of the miracle to understand the deeper significance and meaning.
Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues and it was the Sabbath, the appointed day of rest. Jesus healed a woman and the synagogue leader or ruler — the ‘archisunagōgos’ — addressed the gathered public and presented his case that the work of healings should take place on days other than the Sabbath. Jesus presented his case, the crowd sided with Jesus, and the synagogue leader’s argument was defeated.
In first century Palestine, in Judea and other Jewish territories, the synagogue was not just a place of worship, akin to a modern day church building, but was the local civic and judicial centre. It was the town hall, the council offices, the law court, and the locus of spirituality all rolled into one. We have to remember that back then, in that culture there was no spiritual and secular divide. The law was the Law of Moses, and each synagogue, being the centre of each community, would interpret the written law found in the Torah and apply it to the people in that locality.
Now, the way this worked was that the community would make decisions based on a public vote. Synagogue representatives would make their respective cases before the assembly and the gathered crowd would make their choice. It would be a bit like two modern-day defence and prosecution lawyers making their cases before a jury, and those that spoke publicly in the synagogue would be eloquent speakers, versed in the Torah, and people with considerable experience — such as the synagogue ruler or leader himself!
So, when Luke tells us that Jesus was ‘teaching’ in the synagogue, it was not that he was just giving a Sunday sermon, but presenting his case — his message that the Kingdom of God was at hand — publicly before the people, and to back up his message, on this particular occasion, he healed the crippled woman. Once this was done, the synagogue ruler decided to present a case, which he did, saying it was not permitted to work, even for healing, on the Sabbath. Then Jesus presented his counter-argument, and it was time for the people to vote, which they did! Luke writes, “When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame, and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things being done by him.” The synagogue leader’s argument was defeated and worse, he and others who were opponents of Jesus, were shamed. It was no wonder that, over time, these and other leaders plotted to undermine Jesus in the most heinous way possible.
Jesus was working hard at communicating, and backing up, his message. Yes, he taught on the streets where he often interacted with itinerant Pharisees and Scribes, but he also taught in the local synagogues, those places where the law was interpreted. Jesus was, in effect, turning upside-down the conventional interpretations, but more than that, he was doing so with demonstrations of divinity. Jesus’ approach was intentional and tactical and he went straight to the heart of the people where the public could discern and decisions could be made.
So what’s the faith lesson for us today?
Well, I suppose it is that our faith and the message we proclaim — that there is a different way of living — should not be done in silos or separated from culture, expecting people to come to us to hear and discern. We are to take the message of God’s love — the gospel — to our culture.
In our modern, western world, there is a spiritual and secular divide, and our job is to present the spiritual back into the secular. Now, this does not mean enforcing Christianity on communities or embracing Christian nationalism, for history is littered with the disasters of enforced religion. No, our remit is to bring the love of God — that is God’s compassion, God’s inclusivity, and God’s generosity — into our secular life; to be Christ to a broken and hurting world such that people are drawn to this way of living and having one’s being.
We are not to avoid those places where discussion or discernment can take place, and we back up our message of love with acts of compassion and grace. We testify to the difference that God has made in our own lives, and how we have found joy and peace through God ministering to us through our community of faith.
For FAB Church it means being ‘out there’ and ‘in there’. It is why we must be visible in the marginalised communities to which we are called, and why you will find a FAB Church presence in online communities, forums, and in social media groups — places where FAB members can demonstrate God’s love to others.
Each of us can play our part, for example, we can follow, like, and share FAB posts in online communities and on social media, but more than that, we can be in those online spaces where people need support and encouragement, and be Jesus to them, offering prayer and a safe place to be themselves. We can even invite them to join FAB Church — to journey with us, discover the support of a loving community, and be blessed by our online presence and resources.
So, dear friends, go and be fabulous; go and be Jesus, because the world needs you.
Amen.
and then