Sunday Sermon - 24 August

In a prior sermon I talked about how I read the Bible when I’m seeking direction or spiritual understanding. I do my best to quiet my mind of pervasive thoughts, I pray for the Holy Spirit to aid me in my understanding, and then I open the Good Book and begin to read with an open mind and an open heart - well, as open as I can get it in that moment.

Some of you may know that I’ve been invited to attend the 2025 session of St. Clement’s College of Preaching in October, often thought of as a three day master class in preaching . I was quite surprised to be invited. In fact, it’s a real honour. Your Bishop has to recommend you and there are only 15 spots available to candidates throughout the entire country. I don’t know if it’s because the Bishop thinks I could use some help with my preaching but I do know that Bishop Riscylla herself has attended, as has Bishop Andrew our Diocesan Bishop, so regardless of why I was invited, I was afforded the spot and I’m very grateful for the privilege to attend. 

I tell you this because I’ve been thinking about the difference between the way I read the Bible for spiritual awareness and personal understanding, versus the way I read the Bible to prepare for a sermon. They are significantly different. Perhaps I’ll learn a bit more about this difference at the College in October.  

When I prepare for a sermon, I read all of the passages and take some notes. I think about the passages, reflect and pray on them. Over the course of the week, I do my exegetical work which involves reading commentaries on the passages and seeking to understand the historical context of the writing. The academic aspect of studying scripture.  

Reading the Bible for personal edification and spiritual need is obviously very different than reading the Bible for public purposes, like preparing and presenting a sermon.  

This week, though, our Gospel grabbed me in a way that I don’t often experience during sermon preparation. It was as if, instead of reading the Bible for sermon purposes with an academic exegetical mindset, I was being directed by God’s grace. I was captivated. I was drawn to this suffering woman who had been crippled ‘by a spirit’ for 18 years.

I know that the primary message of this passage is to address the issue of ‘working’ on the Sabbath and there are a lot of debatable and relevant points on both sides of this issue - in both Jesus’ time and ours - that are worth talking about. But this woman, this suffering woman that Jesus saw and called out, was calling out to me as well. My reading of this passage was no longer about preparing for a sermon. I was being touched more personally, more emotionally than intellectually, by her pain and Jesus’ compassion. I didn’t understand why, I’m still not sure I understand why, but that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I was.

This woman suddenly appears with “a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years.” She was bent over, unable to stand up. Jesus spotted her, called her over, and said; “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” Then he touches her, lays hands on her, and she stands fully upright, praising God.  

Jesus, when challenged, explains why he saved her. The words he uses here are important.

“Ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham [a believer] whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage.”

The key words that kept calling out to me were:

• Satan bound

• Set free from this bondage

I don’t know about you but I’ve never been physically tied up or restrained. I hope you haven’t either, but I do know what it is like to be emotionally bound, psychologically restricted, and spiritually constrained. There are many things in our life that restrict and confine us and they can have a physical manifestation, just like the crippled woman.

We can be consumed by anger.

We can be racked by jealousy.

We can be overcome by vengeance.

We can be burdened by guilt.

Any of our insecurities, doubts and fears are all too easily able to overwhelm us, possess us, and weigh as heavy burdens on our souls. They even present in our bodies. The physical manifestation of our psychological and emotional states is a real thing and can indeed be crippling.

I am going to share a personal story. This is how today’s readings have touched me.

Before I came to St. John’s I had a pretty tough job. I worked non-stop, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I was always on-call and usually the lead in dealing with whatever issue or crisis had arisen. There weren’t enough hours in the day. I said earlier that even though I’ve never been physically restrained, I know what it is like to be bound and constrained by my work. I wasn’t hunched over but I was physically failing.

Don’t get me wrong. There was a lot about living and working at Lakefield College School that I loved, and that was good for me and my family. But as the years progressed, my job got exponentially more demanding, more combative, and more constraining. The stress of my work began taking its toll. My blood pressure and blood sugar were high and I had stomach issues that quite literally had me bent over in pain some mornings. My doctor was growing concerned. I not only had physical manifestations of the bonds of stress I was dealing with, but I experienced what I call ‘psychological claustrophobia.’ I felt trapped in a life without enough time. I had too much to do, not enough time to do it in, and definitely not enough time to do things for me and with my family. This psychological claustrophobia presented all too often as short-tempered anger and, sadly, my family were the primary recipients of my frustration.

Jesus saw that crippled woman who suddenly appeared and, regardless of what day it was, he identified her as a woman of faith. She was a child of Abraham who was struggling under the bondage of something evil and he set her free. He laid hands on her, gently and lovingly, and released her from her burdening ailment.

Paul’s letter to the Hebrews speaks of the ‘unshakeable Kingdom of God’ which is mediated to us through Jesus Christ. The world may be rattling all around us, binding us in painfully restrictive ways, but Jesus shows us our way to true freedom, the Kingdom, and he saves us from the stifling restraints of our lives. All we have to do is have the courage to show up.  

You see, Luke makes it very clear that Jesus didn’t seek this woman out. He writes; “And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for 18 years.” The woman showed up in the synagogue. She brought herself there knowing that Jesus was her saviour and could free her from her suffering.

We have to show up. We have to bring ourselves to Jesus if we want to be freed from the bonds that restrain and cripple us. It is only when we show up, when we bring ourselves to Christ, that we understand and experience the ‘unshakeable’ Kingdom of God that Paul speaks of to the Hebrews.  

I made the tough decision, after a lot of prayer and discussions with those I love and who love me, to leave the job at Lakefield College and bring myself more fully to Jesus. And here I am.

For those of you who feel bound, constrained by the bonds of your life, I invite you - actually, let me rephrase that so it’s a little stronger - I encourage you to bring yourself to Jesus. Allow Jesus to free you from the things that tie you down, that cripple you emotionally and maybe even physically. Show up, show yourself to your Saviour, listen to his words; “You are set free from your ailments.” Accept his gift and allow his loving touch to enter your heart. 

Now, before I close, I owe you all an apology. This homily is way more personal than a homily should be and I am sorry for that. Perhaps after I attend the College of Preachers, I’ll do better. I do believe, though, that sometimes the Holy Spirit just takes over and God’s Word in Scripture stirs something far deeper than any academic exercise could ever achieve.

You see, I am that woman - I connected with her crippled state - and perhaps you can see yourself in her too. Just like her, Jesus can set us free. All we have to do is bring ourselves to him. I made that choice a couple of years ago. Jesus set me free. He gave me you and for that, I am forever grateful.

Amen.