Sermon for Church of the Holy Trinity August 25, 2013

In the name of the One Holy and Undivided God: Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. Amen. Before I begin the sermon, I would like to thank Alan for inviting me back to this pulpit. It is an honor and a privilege to stand before you, and I am truly grateful. It was the Sabbath just like a thousand other Sabbaths before. The old woman shuffled into the main room as she made her way ever so slowly to the place she always occupied when she came to the synagogue. Unable to look up because of her deformed back, she still managed to greet those who passed by - with the simple greeting of Shabbat Shalom the same as we might say Have a good weekend! She may have been able to recognize the voices of those who bothered to respond to her. But more likely, she recognized the sandals or feet of the passersby since that had been her point of focus for 18 years. Her greeting of Shabbat Shalom might have been returned but only as each person squeamishly moved away from her so as not to be caught up into a conversation or worse to be associated with her. After all, she was all bent up and gnarly surely she or someone in her family committed some great sin for which shes being punished. Or worse yet, some evil spirit had been torturing her for the past 18 years. Totally doubled over, she finally arrived at her usual spot in the synagogue a place where she could actually sit which was the only way she was able to see a persons face but only by looking up and sideways. After 18 years, this is how she was accustomed to seeing in her world. On one particular Sabbath there was a buzz of excitement in the air the Galilean prophet and preacher, Jesus from Nazareth was to be the teacher. She had heard rumors about his ability to heal the sick, but she didnt get her hopes up, she had already gone through a lifetime of disappointments. Then Jesus began to teach. The room was so quiet; you could have heard a pin drop between his sentences. Then out of the blue, in mid-sentence he stopped what he was saying and looked at the old woman. He looked her in the eye, which was not easy, for he had to bend over and turn his head to meet her gaze. When their eyes met, Jesus invited her to come before the assembly. I can imagine that Jesus said Shabbat Shalom but intended it with the fullest possible meaning. You see shalom can be translated many ways, for example it can mean hello, goodbye, peace but Shalom can have a richer meaning. It could also be a greeting wishing good health or more specifically to be complete to be whole. I believe that Jesus was saying, may you be complete, or whole on this Sabbath. Then he amazed everybody by saying: Woman, you are set free from your ailment. He reached down and put his hands on her broken body and she felt heat and power surge throughout her entire being. Before she knew what had happened, she straightened her back, for the first time in 18 years and she praised God. This whole interaction caused quite a stir. There were those who were caught up in the joy of the moment and praised God for this womans miraculous healing. Others, along with the

synagogue leader were indignant, because Jesus broke Sabbath rules by healing the woman on the Sabbath. Truth be told what Jesus did was bound to cause a stir and Jesus was well aware of it. Healing this woman on the Sabbath was a direct violation of Gods commandment: You shall keep the Sabbath because it is holy six days work will be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest. Well healing is work ask any doctor or nurse or any health care .professional To this day, observant Jews are fastidious about what can or cant be done on the Sabbath. Some of the rules may seem pretty nit-picky to us. But the tradition of observing stringent Sabbath rules goes way back to the time when the nation of Israel was in exile. Following the rules was a way for Jews then and now to maintain a unique identity. In Jesus day, there were .actually over 1500 things that one could not do on the Sabbath Bearing the slightest burden was considered work. And this was observed to the letter of the law for example, a woman may have a ribbon sewn into her dress but if it were merely pinned on it was not secure enough to be considered a part of the garment and therefore, she was bearing a burden. So, if she had a ribbon pinned on her dress, she was breaking Sabbath - pretty ?strict, wouldnt you say Yes, Jesus broke the rules and he was very well aware of the rules. He also understood that the rules were not made to repress Jewish people but rather to remind them who they were and whose they were. So, why would Jesus make such a scene it obviously wasnt an .emergency and the woman didnt even ask Jesus for help He pointed out to the assembly that this woman wasnt even being treated with the same care and dignity that is shown to animals and she deserved better. This woman represents all those marginalized by society and even more specifically she represented those who through the .ages have been marginalized by the church Sometimes the rules just dont make sense. Nearly 20 years ago, I met with the Assistant to the Bishop of my synod in upstate NY, who is now the Bishop of the synod. I talked to her about the call I was sensing this call to ordained ministry. But this was many years before the Lutheran Church had approved gay ordination. I asked Marie if there was any way that I could go to seminary and be considered a candidate for ordained ministry. Her response was that I could spend the money to go to seminary but she would never be able to place me in a parish. I remember asking if she ever thought this would change and she looked me square in the eye .and said Im sorry probably not in our lifetime Marie knew how deeply this hurt me. I could not understand how I could be so sure that I was called by God to serve the church but yet the rules would not permit my entrance into ministry. The rule was not meant to hurt me personally, but it felt like a sharp attack why would Gods Holy Spirit be working so hard to get my attention, yet give me no opportunity to ?act upon the call The Church-wide assembly of the ELCA voted in 2009 right here in Philadelphia to allow for gay ordination. Marie called me from the assembly and with a joyful anticipation, asked what I was going to do now that the rules changed. That was when the wheels started to turn for my
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entrance into ordained ministry. The rules dont always make sense and Jesus taught us that its OK to challenge the rule to do what is right and good and to not simply acquiesce. My life has changed forever, and I praise God for that. Like the woman who was bound by her affliction, I felt that Jesus untied the bindings that kept me from following His call to me. It was .as if Jesus had said Shabbat Shalom to me personally That one day in the synagogue, Jesus broke several rules that would free those who were .marginalized In Jewish society, men did not speak to women in public not even their wives. Jesus spoke .1 .directly to the woman He called the old woman forward into the midst of the assembly. By placing her there he .2 .challenged the notion that men have a monopoly on knowledge or access to God He touched her whoa that was a big taboo because by doing so Jesus was breaking the .3 .holiness code that protected men from the sinful seduction of women or their uncleanness He gave her a name he called her Daughter of Abraham a term not found anywhere .4 else in Hebrew literature. It is a revolutionary title because it was believed that women were saved or redeemed through their men. To call her a Daughter of Abraham legitimized her as a full-fledged member of the nation of Israel with equal standing as an heir to Gods promise .to Abraham He healed on the Sabbath and expressed the love and compassion that God has for all people .5 .that ceremony is subordinate to Gods liberating love What Jesus did was shocking to the people in the synagogue that day. Sometimes we need to be shocked in order for God to get our attention. Jesus was making a point about how we are to live .within Gods kingdom What has bound you this morning? How are you marginalized? Sin? Bitterness? Temptation? Hatred? Guilt? Addiction? Envy? The list could go on and on. Friends, know this Jesus came to teach us about the Kingdom of God and he frees us from all the things in life that bind us .hinder us devastate our lives Like the woman in todays reading, Jesus gives us permission to look at our world with a new perspective. Listen and respond to Gods liberating call from those things that oppress you. .Listen for his call for your freedom !Shabbat Shalom