Liberating Grace | Luke 13.10-17

The Rev. Eric Randolph, Pastor

"Jesus heals a woman on the sabbath, offering her a new beginning for her life. When challenged by a narrow reading of the sabbath command, Jesus responds by expanding “sabbath work” to include setting people free from bondage." - Introduction to today's text by Sundays & Seasons (Augsburg Fortress)

We’re pulled into a story of drama and liberating grace, this morning. In this story, we encounter with Jesus, a woman––nameless in the world’s eyes––who, for eighteen long years, has been bent over, unable to stand up straight. Into her suffering, her invisibility, her isolation, Jesus steps in!

It's not difficult to imagine the woman’s experience. She’s lived within a world that values strength, health, capability. She moves through the marketplace unable to meet anyone’s gaze, unable to stand tall. She’s symbolic of all those whom society fails to notice: the overworked, the chronically ill, the elderly, the poor, the ones for whom life is a daily struggle. She is us, and we are her!

Our world, whether two-thousand years ago or today, has a way of ignoring those who don’t fit its expectations. And sometimes, even faith communities, meant to be a place of refuge, overlook those who are suffering right in its midst. But Jesus sees her––he sees us! Before she even utters a word, before she asks for help, before she even seeks his attention, Jesus sees her!

He calls her forward. Now, think of her courage in this moment—for her to respond, to come forward before the assembly, to stand in the center of the room, when for years she’s been on the margins. He looks at her, and says, “ “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” And he lays his hands on her—immediately, she stands up straight and begins praising God.

This is the drama—this is her liberation! In this moment, the simple act of seeing, of witnessing, is at the heart of the Gospel.

Jesus doesn’t just see the crowd—he sees the individual! He sees the pain that is hidden, the suffering that is silent, the hope that has long been buried. While others look past her, Jesus looks at her with compassion and love. And Jesus doesn’t just stop seeing. He acts. He touches. He speaks words of liberation! Tenderness collides with this healing! Jesus isn’t just content for her to simply get by—he offers her a new beginning!

For Jesus, she isn’t defined by her ailment, by her eighteen years of hardship. She is a daughter of Abraham! She is beloved! She is worthy of compassion, dignity, and liberation!

How often do we feel weighed down by the burdens of life? How often do we accept that this is all there is?

Jesus comes into our midst, sees us, calls us by name, and reminds us that our stories are not over! God’s grace is not exhausted. New beginning are possible—especially when we have lost hope.

But this story doesn’t end with healing. There is resistance! When the leader of the synagogue, annoyed that Jesus has healed on the sabbath, speaks up: “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” The narrow legalism of this leader can easily be dismissed, but we should have some sympathy. Sure, he’s trying to honor the sabbath, to uphold the law, to maintain order. But in doing so, he’s lost sight of the heart of the sabbath itself.

Jesus reminds the leader and the crowd, “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?”

Sabbath says, STOP. LOOK. LISTEN. REMEMBER!

Here's the scandal and beauty of the Gospel: Jesus reveals the truth of sabbath – the sabbath isn’t merely about refraining from work; it’s about God’s intent for creation—for freedom, for rest, for healing, for restoration. In setting this woman free, Jesus isn’t violating sabbath, he’s fulfilling it! In other words, sabbath is a holy act of resistance!

When our world––that continues to worship Pharaoh’s economy–– tells us our value lies in what we produce, in how efficiently we work, in how well we fit the mold.

When this world tells us to keep moving, to keep striving, to ignore the pain, to overlook the suffering of others and ourselves…

Sabbath says, Stop. Look. Listen. Remember! You’re not a machine. You’re not defined by your output or your status. You’re a beloved child of God. So too is your neighbor, especially the one whom the world overlooks.

 In this act of healing, sabbath becomes a protest against the world’s indifference—against the legacy of Pharaoh’s economy. It’s a declaration that God sees, God cares, God acts. The sabbath isn’t just a day off—it’s a foretaste of the kingdom, where all are welcomed, all are healed, all are restored.

Friends, when Jesus saw that woman, he saw you! He sees the burdens you carry, the wounds you try to hide, the struggles you dare not name. He calls you forward, not to shame, but to heal! What he offers is grace, not judgement––with that he gives you a new beginning. But this doesn’t end with us. We’re called to see as Jesus sees. To notice all those around us who face life’s hardships.

We’re called to resist the world’s indifference. To make sabbath real—not just as a rest from labor, but as engagement with those who need liberation, hope, and dignity.

Friends, the church can exist without walls, pomp, and circumstance. But it cannot exist without community—a community where no one is invisible. Where sabbath is seen as more than a day off, but as its way of being!

Because when the true church pauses to see the other, to listen, to embrace, to set free, it lives into the calling of Christ—it truly becomes the body of Christ. And that is the sign and expression of God’s kingdom—a place where all are seen, all are cherished, all are offered new beginnings.

This dramatic story is about God’s relentless love, my friends. A love that sees, that embraces, that liberates. Jesus interrupts the world’s movement to stop, to notice, to act.

That’s the invitation before us! To stand in his presence, to receive his healing, to share in his sabbath, to become—by his grace—a people who see, embrace, and share the boundless love of God through Christ alone!

To God be the Glory! Amen.