Aspen Hill Christian Church

Luke 13:10-17

There is always someone to complain, gripe, groan, and criticize anything and everything we do.  The Lord calls us to do our best to do the right thing, to be the right people and to go on doing our best in His name.

 

Luke 13:10-17 (New International Version)

A Crippled Woman Healed on the Sabbath

 ¹⁰On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

 ¹⁴Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

 ¹⁵The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

 ¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

 

 

Introduction…

It sure seems like you just can’t please some people.

No matter how hard you work it’s never enough.

No matter what you do – or don’t do – it’s the wrong thing.

No matter what you say – they’ve got a something to say about it.

 

One of the first lessons every Student Intern we’ve ever had has to learn is that no matter what they say there is always someone who will critique it, correct it and criticize it.  You just can’t please some people – no matter who you are.

 

Chris Hobgood used to say there is always someone in every congregation

• who thinks they can do the job better than the minister
• and someone else who thinks they know the scripture better than the minister
• and someone else who thinks they can lead worship better than the minister. 
• And someone else who thinks they can preach better or write better than the minister.

Just goes with the turf.

 

Of course the good Lord didn’t have it any better so I always try to remind myself, painful as it may be “why should I be any different?” 

 

Have you ever felt that way?

I’ll bet you have.

Have you ever sat down with your hands in your head and just plum wanted to give up with all the complaining, criticism, second guessing, Monday morning quarterbacking and backbiting that goes on in your job?  I think we all have.

 

Maybe a good scripture story will help us connect with I’m talking about today.  In the 13^th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, beginning with the 10^th version we read a most interesting encounter that Jesus had.  Let’s listen.  Close your eyes, try to picture the scene.  When I’m done reading the scripture open your eyes again.  Oh yeah, someone reminded me last week that I had committed the cardinal sin of speaking – I told you to close your eyes without telling you open them again.  Of course, what I really said is “close them for a few seconds, - I wasn’t implying to keep them closed forever – course everyone figured out on their own – I figured you would.  At least, I don’t think any of stayed here for the past week, with your eyes still closed – if you did I sure apologize.

Anyway…

 

 

The Bible lesson for the today:

Luke 13:10-17 (New International Version)

A Crippled Woman Healed on the Sabbath

 ¹⁰On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

 ¹⁴Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

 ¹⁵The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

 ¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

 

This is the last time that we ever hear of Jesus being in a Synagogue, and it is clear that by this time the authorities were

·         watching His every action,

·         Recording His every word,

·         Waiting to pounce on Him whenever they saw the chance,

·         Looking for something to criticize in Him all the time.

 

Jesus healed a woman who had been crippled for 18 years. 

Then the president of the Synagogue had something to say about it.

He didn’t even have the courage to speak directly to Jesus.  He addressed his criticism to the waiting people, although it was meant for Jesus.  Have you ever noticed how cowardly some people are in their criticisms?

Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; the synagogue president was absolutely correct – in a certain sense.  Healing was not permitted on the Sabbath.  Jesus had broken the Sabbath law.

But they had missed the wonderful, beautiful, miraculous thing that had happened.  In their quest to focus on the law, in their desire to be critical of Jesus, in their closed and little minds they had seen the little but missed the big!

To make matters even worse Jesus pointed out to everyone how filled with hypocrisy the critics were.  The Rabbis abhorred cruelty to dumb animals so even on the Sabbath it was perfectly legal to take an animal from their stall and water and feed them and to remove an animal from a ditch if it happened to have the misfortune of falling into one on the Lord’s holy day.

The religious leaders were furious with Jesus.  He had spoken the truth.  He had exposed them for who they really were.  He had shown them up and they didn’t like it one little bit.

But the people loved Him.  The people saw who was centered on the right things, the right ways and the right behavior.

Funny, funny, funny it was.  The religious leaders who knew the most about religion and were intent on telling everyone else how to live like God wanted them to live missed the amazing miracle that had just unfolded before their very eyes, while the poor, less education, ill informed everyday people saw it and stood in awe as it unfolded before their eyes.

Same miracle:  different experiences: I guess it all depends on what was in each person’s heart doesn’t it?

 

Does this wonderful story say anything to us about our own faith?

Does this miraculous healing have anything to add to our own Christian character?

Does this amazing turn events hold the mirror up to us and reveal anything about us?

I think it does.  What do you think?

 

 

I.                   The first lesson from the scripture lesson for today is that in the first place we have to decide what kind of people we want to be.

 

·         Are we the critical, scowlers of the day looking for anything and everything with which to be offended by?

 

·         Are we the fault finders looking for everything we can find fault said or done to focus on?

 

·         Are we sitting in the pews, standing on the corner, hovering in the back like spiritual raptors looking to swoop in and find something to disagree with, something to find fault in, and anything to criticize?

 

OR,

 

·         Are we the happy people looking for what went right rather than what went wrong?

 

·         Are we the positive people focusing on was said and what was done that was helpful rather than wasn’t so helpful?

 

 

·         Are we smiling and grinning and waiting for the Lord to do something good with us before the day ends?

 

I guess the choice is OURS isn’t it?

It should be noted, most of us aren’t ONE or the OTHER – we are BOTH – AND the other.  There is a part of me that is critical, argumentative, looking for what I disagree with and find offensive in anything and everything I take part in and there is another part of me that is graceful, happy, positive, loving, looking for what I like and find joy in – which part comes out and which part is pre-dominant is really up to me – the real battle is most usually if not always internal not external.

Who do want to be?

How do you want others to think of you?

Which side of yourself are you most happy being?

I learned a long time ago whenever someone new would come to our church and begin by telling me how terrible their last church was, how bad their last minister was or how glad they are to out of that terrible place I have found that usually it won’t be long before they feel the same way about this church and about me and this place.  Conversely, whenever someone tells me they came from a good church, loved their previous minister and was sorry to leave I find that they find this a good church, love me and connect here just as positively and happy as they did where they came from.

It’s usually about the person – not about us.  It’s most usually internal, not external.

– Who do you want to be?  Who are you? How do you see yourself – do others you respect and care about see you the same way?  Are you sure? 

The choice is yours!

 

II.                 The second lesson from today’s Bible encounter is that we see either miracles or messes – it’s all up to us. 

 

·         Don’t miss all the beautiful and wonderful people while you lose the joy of life focused on the critical and unhappy ones.

 

·         Don’t miss all the beautiful and wonderful moments that life brings standing in the back griping, complaining, finding fault with everything.

 

·         Don’t look for what you didn’t get out of today’s service – look for what you did get out of it.

 

·         Don’t look for the mistakes – look for the right things,

 

·         Don’t focus on the wrong answers – look for the right answers,

 

·         Don’t spend your time precious and limited time in life with the negative, complaining people – but rather the happy, joyful people.

 

·         Don’t focus on what you didn’t like out of life – focus on what you did like.

 

 

When Jesus performed his miracle there was two kinds of people in the crowd.

 

·          Those who saw a miracle, those who witnessed one of the grand experiences of a lifetime… and

 

·         Those who saw the law broken those who witnessed something to complain about.

 

Same story, same scene, same healing, same miracle – different “take home” depending on each person and what they saw in life, what they wanted to see, what they believed in, what they wanted to believe in.

 

The point is pretty clear – we get to be the kind of person who either sees the miracles or responds in awe or we get to be the kind of person who misses it all – while we complain and grouse.

 

 

III.              The last lesson in the healing of the crippled woman for today is that if we are to be the kind of people who enjoy life, if we are to be the kind of people who enable miracles we have to do what is right in the eyes of God, not men and we have to connect with the other positive, happy, miracle workers in our life – and let go of the constant gripers, complainers and people who miss the glory of the sunrise because they saw a distant cloud in the horizon.

 

·          Jesus did what he thought God wanted – not what he thought the leaders of the synagogue wanted.

 

·         Jesus followed what was possible with God – not what was impossible with men.

 

·         Jesus performed miracles and left it to each person to decipher for themselves what they saw and what they wanted to see.

 

·         Jesus didn’t get side tracked or de-railed with the negative, griping, complaining, small minded Pharisees in the crowd.

 

·         The lesson is we can’t afford to surrender to the nay sayers in the crowd.

 

·         The lesson is we can’t afford to surrender to the negative within ourselves.

 

·         Don’t waste life’s precious and limited energy on worrying about all the people who want to see none of life’s miracles unfolding before them. 

 

·         Don’t turn in your miracle worker’s card because someone else wants to point out everything that is wrong.

 

·         The lesson – let God work through you with what is right and what is possible rather than let the devil hold you down and keep you out because of what someone will inevitably point out you did wrong.

 

 

 

Closing

 

1.       Decide on what kind of person you are and what kind of person you want to be in life – one who sees what is right and focuses on that or one who sees what is wrong and focuses on that.

 

2.       Either look for and see all the wonder, all the joy, all the wonder, all the miracles of life or miss them because you are paying attention to the something else or the lesser things or the wrong things.

 

3.      Don’t let the ones who are negative and always complaining, always looking for what went wrong mess you – go ahead and be the kind of person God wants you to be – a miracle worker who sees the needs of people and puts them first in life.

 

 

Sometimes, I get discouraged at how we have one of the happiest, most positive, wonderful churches anyone could ask to be a part of and some people act so ungrateful and so negative they just don’t get it.

 

Look at the average size of the average Disciple church in the Capital Area, look at their membership, look at the lack of any young people, any youth, any growing, life giving program, as they just barely hang on and then look at our church and how can you miss the point?  Yet, some do.

 

Look at the countless churches who can’t pay the bills, who can’t do miracles in people’s lives, who don’t have the ability to do all the wonderful outreach projects, offer all the Sunday School classes, have all the vibrant and happy worship services, and enjoy all the other ministries we have and tell me again how you see the wrong number of the hymn typed in the bulletin, or not as much growth as we would hope for, or whatever it is that you want to focus on. 

 

Don’t be one of the people who misses the wild flower blooming along the roadside because you were busy looking at all the pieces of trash that someone thoughtlessly threw out the window.

 

Don’t be one of the people who fails the see the beauty of the sunrise because you’re focused on how much you have to do during the coming day.

 

Don’t be one of the people who is always looking for everything they don’t like, for every little word mis-spelled, for every dot out of place or T that wasn’t crossed.

 

Don’t be one of the people who missed the message because you were busy noticing how the light bulbs were flickering or some other less important thing.

 

Don’t be one of the people who sees a miracle and complains because Jesus broke the Sabbath law.

 

Don’t miss the joy of today because you are focused on the things you don’t like.

 

            Don’t miss the beauty of the music because you think the singer was slightly of key.

 

                        Don’t miss the joy of worship because your heart was in the wrong place.

 

 

Just as the Lord healed the crippled woman because of her infirmity let him heal us of spiritual problems.

 

Blessings, life is too short to miss the miracles of life – it’s up to you.