Released (Luke 13:10-17)

Most dog owners would probably agree that their pets are happiest when they are running free. There are times when dogs need to be on a leash, such as when they are going for a walk in a public place. At other times, it might be necessary to tie them up, for example if visitors are coming over and a larger dog likes to jump on people they haven’t met yet. While putting them on a leash or tying them up might be necessary sometimes, most dogs are usually enjoying life most when they are off the lead and running free.

In this week’s gospel story, Luke 13:10-17, Jesus heals a woman who hasn’t been able to stand straight for eighteen years. That is a long time to be bent over and not able to straighten up. She came to Jesus in a synagogue on a Sabbath, similar to someone coming to a worship service on a Sunday morning in our context, and Jesus healed her. What is significant about this healing is that Luke quotes Jesus using the language of being ‘bound’ and ‘released’ (v16) instead of healed. The leader of the synagogue challenged Jesus because he released her on the Sabbath, which was the day of rest when work was not permitted. Jesus used the illustration of untying an ox or donkey and leading it to water to help explain why he healed her. Just like we might let our dogs off their leash so they can run free, or a person in Jesus’ time might untie an animal so it can be free to have a drink, Jesus released the woman from her ‘infirmity’ (v12 NIV), or what we might call a disability, so she could be free from what bound her.

In this miracle, Jesus points us towards eternity in the Kingdom of God where we will be free from all our infirmities or disabilities. The healing of this woman also points us towards ways in which Jesus can release us from things that can tie us up or weigh us down in our hearts and minds now. We can all carry the weight of things like guilt, fear, shame, or regret. People’s expectations of us, the judgement of others, fear of criticism or condemnation, or not feeling like we’re good enough can tie us up in knots, preventing us from living the full and abundant life that Jesus promises us in John 10:10. When we come to Jesus, bent over and weighed down by life, he stretches a healing hand out to us and releases us from what ties us up or burdens us. Through his grace-filled love, Jesus can remove those things that bind us as we trust in his life, death and resurrection for us. Through Jesus, the Kingdom of God breaks into our world here and now to set us free to live as God’s people whom he loves and with whom he is already pleased because Christ lives in us through faith. Just like the woman in the story was able to stand straight and tall after Jesus released her from the infirmity which physically bound her, we can stand straight and tall, confident in our identity, value and significance through faith that Jesus releases us from everything that spiritually binds our hearts and minds.

As the living body of the crucified and risen Christ Jesus in the world, we are called to extend a liberating hand to the people around us as well. It is significant that this story happens in a synagogue on a Sabbath. It tells us that when we gather around God’s word on his day of rest, he calls us to join him in his work of setting people free. We do that when our church communities are less about rules, demands or expectations on others, and more about setting people free through unmerited grace, generous kindness, and life-giving Christ-like love towards others. Our churches are to be places where people can encounter the liberating reality of God’s Kingdom as we forgive each other, accept each other, embrace each other, and provide a place where all people can belong. Just like pet dogs find joy when they are taken off the leash and can run freely, we can find deep and lasting joy when we are being set free from what ties us through a living and active faith in Jesus, and as we set others free from what binds them by showing grace and Christ-like love to each other.

If you own a dog, at some stage this week you might like to put your dog on a leash and take it for a walk. While you’re walking, think about what can tie up you or the people you know in one way or another. When you get home and let your dog off the leash, reflect on how God sets you free through Jesus to find the life to the full he promises you. If you don’t own a dog, you could visit a friend who has a dog, spend some time playing with their dog, and see the joy the dog experiences when it can run free. We all have things that can tie us up, weigh us down, or bend us over. Like the woman in the story or the dogs we might own, Jesus releases us to live the full and abundant life he gives us through his death and resurrection, so we can find deep and lasting joy in his grace, and we can set others free by extending his grace to all.

More to think about or discuss:

• If you were a dog, would you rather be on a leash or released to run free? Why would you prefer that?
• How do you think the woman in Luke 13:10-17 felt after Jesus released her from what bound her? What do you think might have been the first thing she did after Jesus released her?
• What might be weighing you down, bending you over, or tying you up in your life? What do you think life could be like if Jesus released you from that? How can his grace, love or acceptance help you find release? (please contact me or another Christian to talk more about how Jesus can do that if you’re not sure)