“Some people live in cages with bars built from
their own fears and doubts. Some people live in cages with bars built from
other people's fears and doubts; their parents, their friends, their brothers
and sisters, their families. Some people live in cages with bars built from the
choices others made for them, the circumstances other people imposed upon them.
And some people break free.”
(C. Joybell C.)
“No man was born in chains; it is their fellow
man who has put them in chains, and at any given time, every single man and
woman has the absolute right to break free from those chains of any nature and
of any form! It is not God who has put you in any sort of bondage! It is your
fellow man who puts you in bondage in the name of God!”
(C. Joybell C.)
The writer of the Gospel of Luke shares an interesting story about a miracle in which
the miracle is not the central point of the story. We are told that a woman who had been
crippled for eighteen years is seen by Jesus while he is teaching in one of the
synagogues on the Sabbath. Seeing her
condition Jesus heals her, telling her, “Woman, you are set free from your
infirmity.” Immediately she was
healed. Such a healing should be a cause
for great celebration and praise to God . . . but, the writer tells us that it
brought about a completely different reaction from the leader of the synagogue.
Instead of celebrating and praising God
for the miracle that has occurred, the leader of the synagogue becomes
indignant and condescending as he speaks to the people gathered: “There
are six days for work. So come and be
healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The leader of the synagogue and his cronies
succeed in putting a damper on the party as he attempts to put the kibosh on
the people’s reaction to the miracle, and in putting Jesus in his place. To say the least, one gets the feeling that
the mood of the synagogue was a mixture of anticipation, conflict, and fear as
everyone anxiously awaited to see what would happen next. For everyone in attendance, especially those
who were not in the role of power . . . well, they were stuck in the middle.
What were they stuck in the middle of?
With great 20/20 hindsight, we know that
Jesus has come to change the world . . . to fulfill God’s will . . . to usher
in the Kingdom of God. We know that this
means that he confronts the status quo and the powers in control. We know that often in these confrontations
his goal is to set the people free to be who they have been created to be in
order to love . . . love God and other.
We know that Jesus has come to break the chains of bondage that keep
God’s children from doing this.
We know this . . . and, we know that the
chains of bondage are strong. And, even
though they hold the people down and keep them from growing, we know that they
also provide a sense of safety and comfort.
Safety and comfort because they provide a framework—whether right or
wrong, good or evil—that show the people how to live. They do not have to think, they only have to
do. There is a lot of security in black
and white . . . lot of safety in dogma.
So, we know that with Jesus his rattling of the chains of bondage
creates feelings of anxiousness and fear.
Anxiousness and fear because it is all new . . . it has never been done
before.
That is where those who are stuck in the
middle are. So, I imagine that those who
are not in power in the synagogue witnessing the miracle and the confrontation
that is taking place, were more than a little nervous . . . they were scared.
Of course, the writer tells us, that
Jesus responded to the synagogue leader with his usual common sense. He points out to the leader that any person
with even a shred of common sense would not allow one of their working animals
go without water—even on the Sabbath.
And, he points out that the woman is no stranger to them, that she is in
fact one of their own . . . “a daughter of Abraham.” On top of everything else, he tells them, she
has been suffering for “eighteen long years.” Thus it is that Jesus points those in power
to the rightful conclusion: “. . . should not this woman . . . be set
free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
As is typical with such stories, we are
told that this confrontation humiliated those who were in power and
control. Yet, at the same time, it
delighted those who were witnessing the whole thing. And, if one listens closely, one can hear the
links of the chain quietly falling away.
Freedom was coming . . . not quickly, but it was coming. The woman broke free of that which bound her
. . . and, those gather were sensing the loosening of the chains that bound
them.
Jesus came to break the chains of
bondage. Jesus shows us the way to fully
embrace God’s desire for creation to embrace love . . . love of the Divine,
love of others. This is the “truth” that
Jesus represents and is. In the Gospel of John, Jesus declares: “I am
the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6b, NIV) And, he shows that there is only one way to
get to a relationship with God . . . and, that is through him. “I am the way and the truth and the
life. No one comes to the Father except
through me.” In this proclamation
Jesus puts forth the key to breaking the chains of bondage. It is in believing in Jesus . . . his words .
. . his actions, and living as he lived.
Thus, as demonstrated in our reading this morning, a big part of that is
taking on and questioning those things that keep us from growing in our faith
and love for that which is Holy.
What are those “chains of bondage” that
keep us from breaking free and fully realizing our place in the family of God?
The author C. Joybell C. tells us that
fear and doubt plays a big role in binding us down and keeping us from fully
realizing our God-given potential as a child of God. Fear and doubt that comes from those who are
in power and control . . . who manipulate peoples’ fear and doubts to reign
supreme. Fear and doubt that comes from
crushing “truth” . . . who take away the freedom to ask questions . . . to seek
answers . . . or discovering “truth”.
I remember as a little kid being told
that I should never step on crack because it would “break my mother’s
back.” As a four or five-year-old that
is a powerful statement that kept me from stepping on cracks . . . at least
until that day I accidentally stepped on a crack. I ran like crazy to get home expecting to see
my mother on the floor with a broken back.
I was confused when I finally got home and she was standing at the
kitchen sink, fixing dinner . . . Needless to say, that was the last time I
fell for that one.
Though that is a simple example, we hear
such lies and half-truths all of the time that keep us from fully realizing the
“truth” . . . the “truth” that will set us free to be who we are and are meant
to be in the eyes of God. There is
probably no part of our lives that is not bound up in such chains. Think of all the things you once believed,
but later found out that there was no truth in any of them.
The leader of the synagogue did not care
one way or another about the Sabbath . . . he wanted to maintain power and
control. He did not care about the
people he was serving as their leaders . . . he wanted power and control. In his attempt to keep that power and
control, he threw dogma, rules, and lies at the people. He attempted to scare the people . . . to
raise fear and doubt. And, he did so
with the authority that he was representing God. Go against him, you go against God.
And, Jesus called him and those like
him, “.
. . hypocrites!”
Jesus told them they were wrong . . . it
was not their way, but God’s way that matter . . . to love . . . to believe in
the “truth”. Consider this quote from C. Joybell C.:
“Any system that does not allow one to
question it, has its roots digging into manipulation and control. And
manipulation and control are devised by people in power. Not by gods and
angels. If you fear questioning what you have been taught and if you fear to
think freely and make decisions based upon what you feel, see and know; because
a system has taught you to have that fear, you should know that you are under
that manipulation, you are under that control. You have this one life and you
are planning to live it based upon a path dictated to you as the truth, instead
of questioning and seeking what the truth might actually be. Truth does not
need to tell you not to look left and not to look right, because the validity
of its character does not depend upon whether you open your eyes or not! Truth
remains true in all times and it will encourage you to think freely, to ask
questions, and to seek! Truth is not a fragile thing easily broken if you fail
to tiptoe around it. Truth is not a fragile thing easily broken if you fail to
wrap your hands around it. Truth is never failing and does not need the human
race, or any other race living or dead, to validate it.”
It has been said that the “truth” will
set us free. Jesus is the “truth”. He said so himself: “I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” With Jesus the chains of bondage are
broken. That was the point of the story
shared in the Gospel of Luke this
morning. With Jesus we break free. Amen.
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