Just a Cripple?

If the disciples didn't say that exactly, they were probably thinking it, just as we would if we were in charge of arrangements of getting a national political candidate or some other celebrity in and out of town.

We aren't even sure of her proper name: “the bent woman” is all we know.

“Hey you, bento, get moving!”

We know about nick-names: some are loving and others are not: “Hi sweetie,” vs “hey fatso!”

How painful it would be to be known mostly by a hurtful nickname: lardo, shrimp, looney, or “bent-over.”

It is a way for others to say: “You're a nobody, a nothing, useless.”

The woman in front of Jesus is known only by her disability.

She doesn't have an identity other than as a victim.

She can't do what everyone else does.

Jesus confronts her, and heals her.

And as he heals her, Jesus says a wonderful thing.

“You,” he addresses the woman, “are a daughter of Abraham.”

And then she has reason as well as ability to stand up straight.

Jesus does not treat her as a nobody or a symptom, but as a person of worth and importance.

“You are a daughter of Abraham, a member of the people of the promise, one to whom the heritage of the love of God is entrusted.”

This daughter of Abraham is a part of the story of God's people.

Stand up, woman, remember what God has done, and what new things may lie ahead.

As Psalm 24 says, Lift up you heads, O gates, the King of glory enters in. ...Hosanna, Rejoice, Give thanks, Sing!

She is a daughter of Abraham, an heir to the blessings of God, and she is to be a blessing to the whole world, even as was Abraham.

She stands up, straightened.

Her life is caught up in God's promises to the world.

Her life has been re-named.

--no longer as sadness and injustice,

--but now in the joy of being an heir.

--from old bent woman to daughter of Abraham.

Jesus' word heals not only her back but her whole life.

Don't underestimate the power of those liberating, healing, and life-giving words.

Fred Croddock tells of meeting a man one day in a restaurant.

“Are you a preacher?” “Yes.”

The man pulled up a chair and said “I'll tell you a story.

There was a little boy who grew up in tough times.

Mamma had me but had not been married.

You know how a small Tennessee town would treat a kid like me, and the names they would call me.

We never went to church; no one ever asked us.

But one night we went to a revival.

There was a big tall preacher whose voice shook the little church.

We sat toward the back, and as the service was ending we were slipping out when I felt the preacher's hand on my shoulder.

I was scared when he looked me in the eye and said “Boy who's your daddy?”

“I don't have a daddy.”
“Oh yes you do,” boomed the preacher, “you're a child of the kingdom, you have been bought with a price, you are a child of the King.”

“I was never the same after that. Preach that!”

Then the man stood up and introduced himself and Craddock recognized that he had been talking with the former governor of the state of Tennessee.

He had a new name that night in the revival, he got a new vision, and he grew into it!

No longer would he be a victim, but as a person of worth, of dignity, and of potential that only God knows.

I looked back in the church records and saw that it was 15 years ago this week that we baptized Annika Katerina Waffenschmitt (such a fun name to say).

In addition to that name, she has another name, Christian, one who acts like Christ, one who follows Christ.

Day after day, just like the rest of us, she is to grow into that reality a bit at a time.

She is to become what that new name promises, she is to realize what she already is because of the Word of God spoken to her on that day..

It is the same promise that is offered to all who will listen.

Strangely though, there are some who prefer victim-hood.

Some may have many material things and others have little, but the attitude in either case may be that of a victim.

“Nobody understands my troubles. Woe is me.”

We don't hear anything more about the old woman whom Jesus addressed.

She probably continued to have great difficulties to face in her life, but she could tackle them because of the new name given to her, the new hope, the goal of living.

How many times have I heard people say “Oh, I don't know very much; I'm not fancy, or important. I'm too old, too anxious, etc.”

Stand up, children of promise!

You are baptized, one of God's chosen.

Straighten up! You are brothers and sisters of Jesus.

You have things to do, things you and I can do!

For there are so many others bent over with all sorts of cares.

They need the blessing which you and I can be and share.

When the water washes over us;

when the wine sparkles on our tongues;

when the Word strikes our ears and our hearts,

they do not just soothe, they enliven us, they choose us, and they send us out with things to be and things to do, as this congregation gathers and then scatters.

The questions go in all directions:
What should I be doing this year in Christian Education for myself and for others?

How will I treat teachers, pupils, and staff in the new school year?

What about that relative or neighbor who is such a pain in the neck?

And on and on.....

Each of us has been bent over by physical or spiritual ailments, by sin and separation in all of its forms, separated from God and from each other, bearing in our bodies and minds so many cares.

But hear God's word of promise; hear the new name he gives, and remember it!

Stand up, and pass the Good News to one who needs to hear it for the first time or one who needs to be reminded again and again.

Hey, we're not crippled anymore.

We have a song to sing.

We have a name to fulfill because we are and are becoming the brothers and sisters of Christ our Lord.

Let all say....Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.