August 22, 2010
Uplifting Mission
- Luke 13:10-17
- Dr. Teri Thomas
About 16 years ago the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea was voting on whether or not to ordain women. I was asked by the denomination to fly to Korea and spend 10 days preaching and teaching in and around Seoul. The passage I was preaching on was today’s lectionary reading from Luke. The story of the bent over women.
Now in Korea- being bent over- or bowing- is a sign of respect. Everyone bows and particularly women. In worship the women would sit in the pews with their heads bowed through the entire service. Well, you know me. I like to look people in the eye when I speak. I like to see faces- eyes- smiles- grimaces.
So I put a lot of emotion and energy into that sermon trying to shock the women into looking up. I talked about the rights of women hoping to empower them to look up. I talked about the vote to ordain women and challenged them to look up. Nothing worked.
Finally I told the story about the woman and Jesus.
She had been bent over for 18 years.
Jesus saw her and without her even asking he said to her…
Woman, look at me.
And she lifted her eyes.
Woman, raise you head and she raise her head.
Woman, Jesus said, stand up
And she stood- straight and tall.
And today Jesus says- Woman- lift your eyes and look at me.
In the congregation I saw a few sets of eyes come off the floor and peek in my direction.
Jesus said, Woman- raise your head.
And gradually I saw heads coming up from their bows.
Jesus said, Woman- stand up straight.
And one by one women actually began standing in that Korean congregation.
It is not a simple thing to change years of tradition
Culture
a way of life
or habits of people.
One sermon did not change the treatment of women in the Korean Churches to be sure.
But it did get a few women on their feet.
One of the books I read in preparation for my sabbatical was Half the Sky, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It is about changing entire communities simply by educating the women. The book deals with women who are trapped in the sex trade, or are victims of violence from war, or are suffering from medical problems related to child birth. It explains how these women can be raised up through education. They are given options, choices, possibilities,
answers, directions, salvation.
Think about the bent over woman in this morning’s passage.
She cannot see anything but the ground- her own feet
She cannot go out on her own
She is probably in pain- agony- suffering.
She can’t hold a job when she is all bent over.
She cannot enjoy life or be productive in this position.
She cannot relate to her family or the world around her
when she is fixed on the dirt beneath her feet.
Then Jesus sees her at the temple. She doesn’t see him because she is looking down. He sees her. He calls to her and tells her to stand. He calls her a daughter of Abraham. He could have called her- old woman, or crip, or that bent over broad. But he called her a child of Abraham. As a child of Abraham is the heir to God’s promise, she is blessed and she is called to be a blessing to the whole world. Jesus let’s her know she is a child of God and she is also part of God's great salvation of the whole world.
Scripture says the woman stood up straight and began praising God. When she hears Jesus call her "a daughter of Abraham" she becomes identified with God's purposes. Her life is renamed and reclaimed.
Several years ago no there was a movie called "Ironweed' with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. There's a scene in it in which several homeless people find an old woman half frozen, sleeping or passed out under a tree. Someone recognizes her. As they attempt to help her, one of the men asks, "Who is she?'
"An old drunken Eskimo woman."
"She's a bum."
"She's been a bum all her life."
"No...Nobody's a bum all their life. She hada' been something once." "She was a whore before she was a bum."
"And what about before she was a whore?'
"I don't know... Before that I guess she was just a little kid."
"Then that's somethin'. A little kid's somethin' that ain't a bum or a whore."
Jesus wants you to remember who you are and who you are called to be. Recognize God in each person you meet, and in yourself. Remind yourself daily that God calls you by name and says, "Be set free from your bondage!"
We don’t come here each Sunday just because we enjoy one another's company.
We are not here simply because we like to sing or see our friends
or just because we feel we should be in church,
or even because someone is pressuring or influencing us to be here.
I believe that we are here this morning because somewhere in the deepest part of our spirit
is a hunger for God. I believe that we long for the healing, and the justice, and the love and acceptance, and the peace that only God can brings us.
We are here because we've come to know that we can't fix this world on our own,
or even provide for ourselves on our own,
and that our only real choice is to turn to God and one to another.
Our crookedness may not be as obvious as the Bent Woman's.
Our wounds are not gaping holes.
Our scars, our bumps are not there on our skin for all to see.
But each and every one of us has a brokenness that cries out to be healed.
What is it for you? An anger buried down deep inside you, an anger so deep, you don't even have a clue as to its origin. But every once in a while, it comes rushing up and bursting out of you, and knocks you down.
Perhaps your crookedness comes from being bent over with depression. Depression is a heavy, heavy burden.
There are people who are weighed down and bent over by loneliness,
grief, worry, anxiety, and doubt.
People who are confused by a world that leads us astray from God's will for our lives.
There are people whose financial difficulties
or mental illness or physical ailments or business troubles
feel like burdens that bend them over and weigh them down.
Whatever holds you down, whatever bends you over, whatever keeps you from looking ahead- moving forward- Jesus can heal it
The bent-over woman doesn't even ask for healing. She just appeared, and Jesus noticed her,
and reached out. He called her by name. He calls us by name-
In our baptisms we have all been given the new name, Christian, because we belong to Christ.
All you Bent-Over Ones, hear your new name -- Christian – and stand up straight!
Amen.