Luke 13:10-17

 When you sit opposite from my neighbor Geraldine, you don't notice that there is anything amiss.  She is a spry and sparkling example of 89 years old at its best, when seated.  She sits up, looks you in the eye, and makes casual conversation with a clever  wit on almost any topic.  She picks up her teacup and cookies like there is no difference between the any of us.  Nothing is out of place..., that is, until she stands up.

It is then that the 89 years seem to drop on her body like a heavy weight, born about the shoulders, crushing weight bearing down upon her small, and now frail looking body.  Deterioration of the spine, the result of years of degenerative disease, has taken its toll and it  has left Geraldine bent and broken.  As she stands, the sparkle goes out of her eyes and the breath is drawn, with more with intense labor.  You wish it were possible to attach a string to her head, like a marionette puppet, to help pull her up straight.  But her body is not limp, but gripped with pain.

Yet, without complaint she labors to the door, opens it and lets me out.  I think of her and pray for her, body and soul.  Although I know my body is not bent like that, there are parts of me, indeed all of us, that on the inside are of a bent and broken nature not visible to any but the most trained of eyes, perhaps visible only to the eyes of God.  So some of us are like the woman in our Gospel for today and Geraldine, literally bent over, bound by some evil, the rest of us, simply out of shape, not as God intended, seeking to be set free.

        This passage from Luke is all about how Jesus can set us free. As we watch Him deliver this sick woman from the bondage of her sickness, we get a picture of what He can do for us. 

This was a woman who, like Geraldine, was in severe physical pain. Her body was bent double at the waist. Every day was a struggle for her. She found herself in a physical condition that prevented her from looking up. She could not see the sun, or the faces of those she loved without pain. All she could see was the ground, and her feet below her. She could not, by her own power, overcome her condition. Sadly, many of us have found ourselves in a spiritual state in which we cannot look up either.  We are totally unable to see past the torment we are experiencing in our lives.  We to are bent over and cannot see the possibilities or potential that exists around us.
This bent-over woman is one of the most powerful pictures of faith and faithfulness in the New Testament. She has been in this condition for 18 years. If she has been to the synagogue every Sabbath for those 18 years, she has attended some 1,000 meetings there. She has been sick for 18 years – a generation. She has not been healed, still she believes in God. She prays, but even when it seems like God isn’t going to answer, she remains faithful. She comes to the services, in spite of the fact that no one would think a thing about her if she did not.  She attends services even though she is in pain.  She makes it a priority in fact.  She persisted in her faith, even when life didn’t go her way, because she loved the Lord.  She continued to be faithful because she knew that God knew best. She loved Him and she would worship Him in spite of the obstacles she faced.  Like Geraldine, she is an example of living faithfully in the midst of chronic adversity.

This woman wasn’t the only one who came to the synagogue to worship. Jesus was in attendance that day and He came to worship as well. The Bible says, “He saw her”. Jesus initiated the healing, not her. When Jesus saw her, He called her to Him. When she had struggled her way to where He was, He spoke to her. He called her “Woman”. Others may not have recognized her significance, but Jesus did. He loved her like she was. Then He spoke the words that must have thrilled her soul, “Woman, You are set free from your ailment.”  What she or anyone could never could have accomplished, Jesus did with a word. 

When this miracle occurred, the people in the synagogue began to rejoice, as the woman herself praises God, as well they should have.  This is true Sabbath worship. However, the ruler of the synagogue told the people that they could be healed any of the other six days of the week. He was implying that the Sabbath was more important than the needs of the people. The ruler of the synagogue was showing how crippled he was – crippled in heart for not rejoicing in the old woman’s healing. His religion was a crippled form of the true Law. Jesus told this man that he was placing the needs of animals above the needs of people. Jesus calls him a hypocrite – someone who processes one thing but whose actions or words say another. He loves his religion more than he loved God, or God’s people. In contrast, Jesus calls the healed woman a “daughter of Abraham.”  Nowhere else does this appear in the New Testament.  It means Jesus sees her as an intricate member of the covenant community – a loyal descendant of Abraham, the Father of the Jewish people.  She is precious is God’s sight and worthy of healing.

Life would never be the same for her again. Her condition had forever been changed. She was whole she was straight and she was free from the bondage of her condition.  That is the power of His touch. It is life changing and it is powerful. When God touches us, straightens out what is wrong and gives us His healing, we will never be the same again.

In this story, notice that Jesus made the first move. He called the crippled and bound woman to come to Him. She responded to His call, came to Him and got the help she needed. Jesus is alert and attentive to the needs of those around him. We can take confidence that Jesus is already moving toward us. Is there something in our life that has us bound or crippled? Some past hurt? Some secret sin? Some guilt over things long gone? Some bitterness and unforgiveness that has wedged itself into our hearts?  He is already there.  The passage teaches us to go to him -- that the only way to get the help we need is to go about His way. That is, when He calls, we come to Him. When He calls we respond. When we do, we are promised that He will be there to meet us and to help us get the healing we need for our lives.

      We have all heard the statement, “Let go and let God.” Have you ever thought about where it originated? The story goes something like this: A college student back in the nineteenth century took six postcards and wrote a large letter on each one of the postcards: L–E–T-G–O–D. He then put them on the mantelpiece in his room where he was living at school. One evening a draft blew through the window and the “D” blew away. As he picked it up, what he saw seemed to be a message from God, the secret of the Christian life. Only by letting go can we let God carry out His will in our lives. Let God and Let Go – so we can be children of Abraham – set free indeed.   Amen.
 
 

Hebrews 11:29 - 12:2
 
        Have you heard any of these names recently?  
Gerek Meinhardt, Kim Rhode, Maggie Steffens, Mijain Lopez, Caterina Ibarguen, Yulimar Rojasand Paola Longoria.
They represent some of the finest athletics in the world, about 5,000, who participated in the 2019 Pan American Games, in  Lima, a multi-sport event which was held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to and concluded last week on August 11, 2019.   How about that amazing Simone Biles, who landed a triple-double at the US Gymnastics Championships?
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        It is estimated an elite athletic trains anywhere from four years to 10 years plus, depending on the sport, to become a top hopeful.  The athletic trains his or her body up to seven hours a day, five to six days a week.  The athletic follows a regimen of plenty of sleep, a nutritious diet, and condition their mind in positive, motivational thinking as well.

        An athletic doesn’t make it to or any serious competition on their own. They need excellent coaches and teammates.    They need fans, or a supportive network that believe in them and are there for them to cheer them on. They need the moral and financial support of family and sponsors.  Athletics who aren’t funded by a government agency or corporate entity must go to gofundme sites or depend on the largesse of friends and family.  It isn’t easy to follow that dream to the medal.

        Our passage today from Hebrews talks about the gold medal winners of faith – this passage is often called the “the hall of faith” fame.   From the people of Israel crossing the red sea; to those unknown persecuted individuals who wandered the deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground and everyone in between.  There are the judges who fought invaders and defended the ways of God:  Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jepthath; there’s King David who united the kingdom, and the seer Daniel who stood up for the faith against foreign rulers at the risk of his life, and many more.

These people, these individuals found themselves in times of trial and tribulation.  Their faith was tested.  Imagine the people of Israel, called to leave everything behind them; facing the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s Army closing up behind them, with no choice but to trust God to make a way.   Think of David spending all those years in the wilderness escaping the clutches of King Saul, and later fleeing his own son, the rebellious Absalom. Yet David remained faithful to God in these dark times.  These are athletes of faith.

What our passage from Hebrews speaks to us today is to a race of faith to which we are all called. Not many of us can swim, participate competitively or even leisurely in gymnastics, or archery, volleyball, basketball or diving or biking.   Yet as members of God’s family we are called to the race of faith.  We have each been given a gift that we are called to exercise and train.  We are to put our faith into practice—not just five hours a day, but all day, for as long as God want us.    We are called to train like the best of them.

Very few of elite athletics even get medals.  Yet those athletes go to the games, train hard, for something greater.  Something pushes them on, to break records, to endure even harder, to push themselves to the limits of what is capable.   That drive is in us too.   To come close to human possibility.  We are called, like the great cloud of witnesses to live a life of grace and witness that Jesus, the author and pioneer of our faith, models, and the Holy Spirit coaches us daily to follow. We must run with perseverance the race of faith
We are called to struggle with our faith. We are called to care for our families, for our communities in the face of violence, to struggle in a divided community about carrying for immigrants, carrying for our own poor, all the while trying to find our way to peaceful co-existence.  What a race we face.
That’s why we come to church, read the bible, pray; to bring a bag of groceries in for the food pantry it is like a backstroke in our exercise of faith.  When we bring school supplies in for needy children, it is like a perfectly executed high jump, because we exercise the race of faith.  When we offer a bottle of water or buy a sandwich for a homeless man or a stranger, it’s like performing a triple lutz.  This is because a race of faith has its eyes on the prize.
Byron Pitts, black journalist, co-anchor of Nightline on ABC, and author of Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life's Challenges and Be the One: Six True Stories of Teens Overcoming Hardship with Hope, faced a lifetime of challenges.  As a child he stuttered terribly and struggled academically. He had to go to remedially classes and was teased cruelly.  At 10 years old Byron still couldn’t read. His mother spent hours every night on schoolwork.   Keep your head up. We’ll just work harder. We’ll pray when we start and pray when we get tired and pray when we’re done” his mother said.  It is ironic to remember that, according to today’s New York Times Magazine devoted to  articles on African American contributions and history in the United States, that  black Americans are the only group in our country once barred from learning to read and write.Young. Byron would pray everyday, “God please help me read.”
By the end of the sixth grade Byron improved. He worked harder and harder in Junior high and high school.  He was determined to go to college. His proudest moment was when his mother dropped him off at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Byron soon felt out of his league again, He English Teacher said, “I’m sorry but you are not Ohio Wesleyan material. I think you should leave.”  Byron went numb. He went to get the forms to withdraw from school. Papers in hand, he sat down on a bench and started to cry, dream shattered,
“Young man, are you OK?” said a middle-aged woman passing by.  Stuttering, Byron told her “I don’t belong here.  Everything poured out, how stupid he felt.“That’s nonsense.  Promise me that you will speak to me tomorrow before you make any decision to drop out.”  It turned out the woman, an English professor, committed to working with Byron 3-4 hours a week.” Never settle for less. Push harder” She reminded him.  Another speech professor worked with Bryon on his stutter.  The professor encouraged Bryon to work on the college radio station.  He never stuttered on the air. Bryon discovered his vocation to Broadcasting.Over the years Bryon earned that God had watched over him. God, he prayed, I am going to trust you and your purpose for me. Not my plan but your plan.  Byron got a dream job working for 60 minutes.  Thus, began a career to tell stories to help people, inform them and inspire them.Like the stories in Hebrews 11, we are encouraged to keep running, to persevere, no matter where we are in our race. Obstacles are par for the course.  Life is full of challenges.  God has a race for each of us, a plan for each of our lives. We are called to be a part of the living cloud of witnesses, like Byron’s mother, and professors, who gave of their time to help.  Let us remember that we too have great crowd of witnesses who are cheering us on, praying for us. The church saints who are now members of the triumphant body. Our family members and loved ones who have gone one, to cheer us on.  The Pioneer and perfecter of our faith, Jesus went the course to the cross and emerged victorious. And He’s there waiting, too cheering us on, to finish the race. Let us push harder, never settle for less. Amen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Pitts

Freeport/Merrick, Hebrews 11:1-16,  “Assurance of Faith”
 
If you were sick and went to a trusted doctor and you were prescribed antibiotics or some form of treatment, how many would follow your doctor’s recommendations?

If you found yourself in complicated some legal mess, and had to go before a judge, would you go by yourself or would you retain a qualified lawyer?

If you had a child, would you leave her care to someone you implicitly trusted or pick a name out of the phone book or from Angie’s List or Craig's List?

Day in and day out we have to make choices.  Our choices our decisions our actions are guided by the faith we have in the people we turn to.  Faith, according to the author of Hebrews, “Is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Faith whether it’s faith in Jesus in God, or simply faith and confidence in stepping into the unknown is a fundamental law of the spiritual life.   We have faith in our doctor because she has a track record of making people get better. We have faith in our teacher because we see their effectiveness from their training.  Why do we have faith in Jesus?  Because of the witness of the Bible, because of the power of his words and deeds, because we experience a difference in our lives that faith brings us.  Faith, however, is characterized by a certainty of something we cannot entirely see, of conviction in what is not yet come to pass.  And so, we have faith even when asked to make hard choices that may seem impossible to accomplish.

My friend, the Rev. Kate Dunn, recently shared that “The Letter to the Hebrews we which are studying today is actually a sermon, written to be read aloud to a congregation facing a crisis of commitment. Their growing awareness of delay, that God’s timetable is different from their own. They were questioning, if Jesus is not returning in their lifetime after all, is all this effort of faith worth it.  They were losing their faith.  "During this sermon, the preacher offers a dejected congregation words of encouragement that have stood the test of time.”


The preacher recalls people throughout the Biblical timeline who have chosen to participate in God’s story, beginning with Abel, and continuing with Abraham and Sarah, and continues in the later part of chapter 11 with other characters from the Old Testament. The chapter is called the Hall of Faith.” Abel and his acceptable sacrifice, Enoch who pleased God, Noah who followed God’s warning, and Abraham and Sarah, then Isaac and Jacob, who sojourned forth for a better country, strangers and foreigners on earth, as God commanded them, dying without yet achieving the promises God declared. The author of Hebrews reminds his audience, and us, that God calls us to great things, difficult things, things impossible with faith and trust.  Without faith it is impossible to please God.

One of the great practitioners of faith in our generation was Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Imprisoned for 27 years as an anti-apartheid activist, were completely isolated, got little to eat and had to undertake the grueling work of pounding rocks into gravel.  Through it all, he kept faith in his vision of a new South Africa.

He was released in 1990, and declared from his 27 years of suffering, to a nation still divided: “The need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as it always has been. No individual leader is able to take on this enormous task on his own. It is our task as leaders to place our views before our organization and to allow the democratic structures to decide.”

Mandela’s words are as pertinent to us today, as we live in a divided time, a time where faith is challenged.  We find our faith in Jesus who declared that the kingdom of heaven is within us and called us to realize this kingdom in our very midst. Our faith is shaped by our longing for a righteous, just and peaceful world even in the midst of stories of mass shootings, stabbings, and other demonstrations of violence and oppression.  The substance of our faith asks us to conform to the reign God is establishing, a reign where we live in a society that lifts up the poor, the fatherless, the orphan, the foreigner in our midst as the scriptures repeatedly lay out for us.  But the kingdom has not materialized and so we are, like the Hebrews congregation, tempted to despair.

Faith makes our lives substantial in loving as we have been cultivated and strengthened to love by the teachings of Jesus.  Despite the horror of the mass shootings we witness too often, we think of the first responders, the anonymous citizens, even those individuals who gave their lives to protect others: Lori Kaye who saved her rabbi in Poway CA, Anthony Borges who put sacrificed himself to save his friends at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Parkland, most recently we recall Jordan and Andre Anchondo, who with their bullet-ridden bodies shielded the life of their two-month baby in El Paso TX. We must not forget their faith to love sacrificially for it is this faith that will enable us to painstakingly, like Nelson Mandela, to build the seemingly unobtainable kingdom of God that God insistently beckons us to.

This week our world lost a literary luminary, Toni Morrison, the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Morrison’s faith reminds us of the future that is calling to us, in this troubled times: Morrison writes:

“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence.” We must have faith.

“Toni Morrison’s commitment to work toward a future she could imagine, even if she would not personally experience it, surely earns her a place in that great cloud of witnesses whose courage and testimony will continue to inspire and sustain.”

Who are our saints, the historical figures whose faith has buttressed your own? Who are the people we’ve known personally whose trust in God’s promises has sustained you through your own times of suffering and doubt?   (Name them)     I think of Rev. Fred Rogers, of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, who reminds us in times of turmoil, when our faith is challenged, to look for the helpers. Think of those first responders.  Those who willingly get involved in spite of great risk to themselves.    Remember during the evils of overt segregation, such as in separated pools for blacks and whites,
Mister Rogers in 1968 had on his show the black character, Officer Clemmons, cool his feet with him in a child’s wading pool. Without saying a word, Fred Rogers taught what it meant to be a faithful believer in a time of division.

      This, is the faith God is planting in our weeping, hurting, often divided hearts. To trust the Journey Maker, believe in the Heavenly King, that our contribution matters even when we cannot feel the results.  Let us be God’s faithful people in this time of division and this journey of Divine Love, peace and mercy we have been called to. Let us be faithful and strive to build for the Kingdom of God that Jesus gave his life for, for our salvation and our commitment to his teachings.  In the midst of delay, when goodness seems lost, let us remember the witnesses of faith, let us celebrate the faith in the resurrection of the One who saw the journey through and encourages us to remain faithful.  Amen 
https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/suite
https://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/nelsonmandelaprisonrelease.htm
https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/11/15/toni-morrison-art-despair/
https://www.afscme.org/union/history/mlk/ive-been-to-the-mountaintop-by-dr-martin-luther-king-jr