You are free

A woman there had an evil spirit that had made her sick for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw here, he called out to her, ‘Woman, you are free from your sickness!’ He placed his hands on her, and at once she straightened herself up and praised God. (verses 11-13)

Read Luke 13:10-17

I am struck by the words of Jesus in this story. He doesn’t command, ‘Be free’, instead he declares, ‘You are free’. I imagine the woman peering up at him, saying, ‘No, I’m not. I am bent over, completely held captive by this disability!’

I struggle to believe that I am free. The things that cause me to be bent over double inside myself seem like insurmountable obstacles. I hear the words of Jesus to the woman and find myself thinking, ‘Well, that’s nice for her, that she’s free. But the things that weigh on me are really big, and it’s not possible for me to be free of them!’

Jesus followed up his words to the woman by placing his hands on her, to help her understand that, indeed, things she thought were beyond change were not outside the power of God. God knows that we struggle to grasp the extent to which we are set free and that we continue to hobble along, bent double. Be assured that God is reaching out to you with gentle touch and saying confidently, ‘You, yes you, are free’.

Healer of bent and bruised spirits, help me to understand that in you I am set free from the things that cripple me. Thank you for your healing touch. Amen.

by Clare Schulz, in ‘God’s Peace for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2003)

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