Luke 6:1-16
(sermon note: 02-02 sermon note)
One sabbath while Jesus was going through the cornfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ Jesus answered, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?’ Then he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’
On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?’ After looking around at all of them, he said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about a guy in a wheelchair who entered a restaurant one afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee. The guy looked across the
restaurant and asked, “Is that Jesus sitting over there?” The waitress nodded “yes,” so the guy requested that she give Jesus a cup of coffee on him. The next patron to come in was a man with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down, and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea. He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, “Is that Jesus over there?” The waitress nodded, so the man asked her to give Jesus a cup of hot tea, “My treat.” The third patron to come into the restaurant was a guy on crutches. He hobbled over to a booth, sat down and hollered, “Hey there, honey! How’s about gettin’ me a nice cold glass of Miller Light?!” He, too, looked across the restaurant and asked, “Is that God’s boy over there?” The waitress once more nodded, so the man directed her to give Jesus a cold glass of beer. “On my bill,” he said. As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the man in a wheelchair, and touched him and said, “For your kindness, you are healed.” The man felt the strength come back into his legs, got up, and danced a jig out the door. Jesus also passed by the hunched-back man and touched him and said, “For your kindness, you are healed.” The man felt his back straightening up, and he raised his hands, praised the Lord, and did a series of back flips out the door. When Jesus walked towards the 3rd man on crutches, the man quickly jumped up and yelled, “Don’t touch me! I’m collecting disability!!!”
It just goes to show that some people don’t want to be healed! I’m sure we’ve all known a person or two who were content with their sickness. They’d grown to appreciate all the perks that come with sickness, all the attention and sympathy, special privileges and concern. It’s true, we live in a society that dotes on sickness and those who have it. And on the one hand, it is quite a blessing to be a part of such a society. Heaven knows there are cultures and societies that have an exact opposite reaction to sickness. They consider sickness to be a threat and a weakness, something to be eradicated instead of coddled. Those who are sick are removed from general society and forgotten about, left to fight the sickness alone. Though our society removes the sick from general society, it is only to give them dedicated care and relief. There is life after sickness, and it is our society’s responsibility to get us there. Now, on the other hand, our society’s commitment to doting on the sick means it also takes away the important role of sickness in separating the weak from the strong among us. There are limited resources in this world of ours so there has to be a system of allocating them justly. Of course, which system to use has boggled the minds of our greatest thinkers since our beginning in this world. Evolutionary and capitalist thinkers believe the strongest and smartest should get the most resources. Communist and socialist thinkers believe the resources should be uniformly allocated. Both groups of thinkers have pros and cons. Perhaps there are alternative solutions that combine the pros of all groups. We just haven’t figured them out yet. But that’s a discussion for another day. Today’s discussion has to do with healing and how Jesus transformed our understanding of healing.
Regardless of how we deal with sickness, there is a whole lot of healing available in this world whether it’s physical healing, mental healing, or spiritual healing. Lucky for us, we know and trust a source of healing that is all-encompassing: Jesus himself. Jesus is considered by many to be the Great Physician. He heals all forms of sickness, physical, mental, and spiritual alike. He is the Great Physician indeed! Just look at how he handled the sickness that afflicted the religious leaders so long ago. The Pharisees were a terribly sick group of people. They had developed behaviors and beliefs that held them back from enjoying the goodness and joys of life. In our reading for today, we caught a glimpse of their sickness. They had come to believe that the Sabbath day was all about abstaining from work. What they failed to consider was the purpose of rest. Rest is about replenishment and rejuvenation. In essence, rest is about giving back life and giving and sustaining life in itself involves work. Life isn’t a stagnant state of existence. No, life is continuous movement and growth. Life requires work for its existence. Our bodies and minds are constantly processing and that processing is work. Jesus understood this well and helped the Pharisees, and us, get a better understanding of the purpose of Sabbath rest.
Yes, there was a spiritual and mental sickness in those religious leaders that needed healing. Jesus, the Great Physician, ever-gently offered them such healing. Of course, they didn’t consider it healing. They foolishly considered it criticism and a threat to their authority. If only they could fully understand their deep affliction! We are all so deeply afflicted! We are all so desperately in need of healing! And we need it all the time, on the Sabbath days and the non-Sabbath days! That was the role and purpose of people like John the Baptist to help us realize just how sick we are. We can’t receive adequate healing without first adequately acknowledging our sickness. There are people in this world who do a good job of getting us to realize our sickness and we ought to listen to them. Listen and seek healing and wholeness!
Jesus knows our sickness. Jesus knows it and he knows how to heal us too. Friends, make no mistake about it, Jesus is the Great Physician! And Jesus will heal you if you but let him into your heart and into your world! The prophet, Jeremiah, cried out, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for you are my praise.” (17:14) Be assured, there is great healing and salvation in our Lord! He WILL heal and save all of us! David sang out in Psalm 147, “He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds.” (vs. 3) Jesus not only heals the body but the mind and spirit as well. Jesus is a wholistic healer!
We heard how Jesus called the rest of his faithful disciples following his encounter with the Pharisees in the synagogue on that Sabbath day. Perhaps they caught a glimpse of his healing powers and were convinced of his absolute authority. We, too, should be convinced and seek his healing out as well. We should trust him and take comfort in God’s words spoken through the prophet, Isaiah, “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” (41:14). Thanks be to God!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
