Scriptures used:  Jeremiah 1:4-10 & Luke 12:10 – 21

The call of Jeremiah is one of the classic passages within the bible. It speaks to all of us, in a variety of ways. For all of us are called by God; God our creator wishes to be in relationship with all of us; and calls each of us by name.

That call comes in different ways. I think because we are all wired to respond to God in different ways,
we need to be called differently. For some it will come through quiet and prayer, for others it will come through what someone else says, for others it will come through an audible voice of God, and sometimes it is a mixture of these.

The call of Jeremiah was the audible voice of God, and Jeremiah goes on to use his voice to call others back to God. Jeremiah’s response to this is the classic response we often have to something new, and especially when it comes from God, the response is: “Send someone else God!” The hope that God has in us is that this first response, isn’t our only response, that we will calm down, that we will start to see another perspective, a “God perspective” in the situation.

Jeremiah’s response was very harsh, not only did he say: “No”, but he also said: “Look I wouldn’t even know what to say!” and God graciously says: “I’ll give you the words!” This is not a glib line: “I’ll give you the words.” It is no easy line, how is Jeremiah to know they really come from God, how is he to know if they are his, or Gods?

The role of a prophet is a difficult one, and the classic response to this is “No”; because it is uncomfortable, often short-lived, and almost always conflictual. Yet we hear that Jeremiah was compelled to act. He didn’t put his hand up and say send me! Rather God said “I choose you,
you will go” and Jeremiah says: “No”. But God puts something his heart, and he feels compelled to act,
to work out the call that God puts on his life. So from a first response of: “Send someone else.”
God graciously takes the next step and provides for Jeremiah’s needs, and gives him the words he needs to speak, and with this a great ministry begins.

When God genuinely puts something on our hearts, we feel compelled to act. At these moments we have a choice to make. Do we learn to work with God, or to actively resist God’s work in our life?

Our story in Luke has a similar dimension to Jeremiah’s call. We are able to contrast the church leader who refuses to act or respond to God; with Jesus and the woman who do respond or act towards God’s call in a positive way. The church leader says: “You can’t do that on a Sabbath,” and this isn’t the “No” that Jeremiah gives, because the church leaders have been doing this for the length of Jesus’ ministry. The church leader has chosen his way, it is one opposed to God. In many ways this leader is similar to the woman in the story, he is stooped over too; he is bent over by the weight of his traditions, by the weight of his Sabbath. He serves the Sabbath, rather than it serving him. The human dimension has been lost, he is an automated robot. He has lost his sense of identity as being blessed by God, he has moved out from the covenant of God, away from the blessing of God bestowed on Abraham. The leader then has lost his sense of humanity. Jesus’ critique of this is harsh; he essentially says: “You’d treat an animal better than this woman for the sake of your Sabbath!” So this woman is being treated as less than an animal, she has been so de-humanised.

The problem for us today is that this dehumanising is quiet subtle, where we say:

• he has MS she has depression
• he has cancer she was abused
• he’s divorced she’s disabled
• he’s gay she’s single
• he’s anorexic she’s a single parent.

We can if we are not careful dehumanise people; they appear as only a label in our mind, as less than who they fully are. This is what had happened to the woman in today’s story, it is very likely that she was well known within the community because she was bent over; she would have stood out.

She would have never been fully healed until she learnt to stand tall again, because it is with standing tall, in trusting in her identity as a child of Abraham, that she can get her sense of self-worth again. That as a child of Abraham she has been blessed, blessed by God. It is from this she can draw her self-worth because God sees our future, what we can do, of what we can be in God’s Kingdom, not where we have been. For God, our potential, our today and future define us, not our yesterday. We need to learn to trust in God, to trust that we are blessed, that we truly are called by our Creator.

Jesus was calling in the Gospels not only this woman, but all of the people back to God. He saw the potential that there was in Israel, to come back to God, to be set free from bondage, to no longer be doubled over from the weight of their laws, but instead to live fully forgiven from their past sins, to live into God’s tomorrow and today for them.

The enemy is named. The enemy is Satan, not their neighbour; but Satan, the one who ensnares their minds. Satan has bound this woman up for 18 years, there is no need to leave her ensnared for another day, but the leader of the synagogue, his mind is ensnared too. Satan, the accuser, has bound the synagogue and this woman for many years. Jesus can free the woman, because when he touches her
she accepts the healing, stands up and praises God.

God touches all of us, some of us choose in these God moments to stand up. These moments are tiny moments. Luke says that it is like a mustard seed, or yeast, such a small act has a huge effect. We are left to ponder, do we allow God’s mustard seed to grow in us. Do we allow God’s yeast to help us grow and rise, like a loaf of bread?

Jesus response to the leaders who had yet to respond to his message of God’s Kingdom of healing coming was: “If I don’t heal her, she can’t participate in the Sabbath anyway.” The woman is healed
and she is able to carry out God’s call on her life and she dances and praises God.

God and Jesus want to show us another way, a way of freedom, healing, and wholeness. The challenge to us is to firstly allow God to speak to us; like with Jeremiah, and like Jesus did with the people of his day. We then need to ask God for healing and to trust in the blessing that God gives all of us, and to stand up straight.

If there is something you would like to take to God in prayer, how about you take that to God at intercession time? Or maybe you might like Alick, (Doedtie) or myself to pray with you? If you do,
please seek us out at the end of the service.

Let us pray:
Gracious God, When we feel weighed down by illness or worry, free us.

Please hold us in your love, and restore us.

Help us to trust in your grace and blessing, to stand up straight, to praise your Kingdom here and now, and to live in the healing you freely give.

In Your Son Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

One Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in a Jewish meeting place, and a woman was there who had been crippled by an evil spirit for eighteen years. She was completely bent over and could not straighten up. When Jesus saw the woman, he called her over and said, “You are now well.” He placed his hands on her, and right away she stood up straight and praised God.

The man in charge of the meeting place was angry because Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath. So he said to the people, “Each week has six days when we can work. Come and be healed on one of those days, but not on the Sabbath.”

The Lord replied, “Are you trying to fool someone? Won’t any one of you untie your ox or donkey and lead it out to drink on a Sabbath? This woman belongs to the family of Abraham, but Satan has kept her bound for eighteen years. Isn’t it right to set her free on the Sabbath?” Jesus’ words made his enemies ashamed. But everyone else in the crowd was happy about the wonderful things he was doing.

Jesus said, “What is God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it with? It is like what happens when someone plants a mustard seed in a garden. The seed grows as big as a tree, and birds nest in its branches.”

Then Jesus said, “What can I compare God’s kingdom with? It is like what happens when a woman mixes yeast into three batches of flour. Finally, all the dough rises.”