Posts
BECOMING ORTHODOX
“Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, ‘Woman, you are freed/untied (ἀπολέλυσαι) from your infirmity.’ And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight (ἀνωρθώθη), and she praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the people, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.’ Then the Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie/loose (λύει) his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be untied/loosed (λυθῆναι) from this bond on the sabbath day?’” (Lk 13: 10-16)
This woman is both “freed” of her infirmity and “made straight,” after which she praises God. She becomes capable of ortho-doxy or “upright praise”through freedom. Christ compares this healing with the untying of domesticated animals, in order to bring them to water. It is something that needs to be done daily, Sabbath or not, because animals need to drink water every day. Similarly, God’s liberating, “straightening” work for us never stops, regardless of the day of the week, because otherwise we would die.
This Saturday, I’m thinking how God is both freeing us and making us “straight” or “upright” (orthoí) daily, and our journey of becoming ortho-dox is a life-long process. Time and again, we get tied up and twisted out of shape by the concerns and sometimes the kicks in the gut of everyday life. In Christ, the fulfillment of the Sabbath, we receive true relief from carrying these burdens on our own shoulders, so we can freely come and drink of His water. Let me let Him set me straight this weekend, and respond to His call: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11: 28)
