Church Oddities
Rev Dr Mark Porizky
8/26/07
Luke 13:10-17
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ 13When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ 15But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ 17When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
People
have some odd thinking God; about Christians; and especially about church and
what church is all about.
For
example, let me tell you about some laws still on the book in various states
that affect churches:
1.
In
2.
In
3.
In Honey Creek, IA no one is allowed to carry a slingshot to church except for a
police officer.
4.
In
5.
In Slaughter, LA turtle races are not permitted within 100 yards of a local
church at any time.
I
would call these 5 laws odd. And for the record I have better not catch any of
our young people eating unshelled peanuts. And, effective immediately, I am
requesting our ushers to break up any turtle races that they catch going on in
front of our church. (feather
duster?)
We
laugh at such strange laws, but in our passage of Scripture today the odd
response of the people who witnessed Jesus healing a crippled woman is nothing
to laugh at. Instead of rejoicing with the woman, they were upset that Jesus
healed her on a Sabbath.
Such
a response tells me that we have some odd thinking about what church should be
all about. So, maybe today, as we explore this passage we can clear up some of
that odd thinking.
First,
it is odd to think that the church is for
the well and not for the sick. (Repeat)
Luke 13:11: A woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.
You
look at some churches and you would think that church is for those people
who’ve got their act together. I
love what I have often called the “parking lot conversion.”
The parking lot conversion is the family that is mad at one another.
The couple is still angry over last night’s unresolved argument, and
the kids are just angry that they have to get out of bed on their next-to-last
Sunday before school starts. Everybody
is a bit miffed.
Until
they come through the door of the church, then, wham, the “nice church
person” conversion happens. I
always appreciate the people who tell me as they come in the door that today
stinks. Friends, sometimes today
stinks, but a day like that is a day I can pray for.
Church
is for the hurting, the sick of heart, mind soul and strength. It is for the
person who won’t make it next week unless he or she gets a touch from God. It
is for the couple that marriage is struggling and need God’s help; it is for
the parents who are pleading with God to have their child turn back to the
faith, or at least away from the friends and activities that are putting them in
harm’s way. It is for the person with cancer that needs a healing hand from
Great Physician if they are to live. It is for the family that is financially
struggling and begging God to help them through this tough time. It is for the
man or woman who is spiritually dry today and needs a touch from God.
In
our passage a woman who is bent over, crippled, can’t get around very well is
in the synagogue. She is a woman who Luke describes as having this condition for
18 years. Why would such a woman be in church? Simply, because she is sick and
needs a touch from God.
And
I find it odd that the hurting are not here every week, or that if we are
actually hurting we have to fake wellness in front of each other.
In
Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness,
Kathryn Greene-McCreight describes her tortured journey through ten years of
extreme depression and bipolar disorder. Kathryn
is a professor at
It
is so important to worship in community—to ask your brothers and sisters in
Christ to pray for you … Sometimes you literally cannot make it on your own,
and you need to borrow from the faith of those around you. Sometimes I cannot
even recite the Creed unless I am doing it in the context of worship, along with
all the body of Christ …When reciting the Creed, I borrow from the recitation
of others. Companionship in the Lord Jesus is powerful.
Remember,
the church is a hospital for sinners not a showcase for saints.
Second,
I think it is odd to think that we keep
bringing God our petitions and forget to praise Him for what He has already
done.
Luke
The
woman was healed and the first thing that she did was praise God. God has done
great things in your life this week, have you praised Him for them? Or did you
just submit to God another list of things that you desire for God to help you
with.
A
friend of mine in
Recently
he told me that he and his wife went on vacation, and as is his habit he brought
along numerous cameras and several rolls of film. Upon his return his wife began
proudly showing off their latest set of vacation photos, and then each day she'd
relate her coworkers' reactions to him. After a few days of this he noticed a
recurring theme in her friends' reactions. Invariably, people would say,
"Wow, your husband must have a really nice camera!"
Even
though people liked his photos, he admitted to being a bit disappointed. He
wanted them to acknowledge what a good photographer he was, not just what great
cameras he has.
After
a week of this he ranted to his wife, who happens to be a minister: "Why do
people do this? Nobody looks at a painting and says, 'Nice brushes!' Nobody
looks at a skyscraper and says, 'Nice drafting table!' Nobody looks at a
sculpture and says, 'Nice chisel!' What's wrong with these people?"
He
said it felt good to get that off his chest until his wife reminded him,
"So, how often do you look at creation and say, 'Nice work, God'?"
Finally,
I think it is odd that church is a place
of judgmental spirits and not a place a total acceptance.
Luke
13:14 The
leaders were indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue
ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be
healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."
It
is hard to believe but in church people actually got mad at Jesus because He
healed the woman with this infirmity of 18 years on a Sabbath. Instead of
rejoicing with the woman; they became angry at Jesus.
It
is a shame but some of the most judgmental people are in churches.
If a church is to be great it has to be accepting. A person should feel
completely comfortable sharing their problem and asking the church to pray for
him or her knowing that no one is going to judge them because of their problem.
A
church has to also be accepting in letting in its door anyone who desires to
worship God and it is the church’s responsibility to make them feel
comfortable and welcomed. Judgmental
attitudes have no place in God’s church. Let
God pass judgment, let us love God’s children.
Recently,
1in 4, one book. Let me
suggest…
Chaplain
Kate Beaustrup Story, Here If You Need Me
There
maybe somebody today in the congregation that needs a touch from Almighty God.
Remember, church is for the sick and not for the well. If you are here, there is
in all likelihood something hurting you? Our
strength is in loving one another as we have been loved by God, and praying for
one another in the midst of our struggles.
Let’s
do that now. Will you pray with me?
St.
Andrew Presbyterian Church, Groton
,
Web Site: WWW.SAPC-CT.ORG
Office Email: OFFICE@SAPC-CT.ORG
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