21 August 2022

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Bible readings for today

• Jeremiah 1:4-10
• Psalms 71:1-6
• Hebrews 12:18-29
• Luke 13:10-17

Collect

Redeeming God, 
you draw us all to you through love rather than law; 
set us free from any bondage, 
so we and all your children stand upright in the dignity you give us, 
praising you and proclaiming your wonders; 
through Jesus Christ our Liberator, who is alive and reigns with you, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever,
​Amen.

Jesus heals a woman on the sabbath (Luke 13:10-17)

Visio Lectio

A striking image from Visio Lectio for this week's print design, from Rev. Sarah West. Shared with permission (PNG Download
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Gospel Conversations

One of the reasons we invite such a range of people to be a part of these discussions is because of the richness and variety of people's understandings of the Scriptures. This week, then, you'll have some very different ideas to choose from as you come to the Gospel reading! Jesus heals a woman who has been bent over for 18 years, and Rev Mike Godfrey encourages Chris, Damon and Nicki to work out what is challenging and joyful in a story like that today.

Activity ideas

Sermon Idea (Ministry for Children)
Decoding Activity (Sermons4kids)
Colouring in Activity (Antiochian)
Word Search (Sermons4kids)
One handed challenges: Zipping a jacket, putting a plaster on, using knife and fork, cutting out etc

Discussion Questions

• Who are the people we don’t see?
• What might it have been like for the woman when Jesus saw her?
• What are Sundays like? 

In an intergenerational conversation, people of different ages will have had different experiences of Sundays: some will remember New Zealand before shops were open on a Sunday. This might also be an opportunity to explore with people from different countries who are part of your community what Sundays are like in the part of the world they come from. This might lead into a conversation about what makes the Sabbath special – and the different ideas that the leader of the synagogue and Jesus had about what makes the Sabbath holy. 

I wonder questions

You may like to ask some questions to help foster empathy and compassion with the woman in the story. Take care if you're acting it out, as this may be difficult to navigate, but you could ask a volunteer (adult or child) to stop over and think about 

• I wonder what is it like to be bent over?
  
• I wonder what they could see? 
  
• I wonder what things they would miss out on seeing? 
  
• I wonder how they would tell who their friends were, when they couldn't see their faces?
  
• I wonder how the person would have felt if they could finally stand up straight? 
• I wonder what difference it makes to be able to see one another’s face.

Some things to note: 

• Eye contact is tricky. While in your congregational setting you might want to talk about the difference being able to make eye contact makes, there are some cultural groups for whom this would be confronting, or considered rude.
• If you have people in your congregation who use a wheelchair, or who are unable to stand, consider the impact it might have on them to be surrounded by people standing tall. Is there anything we can do differently at church to make them feel welcome, seen and loved? 

Healing and Disabilities

As with any healing story, we need to be careful not to position those living with disabilities as in some way deficient. For the woman in the text, the story moves her from isolation to freedom and to an upright stance and, in speaking to the leaders of the Synagogue, Jesus names her clearly as a Daughter of Abraham. This participation in, and identity with, the community of faith is an expression of healing. What physical, structural or attitudinal barriers might need to be removed for people living with disabilities to participate fully in the life of your community? 
On another note, though this story is a story of good news and freedom for the woman in the text, the lack of healing that members of our community experience in their own lives may make this story difficult for some to hear.  How can you preach and teach about this story with that pastoral reality in mind?

What's a sabbath?