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Gospel Reading for October 27, 2025 – Luke 13: 10-17
NOT UNREASONABLE AND PETTY
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, “There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.” The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?” When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.
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Indeed, it was something to rejoice about – someone bound by the devil for 18 years had been set free! And yes, the Sabbath, or the Day of the Lord, is the best day for rejoicing. The Jews, especially the Pharisees and scribes imposed so many don’ts on a Sabbath, making worship complicated and burdensome, when they themselves were unable to do what they taught.
Did Jesus purposely cure on a Sabbath in order to correct what they made people believe and follow? Maybe. Perhaps, this is what he means when he says in Matthew 5: 17 – “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
Among others, it was because of this that he drew their ire which led to his crucifixion and death. Today, we benefit from Jesus’ great sacrifice. Today, we know exactly what the Lord’s Day is, and the kind of God we have: NOT UNREASONABLE AND PETTY.
Lord, may our celebration of your day, always be a pleasing and loving offering to you!
