William Barclay has observed that...
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William Barclay has observed that this was the last time we hear of Jesus being in the
synagogue. He was teaching on the sabbath when Jesus saw in the crowd a woman bent
over for eighteen years. Eighteen years of misery and pain and probably derision. That
first century could be a cruel time. Jesus reached out in compassion and healed the
woman. The president of the synagogue was distressed by Jesus' action. He did not
confront Jesus but turned toward the crowd and rebuked Jesus for breaking the sabbath.
Jesus had little patience with such a response. There are some religious folk that love the
rules more than they love people.
The high water mark in interpreting the scripture is the spirit of Jesus -- not the letter of the law. The world is filled with people limping through life burdened down with many things. Some have carried weights much too heavy all their lives. Jesus always reached out to those in need.
The church does its best work, not by ignoring the rules and doctrines of the faith, but by remembering that faith should never put burdens on people's backs. Faith should never stand in the way of helping someone in need.
Who are the bent over today that find life hard and difficult? What does the church do by response or lack of response that bypasses the bent over and the burdened because of some rule or law? Jesus always put people first. The church that puts people first will never go out of business.
Karl Menninger, the famous psychiatrist, once gave a lecture on mental health and took questions at the end of the lecture. "What would you advise a person to do," one woman asked, "if that person felt a nervous breakdown coming on?" Everyone there was sure he would say to consult a psychiatrist. To the astonishment of the crowd, Dr. Menninger replied, "Lock up your house, go across the railroad tracks, find someone in need, and do something to help that person."
The high water mark in interpreting the scripture is the spirit of Jesus -- not the letter of the law. The world is filled with people limping through life burdened down with many things. Some have carried weights much too heavy all their lives. Jesus always reached out to those in need.
The church does its best work, not by ignoring the rules and doctrines of the faith, but by remembering that faith should never put burdens on people's backs. Faith should never stand in the way of helping someone in need.
Who are the bent over today that find life hard and difficult? What does the church do by response or lack of response that bypasses the bent over and the burdened because of some rule or law? Jesus always put people first. The church that puts people first will never go out of business.
Karl Menninger, the famous psychiatrist, once gave a lecture on mental health and took questions at the end of the lecture. "What would you advise a person to do," one woman asked, "if that person felt a nervous breakdown coming on?" Everyone there was sure he would say to consult a psychiatrist. To the astonishment of the crowd, Dr. Menninger replied, "Lock up your house, go across the railroad tracks, find someone in need, and do something to help that person."
