“Set free”

A monologue on the healing of the woman who had been crippled for 18 years (based on Luke 13:10-17)

Worship space with a cane and a monarch butterfly chrysalis waiting to eclose

Wow! So this is what you all look like?!
I’m so used to being bent over,
that I only know people’s feet
and their voice.
And you don’t really know me either.
You’re used to seeing a lump,
a shadow slowly moving around.
I am the woman who spent 18 long years bent over.
I am—or rather, I was—the crippled woman.
But that’s over now. It’s a new day!
And I have  new name.
Do you know my new name?

Did you hear what happened at the synagogue yesterday?
Jesus was there.
You know about Jesus, right?
He’s that young rabbi from Nazareth,
the one with the wonderful stories
and the clever questions and answers.
Jesus sure has a big imagination,
and an equally big mouth to go with it!
And Jesus is a teacher with a huge following
of people who are hungry … like me!
We are hungry for bread, of course,
but also hungry for healing, truth, freedom, and dignity.
Do you know any people like that?

Believe me,
I did not go to the synagogue
looking for trouble;
my bent over life is already enough trouble.
But my healing sure caused some trouble,
at least for some folks.
Sometimes good deeds get people in trouble.

And the trouble started
because the unthinkable happened.
Jesus saw me (a woman!),
he came close to me (an unknown woman!),
he bent down (a sick woman!),
he looked me in the face and said:
“Woman, you are healed!”

I was shocked.
And scared.
And elated.
All at the same time.
My head was spinning.
But before I could say a word,
Jesus gently touched my shoulder.
I felt this energy run through my body
and I was able to stand up straight!
I dropped the cane,
raised my hands
and yelled:
“Alleluia! Praise God! Thank you, Jesus!”

I wish I could tell you
that was the end of the story.
That would have been a happy ending.
I wish I could tell you
that everyone in the synagogue
was equally excited.
But that was not the case.

The leader of the synagogue
became angry.
He was furious that Jesus healed me
on the sabbath.
Can you believe that?
Do you have people like that in your family?
Or in your congregation?
The rule keepers,
the ones who always say,
“Who gave you permission?”
“You’re not supposed to do that!”
“We never did it that way before!”
They can be such a pain in the neck!

Talk about being bent over!
Those religious leaders are bent over
by the weight of tradition!
And they bend people over
with their excessive demands.
They accuse Jesus
of being a heretic,
but they are the ones
who distort God’s teachings
about love and inclusion.

But Jesus is strong.
He doesn’t let bullies get under his skin.
He called them by their name:
“Hypocrites!”
And then he called me by my true name:
“Daughter of Abraham and Sarah.”
Did you hear that?
My name is NOT crippled woman.
I am no longer an outsider.
I am a daughter.
I belong.

I learned so much at the synagogue yesterday…
I learned that God in Jesus sees our humps,
those things that give us pain
and cause us shame.
And I learned that God in Jesus straightens our humps,
freeing us from anything
that weighs us down
and holds us in bondage.
And I learned that God in Jesus calls us
to see and to straighten
the humps of others around us,
the things that rob people
of abundant life.

So, shalom, my friends!
You too are set free.
Stand up straight!
Live in the freedom
that God has given you!
And live in such a way
that others can also be free.

© Magdalena I. García