And now, we consider an unnamed woman in the Bible. We get just a sketch of her, and we are left wondering, “What is the rest of her story?” I’m going to call her Philia.
We don’t know how old she is, but as she has aged, it seems the bones of her spine have rigidly fused together which causes her to be bent over. [I think of her when I find myself “bending”. I have to try to rare back my shoulders and straighten myself up.] But poor Philia cannot do that.
Imagine walking along the road, always looking down, having to make the effort to tilt her head up occasionally to see things ahead. Imagine the pain that likely comes with her condition. Imagine her trying to lie down in bed. (She definitely has to be a side-sleeper.) All that pain—for eighteen years! Surely she has lost all hope of living life any differently.
One Sabbath day, the buzz around the town is that Jesus of Nazareth is coming and will be teaching in the synogogue on Sabbath. She hears wonderful things about him, so she makes the effort to get herself up and hobble into town.
Philia notices that a large crowd is already there and knows she will have diffulty seeing him over the heads in front of her. So, she finds a raised mound near one of the openings where she might be able to see the great teacher.
Philia listens to his strong, comforting voice. Suddenly Jesus pauses in his message. The people turn to look in Philia’s direction because Jesus is looking that way. The crowd opens a path as Jesus begins to walk toward her. Is he coming to me? Others usually avoid me. What does he want? Is he going to criticize me? What have I done to deserve his wrath?
“Come,” Jesus says. A man in the crowd takes her arm and motions her forward. When she reaches Jesus, he touches her shoulder and quats down to make eye contact with her. His eyes are warm and tender. “Your life has been difficult,” he says. “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”
A warmth she has never known stirs in her body when Jesus touches both shoulders. As he rises, Philia’s eyes follow his eyes until she realizes that she is standing up straight. The crowd gasps with an audible breath. Philia looks down at her body, then up to Jesus’ face. He breaks out in a broad smile and her face beams back at him. “Thank you,” she whispers.
But suddenly, a man in a robe calls out, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on one of those days, not on the Sabbath!” A Pharisee! Philia knows them by the black robes they wear.
How will Jesus respond to the Pharisee?
(See his answer in Luke 13:15-16 and the crowd’s response in verse 17!)
More next time!
~ Joyce ~