Luke 13:6-17 | Isaiah 43:1-21
Listen…Jesus has no time to waste on glorious reputations of the past. He is utterly focused on cultivating and restoring life right now. And if that means it challenges our long-held traditions, laws, and ordering, so be it. Just because a tree produced fruit for 50 years does not mean it can stand around taking up space today, particularly if it’s hoarding resources from new growth.
Our archaic religious preferences are no grounds for stopping the restoration of people long held down by any number of physical or societal limitations.
Get over it. Better yet, get on board.
Jesus is gonna Jesus.
Luke 13:6-17
Jesus told this parable: “A man owned a fig tree planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. He said to his gardener, ‘Look, I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree for the past three years, and I’ve never found any. Cut it down! Why should it continue depleting the soil’s nutrients?’ The gardener responded, ‘Lord, give it one more year, and I will dig around it and give it fertilizer. Maybe it will produce fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.’”
Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. A woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and couldn’t stand up straight. When he saw her, Jesus called her to him and said, “Woman, you are set free from your sickness.” He placed his hands on her and she straightened up at once and praised God.
The synagogue leader, incensed that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded, “There are six days during which work is permitted. Come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath day.”
The Lord replied, “Hypocrites! Don’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from its stall and lead it out to get a drink? Then isn’t it necessary that this woman, a daughter of Abraham, bound by Satan for eighteen long years, be set free from her bondage on the Sabbath day?” When he said these things, all his opponents were put to shame, but all those in the crowd rejoiced at all the extraordinary things he was doing.
Isaiah 43:1-21
But now, says the Lord—
the one who created you, Jacob,
the one who formed you, Israel:
Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
when through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you won’t be scorched
and flame won’t burn you.
I am the Lord your God,
the holy one of Israel, your savior.
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place.
Because you are precious in my eyes,
you are honored, and I love you.
I give people in your place,
and nations in exchange for your life.
Don’t fear,
I am with you.
From the east I’ll bring your children;
from the west I’ll gather you.
I’ll say to the north, “Give them back!”
and to the south, “Don’t detain them.”
Bring my sons from far away,
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
everyone who is called by my name
and whom I created for my glory,
whom I have formed and made.
Bring out the blind people who have eyes,
the deaf ones who have ears.
All the nations are gathered together;
the peoples are assembled.
Which of them announced this?
Who predicted to us the past events?
Let them bring their witnesses as a defense;
let them hear and say, “It’s true!”
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
my servant, whom I chose,
so that you would know and believe me
and understand that I am the one.
Before me no god was formed;
after me there has been no other.
I, I am the Lord,
and there is no savior besides me.
I announced, I saved, I proclaimed,
not some stranger among you.
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
and I am God.
From the dawn of time, I am the one.
No one can escape my power.
I act, and who can undo it?
The Lord your redeemer,
the holy one of Israel, says,
For your sake, I have sent an army to Babylon,
and brought down all the bars,
turning the Chaldeans’ singing into a lament.
I am the Lord, your holy one,
Israel’s creator, your king!
The Lord says—who makes a way in the sea
and a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and battalion;
they will lie down together and will not rise;
they will be extinguished, extinguished like a wick.
Don’t remember the prior things;
don’t ponder ancient history.
Look! I’m doing a new thing;
now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it?
I’m making a way in the desert,
paths in the wilderness.
The beasts of the field,
the jackals and ostriches, will honor me,
because I have put water in the desert
and streams in the wilderness
to give water to my people,
my chosen ones,
this people whom I formed for myself,
who will recount my praise.
Prayer
God,
Don’t let me miss it.
Amen.