God Reaches Out
This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday, 8/21/22. The text was Luke 13:10-17 . It’s easy to identify what God is up to in today’s gospel, “God is reaching out to the bound-up to proclaim release from captivity…God is satisfying the needs of the afflicted…a precious daughter…of Abraham [is] set free” (sundaysandseasons.com). In this case of Jesus healing, the woman or her friends are not initiating the healing. It totally belongs to Jesus. He was in the middle of teaching and seeing her, stops what he’s doing. Being of shorter stature than most, I can identify with the woman. We are not often seen. At the deli counter or pharmacy, I typically have to call out to get the attention of someone behind the counter. The woman could not see Jesus—not all bent over with her eyes facing the floor. Jesus saw her. She did not have to look to him for healing, but was used to her situation, as painful as it was. But Jesus saw her. He not only saw her, but called to