I once called a radio talk show. It was a religious show so I thought I was in for a rather balanced, civil conversation even though my contribution was sure to differ from the opinions of the host. After a few minutes on hold I was live on the show, albeit a few seconds delay (was it in case my language needed to be censored? How many people called into Christian talk shows planning to use the Seven Dirty Words?!?).

No sooner had I begun making my point when the host cut me off, began criticizing and telling me just how off base my comments were. He had not finished listening to me, nor did he allow a rebuttal before he thanked me for calling and hung up. What became clear in the exchange was the role of callers in talk radio – secular or religious. We are the stooges, the patsies, the pawns. The hosts are the manipulators, the attention-getters and the shockers who simply use callers to make their points and bolster their images to entertain and attract the vast majority of listeners who, wisely, never call in but who do listen to the commercials.

This Sunday we will hear the story of Jesus healing a crippled woman – in order to make a point let’s call her the stooge. The stage is set, on the Sabbath in the synagogue, packed with people, regular Jews looking to hear Jesus and at least one religious leader looking for a way to object. This is when Jesus calls on this poor woman who has been crippled for 18 years. She does not ask to be cured nor present herself for healing. Jesus simply pulls her out of the crowd knowing very clearly what day it is and who’s watching.

In the exchange that follows, the woman is cured, the religious leader objects to healing on the Sabbath, and Jesus says just as you will untie a donkey to water it today I have untied this woman and given her living water that has made her whole. This is when we begin to see that Jesus the Shocker, has used this woman to make a much larger point. Jesus has come to unbind not just this women, but all of Israel. Jesus has come to unbind a people, a nation, you and me.

As we see in this story the existing power structures and religious frameworks don’t make this easy. Despite all of his training and devotion, this synagogue leader does not recognize that God is standing right in front of him. This religious man would rather see the afflicted woman continue to suffer, the multitude of religious rules that penalize the poor stay in place, and his religion go unchanged. For the one thing the religious establishment must accept – Jesus’ message and Lordship – is the very thing it will not accept.

Even though Jesus has tried reasoning, healing and miracles, he does not give up. On this day He tries shock therapy. Jesus takes them by the shoulders and tries to shake some sense into them. He so desperately wants people to see what’s really happening. What will it take them to leave behind the comforts of their old system and embrace something better – something new?

How about us? Jesus sometimes uses shock therapy - for we too are stuck in religious systems that limit and bind. The North American church somehow goes to sleep each night knowing a billion people are hungry, women make 75 cents on the dollar, and the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Jesus has tried reasoning with us, even the miraculous. How might He be trying to shock us into embracing a new reality? How might the dramatic situations that we have seen been used to form us? And how might the Lord be using them now?

Reading
Rediscovering Values – Jim Wallis
Unbinding the Gospel – Martha Grace Reese
Changing the Conversation – Anthony Robinson