＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊   

  Romans 8:12-17

 Then, brothers, let us leave the flesh

And no longer live according to it.  If not, we will die. Rather, walking in the Spirit, let us put to death the body’s deeds so that we may live.All those who walk in the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God.

Then, no more fear: you did not receive a spirit of slavery, but the Spirit that makes you sons and daughters and every time we cry, “Abba! (this is Dad!) Father!” the Spirit assures our spirit that we are sons and daughters of God. 

If we are children, we are heirs, too. Ours will be the inheritance of God and we will share it with Christ; for if we now suffer with him, we will also share Glory with him.

 

Ps 68:2 & 4, 6-7ab, 20-21

Our God is the God of salvation.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊  

 

Luke 13:10-17

 Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath   and a crippled wo­man was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years so that she could not straighten up at all.  On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.”   Then he laid his hands upon her and immediately she was made straight and praised God.

 But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day and he said to the people, “There are six days in which to work; come on those days to be healed and not on the Sabbath.”

 But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath and leads it out of the barn to give it water. And here you have a daughter of Abra­ham whom Satan had bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?”

 When Jesus said this, all his opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many wonders that because of him.

 

Gospel Reflection：

The gospel describes the old woman as bent-over. Other translations tell us she is bent-over double, crippled and unable to stand up straight or look people in the eye.

She is confined to her home and when she does leave it, she can but only with great effort. Being bent-over hinders every aspect of her life. She is limited because everything in her life is affected by her condition. On top of that, Jewish society considers her as unclean.

People would be hesitant to touch her or speak with her. Amazingly, she makes the huge effort to come to the temple to worship. She must have been doing that all her life.

That particular day she did not come to the temple to be healed. She isn’t looking for Jesus or for any particular blessing. More than likely she is convinced she unworthy of any such attention or blessing.

Yet Jesus sees her and decides to free her from her affliction. On the day she least expects, God visits her and heals her. No Sabbath could stop the goodness of God pouring on His people.

The old woman is healed while the ruler of the synagogue remains bent spiritually because they failed to recognize the day God manifests Himself to His people.