Sermon preached by The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
13th Sunday after Pentecost
What a week we have had at Redeemer! Some 140 children and almost 60 youth aids as well as many adult teachers were here every morning last week for Vacation Bible School. It was a week full of excitement and enthusiasm with spirited singing, eager learning of the stories of the Bible, and myriad activities. I think everyone who participated felt God’s presence and activity, and surely God must have been pleased at what took place here all week.
You should have seen it. These children were being surrounded by God’s love and the teachings of the Church, and they were soaking it up, and reflecting back that same love. It was a little taste of the kingdom of God here at Redeemer. The children were receiving the kingdom of God in all of their simplicity and innocence. I am reminded of Jesus’ words, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” All who witnessed what took place here all week know what these words mean, because we have seen it. We have seen children receiving the kingdom of God.
But when we hear those words of Jesus, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it,” we’re a little perplexed, because we adults know we have lost a great deal of the simplicity and innocence that we had when we were children. Why do you think that happens? Partly, we lose it because of the experiences of life. We learn to be cautious, not to put too much of ourselves out there for people to take advantage of, not to make ourselves vulnerable, able to be hurt, because we have been hurt far too much. We learn not to trust what we hear from others, because we have experienced too much duplicity over the years. Over time we become calloused, suspicious, and calculating. The motto of the worldly wise person is, “Do unto others before they do unto you.” The only problem with living in this way is that you miss the kingdom of God.
But sometimes the kingdom of God breaks in even when we’re not prepared for it. Such was the case one day in the synagogue. A woman happened to be in a synagogue at the same time that Jesus was present. She probably wasn’t aware that anyone special was in the synagogue simply because she probably wasn’t aware of exactly who was around her, for she was bent over. She had been like that for 18 years. We’re not told what the problem was. St. Luke just says she had a spirit of infirmity. We don’t know what he meant by that, although in that day all sickness was thought to be the work of evil spirits. Perhaps it was a spiritual problem that manifested itself in this physical ailment. Physical sickness is always accompanied by spiritual elements of one sort or another. Our spiritual condition can cause physical problems. For instance, it isn’t unusual for a person to get stressed and contract a cold. Conversely, physical problems can cause spiritual dis-ease. When I am physically sick I tend also to be a little irritable. Body and spirit are intimately connected. Jesus noticed this woman who had a spirit of infirmity. He called to her, and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” St. Luke says she was immediately “made straight, and she praised God.”
The phrase “spirit of infirmity” is really interesting to me, because it captures so much more about what is going on with this particular woman than if he had described her simply as infirm or as bent over. It is as if the woman’s infirmity defined her life. Not only was she infirm, but also she had about her a whole spirit of infirmity. When a person has a chronic problem, it is very easy to become focused on that problem, perhaps even fixated on the problem. All of life is viewed through the dark lens of the disease. As a result, the person then has two problems, the disease itself and the spirit of the disease that makes life seem so much darker than it is. When Jesus told the woman she was freed from her infirmity, he was saying that both her physical and spiritual enslavement was over.
One way we could describe the whole human condition is to say that we have a spirit of infirmity; at least adult human beings have a spirit of infirmity. I didn’t see any of that spirit this last week in Vacation Bible School! We are not able to be fully human because of our prejudices, our grudges, our lack of trust, our guile. Or perhaps our spirit of infirmity is that we fear failure, so we don’t do what God is calling us to do because of that fear. I am certainly no economist, so I may be way off the mark with this one, but it seems to me that right now our society is in a particularly strong spirit of infirmity. We are afraid of the future, and so we aren’t nearly as willing to spend our money. Yet, if we would all begin spending some money, the economy would pick up. Our spirit of infirmity is causing a self-fulfilling prophecy. We are afraid, so we don’t spend, and our lack of spending causes what we feared would happen. I know it is much more complex than that, but I do believe that does have an effect.
I have known a particular woman for about 18 years. For as long as I have known her, she has had a physical problem that has kept her in pain of one degree or another for the entire 18 years, and probably for several years before that. She can’t walk without being in pain. But does that stop her? No. She is one of the most active people, and one of the most faithful people, I have ever known. And she never talks about her condition. I only know because I have asked her some questions and she has answered them. She may be infirm, but she certainly does not have a spirit of infirmity.
Do you have a spirit of infirmity? Have you become calloused, mistrustful, calculating? Is your philosophy to do unto others before they do unto you? Perhaps you need healing of body, mind, or spirit. Ask God to heal you. Or perhaps you simply need to try to be vulnerable again, to open up to others, to forgive others and let go of the grudges, to trust. Ask God for the grace to do that. It’s a little bit like being childlike, and it’s a lot like being in the kingdom of heaven.