Transcription

[Kyrie Newman]

Welcome to Bridgeway Christian Church's Daily Advent Prayer. My name is Kyrie Newman and I have been part of the Bridgeway community for 13 years. Today is Wednesday, December 17th.

Each Wednesday of Advent, we pray through a short scripture and take a few minutes to listen quietly for what God may want to say to us personally. We'll read the same passage three times. First, to simply listen.

Second, to notice a word or phrase God highlights. And third, to pray the scripture into our lives. Today's passage is Luke 13, 10 through 17.

The story of a woman who has been bent over for 18 years. On the Sabbath, in the middle of Jesus' teaching, he sees her, calls her forward, and sets her free. After nearly 20 years of being bent low, she's suddenly standing tall and the very first thing she does is praise God.

As I read the passage the first time, simply listen. Use your imagination and try to picture the moment. Luke 13, 10 to 13.

On a Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for 18 years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, woman, you are set free from your infirmity.

Then he put his hands on her and immediately she straightened up and praised God. I imagine how self-conscious she must have felt, bent over, unable to lift her head, different from everyone else gathered to hear Jesus teach. This was her place of worship, yet her body likely carried both pain and the quiet weight of being seen as less than for so many years.

I can picture her wrestling with discomfort, straining to hear while others towered above her. As I read the passage again, notice what word or phrase stands out to you, what tugs at your attention or stirs something in you. Luke 13, 10 to 13.

On a Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for 18 years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, woman, you are free from your infirmity.

Then he put his hands on her and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Let's take a moment to talk to God about what he highlighted. I'm struck by how intentional Jesus is with his proximity to her.

He sees her, he calls her forward, and then he touches her. If she was bent over, it would have been difficult for her to look him in the eyes. By drawing her closer and placing his hands on her, Jesus bridges a physical and emotional gap.

He doesn't heal from a distance, he moves toward her. This is the length our Jesus goes to in order to help us feel his nearness. This woman's story reminds us that Jesus restores what we've given up hope on.

He notices where we feel bent over or weary and he calls us forward to stand tall in the joy of his love. Luke 13 10 to 13. On a Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues and a woman was there.

She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, woman, you are set free from your infirmity. Then he put his hands on her and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Take a moment now to pray over the places in your life where you've stopped expecting God to move. Invite him to replace despair with joy. Jesus, you see what's bent and burdened in us, what's been that way for a long time.

You notice us, you call us near. Where we've grown used to limitation, breathe your freedom again. Where we've stopped hoping for change, awaken fresh faith in us.

Let joy arise in the very places that once felt impossible and like the woman in this story, may we stand tall in your presence and praise you with all our hearts. Amen.