Availability
There is a lot to consider in today’s Gospel, particularly Jesus’s healing touch and his teaching about what honors God on the sabbath. But let’s not rush past the opening sentences.
“Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And just then, there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.”
Here she is, crippled and unable to stand up straight, and going to church. We must not rush past her effort, which is an expression of great faith. Even now, we are among people who make a similar effort, people for whom it takes a great deal of time and struggle to get ready for and get to church.
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Saint You
When we went to Israel a few years ago, I asked our guide if we could go to Jericho. It was not on our itinerary, but I really wanted to go. It is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is the lowest city in the world. And I love the story of Jesus calling Zaccheus out of the sycamore tree.
We visited a store that is adjacent to the archaeological site of the original city. It has an observation deck where you can go up three or four floors and see the site from above. One of the interesting facts is that the walls fell outwards. If an invading army were to storm the walls and break through them, they would have fallen inward.
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High Anxiety
Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.” That little phrase touches many hearts immediately. We all know fear, we all would rather not have it. His teaching has shaped our culture for centuries. Nevertheless, we have a severe and growing anxiety problem in this country, and it is hitting our children, teens and young adults hardest of all.
Last fall, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt published “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.” He documents what he calls a “surge of suffering” among young teens that began to take off in 2011. Rates of mental illness, particularly anxiety and depression, have more than doubled, up to almost 30% of girls by 2020, as we got to the pandemic.
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