Opening Verse of Scripture Psalm 71:3

Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 

Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray

Let your merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of your humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please you; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. CW

Lord of heaven and earth, as Jesus taught his disciples to be persistent in prayer, give us patience and courage never to lose hope, but always to bring our prayers before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. CW

First Bible Reading  Jeremiah 1.4–10

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’ Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’ Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, ‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.  See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’

Second Reading Hebrews 12:18-29 

You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’ Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.‘) But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ This phrase, ‘Yet once more,‘ indicates the removal of what is shaken – that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire

Gospel Reading Luke 13:10-17

Now he 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. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. 

Post Communion Prayer

God of our pilgrimage, you have willed that the gate of mercy should stand open for those who trust in you: look upon us with your favour that we who follow the path of your will may never wander from the way of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. CW

Commentary  -

In Victor Hugo' s memorable novel the "Hunchback of Notre Dame," he uses an interesting literary technique. The reader is allowed to see the basic decency and humanity of Quasimodo, the hunchback, while the crowd sees him only as a monstrous freak. In our passage from Luke today we read about a woman, we do not know her name, but we do know that she too was a hunchback. Like 'Quasi' she would have been held in low regard by the crowd around her. Her prolonged illness would be seen by many as a sign of sinfulness and God's punishment, little wonder that it was attributed to an evil spirit. we know that this had been her condition for 18 years, the implication is that she had not been born with it. Perhaps it was a calcium deficiency, a spinal injury, or genetic, or some extreme case of osteoporosis. We don't know. We are simply told that a spirit has crippled her. Life must have been very hard for her, she missed the sky, the birds, and the rainbow. But physical ailments can do far more than bend a back. It can rob us of our livelihood and cause bankruptcy, it can take us away from our families, it can cause depression. Jesus called her and said, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." She suddenly stood erect, and began praising God. Was the woman cured? Notice that Jesus says, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." She is set free. Immediately her talk is of praise and release from the burden. Jesus changed her focus from herself to God.

We are rightly indignant at the response of the synagogue ruler to the woman's condition. However he did have the law on his side, healing was work and it should not be done on the Sabbath. Jesus could have healed six days in any week, that should be sufficient miracles for everyone. Of course Jesus is not just making people well, he is picking a fight and making a point. Compassion trumps rules, even the Sabbath commandment. For this reason Jesus calls those who oppose him hypocrites. They take care of animals on the Sabbath, isn't the woman, a daughter of Abraham, a daughter of the covenant, of more value than they? Jesus is saying that restrictions, laws, rules, and institutions can, if we are not careful, keep us from rising to the heights of charity to which we are called. Jesus came not to throw out tradition, but to show us that it can never replace-and should never be allowed to hinder-the expression of genuine love for one another.

The woman on the surface was attacked by a crippling condition of body and mind, she had been bent physically and no doubt she had suffered years of abuse just like 'Quasi.' Her condition was visible and obvious, but instead of being critical of her Jesus looked through surface, past the illness, and saw a human being. She was not a worthless, sinful, sick woman, she was nothing less than 'a daughter of Abraham!' The synagogue ruler on the surface had the appearance of being well and approved of by God. He was physically well, he was male and he was of religious standing. However, Jesus looked through the surface of him too and saw that he was rotten to the core. No evil spirit had attacked his body, instead he had been attacked by a spirit, which has crippled his soul. It wasn't wrong for the leader to want to protect the Sabbath day and worship from intrusions of regular work. However in the context of this miracle, the leader appears sick and shrivelled; being indignant at mercy and goodness looks ridiculous. What is missing is a delight in God's mercy, in Jesus' power. In attempting to protect what was holy, the leader misses a transforming encounter with Jesus, the Holy One. And in trying to protect the holy, he sees the broken woman as an intrusion. 

Now, do we become indignant when God's moves catch us by surprise? Are we in danger of confusing our interests with God's? Do we see a needy person as one more interruption or as a child of God longing for freedom, restoration or healing? Do we trample the poor by protecting our piety from them or by always being busy with "more important" things? Have our delight and our rest in God been crowded out by other concerns? So we ask ourselves what is our response to the grace and mercy of God, are we like the woman so full of joy that we praise God.? Charles Royden

Meditation

On the Sunday when we remember this poor woman,  physically bent and crippled, it is worth remembering George Handel. He was somebody who also suffered from being bent and in 1741 he was struggling and depressed. He had suffered a stroke the year before and he was paralysed down his right side  this made it difficult for him to walk and he struggled with life even though he was a great composer, the king’s chief musician. He was in this state of depression and despair when he walked past a church and heard the words “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”.

These words of the Psalm uttered by Jesus from the cross were a transformation and he went home to write music. From August 22nd, until September 14th he wrote practically non stop and slept and ate little. He produced what we now know as “The Messiah”. Exhausted afterwards he was asleep for 17 hours. The Messiah is an opera in which the life of Jesus from his birth to his death and resurrection is sung and it is now repeated often at Christmas and Easter.

The first performance was in Covent Garden on 23 March 1743. The King George II was present and was so impressed that at the 'Hallelujah Chorus' he stood up and so did everybody else. There is now a tradition which continues where the the audience all stand up throughout the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

Handel was a committed Christian, and all performances of his music whilst he was alive were in aid of charities of his choice. The “Messiah” was first performed in Dublin, in aid of some charities which included “poor and distressed people who were in prison for debt”. Whilst talking about the time he was composing the “Hallelujah Chorus”, Handel is reputed to have said: “I thought I saw all heaven before me, and the great God himself.” 

Hymns

• Immortal, invisible 
• We really want to thank you Lord
• Be thou my vision
• What does the Lord require
• May the mind of Christ (St. Leonard)
• Praise to the Lord
• Let us sing to the God of salvation
• Christ for the world we sing (Tune Moscow)
• Stand up, stand up, for Jesus
• Jesus Christ gives life and gladness 

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Lord Jesus Christ, since you have taught us that we do not live by bread alone; feed us now and evermore with the > bread which comes down from heaven, even your own self, our Saviour and our Redeemer. Amen. John Dowden, 1840-1910

We give you our thanks, O God, with reverence and awe, for before we were formed in the womb, you knew us; before we were born, you consecrated us. You are our rock and haven, to whom we can always turn. In times past you appointed prophets and put your words in their mouths, appointing them over nations and kingdoms to destroy wickedness and overthrow the ruthless, and to build justice and plant righteousness. But in these last days you have sent your son, Jesus Christ, to whom every day is a sacred new day of freedom. You have appointed him as the mediator of a new covenant, in which we are brought to the city of the living God with the angels and saints and the faithful of every age to rejoice together at the wonderful things you are doing. Through him, your living word, you reach out to us unbidden, and touch us and set us free. We glorify your most holy name.

Father and Mother of us all - we pray for those who are part of our human family and part of the community in which we live. We pray for the little ones - for those who are seen as unimportant - for those who are lost - for those who grieve as ones with no hope - for those who hunger for the Bread of Heaven and thirst for the Wine of Forgiveness. Grant, we pray, that they may receive the vision that they need from your hands and the encouragement that they long for

We pray, Father, for those who are afflicted and in various ways and for all those whom we know who require a blessing - be it physical, emotional, financial, or Spiritual Touch, O God all those who are bent over and oppressed by crippling spirits - and set free all those who are afflicted by attitudes and opinions and viewpoints that cause them and others to become bowed down and to suffer needlessly. Create in them the joy that is meant to be part of the Sabbath day - the day in which we have rest from our labours and celebrate the wholeness that comes from you.