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by Jose Kurian Puliyeril
Gospel Reading: St. Luke 13:10-17
Today’s reading exhorts us to meditate on the scriptural portion in which there is mention about the miracle happened to the bowed woman, who had been so since about eighteen years. In verse 11 we read, “And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.”
Though St. Luke has mentioned clearly that the woman had a spirit of infirmity for the eighteen years, we all always prefer to see her or watch her as a physically handicapped woman for the past 18 years. It is true that she had a spirit of infirmity and hence she could not lift up herself. It is a fact that there was no personal request or intercession prior to the curing of the bowed woman. Neither she nor someone else did plea or pray for her recovery from the bondage of the spirit of infirmity.
How many spirits might be there in each and every one of us? We all do possess not only one spirit, but a number of evil spirits as our colleague, friend and advisor. But by God’s mercy we all could lift us ourselves, in our normal physical activities. We all are bowed not physically, but spiritually and hence we do not recognize how far we are bowed. When one is bowed he or she cannot look up and see what all are there. We all are supposed to look up to see the face of our Lord God and in fact we are in a sympathetic condition where we cannot look up.
Lord Jesus saw the lady among the crowd and called her to his side and said “Woman, thou art loosed from your infirmity.” Lord Jesus called her to his side and told her about the miracle to be happened. Then He laid his hand on her head and blessed her. Our Lord is calling us also to cure us from the infirmity. Do we give heed to Him? Usually we fail in identifying the sweetness of the sound of our Lord, though our Lord longs to cure us and to retain eternal mutual relation. Our Lord’s might be for the following:
a) To grand gifts. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Romans 11: 29)
b) To share His glory. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. (Ephesians 1: 18)
c) To grand us the heavenly prizes. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3: 14)
Let us think how far we are concerned about our Lord’s call at every moment, without fail and stop.
When the lady went near our Lord, He placed His hand and circulated heavenly blessings and compassion. Let us also go near Him and receive the same sort of blessings. When we could lift our body up, we could concentrate more on Him who is up above. Let us place our concentration and hope in Him, who had created the visible and invisible, protects them and controls them without brake.
May God bless us all.
See Also:
Devotional Thoughts for the Fifth Sunday of the Lent/Crippled Woman
by Rev. Fr. Solomon OICDevotional Thoughts for the 5th Sunday of the Great Lent (Bent Woman's Sunday)
by Jose Kurian PuliyerilDevotional Thoughts for Bowed Woman's Sunday (5th Sunday of the Great Lent)
by Jose Kurian PuliyerilDevotional Thoughts for the Sunday of Crippled Woman – 5th Sunday of the Great Lent
by Jose Kurian PuliyerilDevotional Thoughts for the Sunday of Crippled woman – 5th Sunday of the Great Lent
by Jose Kurian PuliyerilDevotional Thoughts for the Sunday of the Bowed Woman
by Jose Kurian Puliyeril
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