As last year there will be an online ZOOM service of Evening Prayer at 6.00 pm (CY) on Tuesday evenings until 28 August 2025. This will be led by different people each week. It is an opportunity for us as a diocesan family to pray with and for one another, and for our mission in the world. We will follow the order of for Evening Prayer. A Zoom link and order of service can be found on the service for Evening Prayer here Summer Midweek Service Tuesday Evening Prayer 2025

This is a copy of a short ‘homily’ given at Evening Prayer on Tuesday 1 July 2025 for the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. The Bible Reading was Luke 13:10-17 and I entitled my talk Woman, You Are Set Free.

 

It was Jesus’ custom to attend worship in the synagogue on the Sabbath (4:16), and he was often invited to teach (vs10). We read vs11a: “… a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.” Half a lifetime in an age when life expectancy was short. Luke, the physician, explains her medical problem: “She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.” (vs11b).

Despite her condition the woman still attended the synagogue to worship. There seemed to be no bitterness towards God because of her infirmity. A reminder to us that it is possible to still be a Christian and to trust God through the troubles and pains of life. It’s interesting that the woman doesn’t approach Jesus or request healing. It was Jesus (vs12a) who called the woman forward. It is Jesus who sets the stage for this woman to be healed.

Jesus said to her: “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” (vs12b). “Then he put his hands on her, and immediately (vs13) she stands straight and begins to praise God. Her ailment for the last 18 years had disappeared. An amazing miracle had taken place.

The synagogue leader doesn’t rebuke Jesus or address him directly (vs14), possibly because he has heard that Jesus has outdone other religious leaders when challenged. It’s interesting, too, that the synagogue leader doesn’t rebuke the woman who, after all, didn’t request this healing. Instead, he addresses the crowd, delivering an indirect rebuke both to Jesus and to the woman. We must admire his willingness to carry out his religious responsibility to uphold the Sabbath –  even at the risk of having to engage in dialogue with Jesus.

Every person in a position of authority struggles with appropriate limits and enforcement of standards. Where do you draw the line? What exceptions do you allow? Parents, teachers, supervisors, military, police, clergy, Archdeacons and Bishops all struggle with such issues. Here, Jesus calls us not to cling to the rules to the extent that we lose sight of the ones in need. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

Jesus responds to the synagogue leader and his followers and calls them hypocrites! Ouch! Jesus was never one to mince his words. Jesus argues that if it is right to free an ox or donkey on the Sabbath, it must be right to free a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has bound (vs15-16). Rather than violating Sabbath law, freeing this woman is consistent with Sabbath intention and enhances rather than diminishes Sabbath observance.

“When Jesus said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.” (vs17). The crowd is made up of ordinary people who know what it means to suffer. They can easily identify with the woman who has suffered so long. They rejoice at her release from a crippling disease.

At some point in our lives each one of us will suffer pain. It may be physical, emotional, spiritual or psychological. During times of personal suffering we need to draw closer to Jesus, but we also need the faith and support of those around us. Here, Jesus took the initiative with the crippled woman, who in your life needs you to take the initiative to see them through their difficult days?

Prayer (From the Salvation Army)

Lord if we had a small part of the faith you have in us, this world would be transformed.

Lord if we showed a fraction of the love that you show to us, this world would be transformed.

Lord if we possessed a part of the patience that you give to us, this world would be transformed.

Lord if we shared just a portion of the blessings that we receive from you, this world would be transformed.

Lord if we showed as much trust in others as you have shown in us, this world would be transformed.

Lord if we claimed just a fraction of the power you promised to your Church, this world would be transformed.

Transform us, Lord, that we might transform this world. Amen.