Liberating Law-Breaking
SCRIPTURE TEXT: Luke 13:10-17 Rev. Monte Marshall
Okay, let’s face it: In Luke’s story, Jesus is a law-breaker, at least in the eyes of some! And what does he do to break the law? He sets a woman free from an oppressive affliction on the Sabbath.
Luke’s story is set in a synagogue. Jesus is teaching. A woman is present who has been suffering for 18 years. She’s “bent double” and utterly “incapable of standing up straight.”
Luke has in mind here something more than a physical ailment. As one commentator notes: The Greek “suggests that this woman is not able in any sense—physically, spiritually, psychologically…to raise herself up.”
Her malady makes her socially invisible. The commentator says that “She is the kind of person…that people tended not to see.” She is “[m]arginalized and in the shadows…on the periphery of society.”1
But Jesus sees her. In the story, he’s the only one to see her. And when he sees her, he calls her over to him so that she takes center stage. He then speaks to her: “Woman, you are free of your infirmity.” He lays his hands on her, and immediately she stands up straight and begins thanking God.
Now isn’t it amazing? The liberation of this human life seems so easily achieved by Jesus. It makes me wonder: Why has no one bothered to do for this woman in 18 years what Jesus does for her in mere seconds? And all it took was for Jesus to see her, call her, speak to her words of liberation, and then touch her. I think Luke is making a point here: This woman matters to Jesus. Her suffering matters to Jesus. So he acts to set her free.
But in the eyes of some, this liberating act should never have happened at all, at least on the Sabbath. The head of the synagogue is indignant. He speaks to the congregation and implicitly accuses Jesus of breaking the law: “There are six days for working. Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”
This is an appeal to scripture, Deuteronomy 5:13, to be exact: “For six days you will labor and do all your work.” The text continues with verse 14: “but the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHWH, your God. You will do no work on that day.” This is Torah. This is covenant law. This is scripture. And if the Bible says it, that settles it, right?
So from this perspective, Jesus IS a law-breaker. He’s going against scripture. He’s challenging orthodoxy. He’s bucking the system.
And indignation is an appropriate response. From this point view, Jesus has to be confronted. He has to be resisted. He has to be held accountable.
But wait a minute, Jesus sees this issue differently. He understands the law differently. He interprets the scriptures differently. This is Jesus’ reply to the criticism leveled against him: “You hypocrites! Which of you doesn’t let your ox or donkey out of the stall on the Sabbath to water it? This daughter of Sarah and Abraham has been in the bondage of Satan for eighteen years. Shouldn’t she be released from her shackles on the Sabbath?”
As Jesus interprets the scriptures, the Sabbath is not just about taking a day off from work; it’s also about liberation. In the Torah, Sabbath is connected to the exodus from Egypt. Sabbath is connected to slaves being unshackled and set free. Sabbath is connected to people being free to “stand up straight.” Sabbath is connected to people being released to live their lives in wholeness, as God intends. According to Jesus, any way of living that falls short of this kind of freedom is diabolical—it comes from a spirit other than the Spirit of God.
So yes, Jesus breaks the law when the law stands in the way of liberation. Yes, Jesus breaks the law when the law perpetuates human suffering. Yes, Jesus breaks the law when the law hinders wholeness. Yes, Jesus breaks the law when the law is contrary to his interpretation of the scriptures. And yes, Jesus breaks the law when the law should never have been imposed to begin with.
So given all of this, I can’t help but wonder: Are there laws in our day and time that should be broken if we follow Jesus? This is not an academic question, is it? In the United Methodist Church, there are laws contained in our church’s Book of Discipline that are being broken: This law, for example, is being broken: “self-avowed, practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church.2 And this law is being broken: “Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches.”3 All of this “law-breaking” of course, is set within the context of a decades-long struggle within the church over how to interpret the scriptures with regard to issues of human sexuality.
Some among us who are indignant at such law-breaking recommend doubling-down on enforcement and the imposition of punitive sanctions for those who violate the covenant. The point is to coerce conformity. And indeed, United Methodist clergy have been, and continue to be, charged with law-breaking, brought to trial, found guilty, and de-frocked because of their “illegal” activities. The indignant among us are a powerful political force in upholding the status quo.
Speaking personally, I support the law-breakers. It seems to me that they are following Jesus. Even though I have not yet crossed that line, I support the law-breakers. I support the law-breakers even while I continue to work as the pastor of this church to push the boundaries of the system and to confront my own anxieties.
Now it’s worth noting, that some of the law-breakers among us are themselves LGBTQ persons who have experienced first-hand, what it’s like to be pushed to the margins—to be bent low—to be shackled by internal struggles and external barriers. They’ve experienced first-hand, what it is to suffer because of who they are.
But I know for a fact that somewhere along the way, many of them experienced being seen, and called. They heard a liberating word and received a healing touch that empowered them to stand up straight and live into the wholeness of who they are. And somewhere along the way, they decided to follow Jesus in becoming liberating law-breakers themselves.
And many straight allies have also decided to follow Jesus along this law-breaking path, including two retired clergy from this congregation, Fred Kandeler and Dale Tremper. I thank God for them. And I ask you to thank God for them and for all of the others who are following Jesus as liberating law-breakers in The United Methodist Church and elsewhere.
To my friends who are among the indignant, I simply lift up the example of Jesus—himself a librating law-breaker—and say: Why not follow Jesus? Short of that: During this time of struggle and conflict within the church, why not at least make room for others to follow Jesus as librating law-breakers without the fear of being de-frocked?
Of this I’m confident: The day of liberation has already dawned. Shackles are already dropping to the ground. Despite the resistance, LGBTQ persons are already standing up to live in the God-given wholeness of who they are. And straight people are experiencing new found freedom beyond the suffocating confines of prejudice and fear.
And I’m convinced that in the not-to-distant-future, the vast majority of us in the church will rejoice together at the marvelous work accomplished by those who followed Jesus as liberating law-breakers. So let the kingdom come, and may God’s will be done! Amen.