The Gospel of Luke is impregnated with healing miracles that upend the physiognomic stereotypes prevalent in the first century Greco-Roman culture. For instance, healing of the paralytic (5:17-26); healing of the man with withered hand (6:6-11); healing of the man with dropsy (14:1-6) and healing of the hunched woman (13:10-17). It was assumed that the physically disabled were also morally infirm. Their deformed visage was an effect of their inner evil disposition. The hunched woman was doubly marginalized owing to her contorted body and it’s causative factor, the evil spirit.
Besides the hunched woman, there were two others whom Christ specifically healed on Sabbath viz. the man with withered hand and the man with dropsy. The reason being, more than the restoration of body, Christ was “releasing/loosing” (ἀπολέλυσαι; 13:12) those socio-cultural bonds that ostracized them. Essentially He was fulfilling the very purpose of the Sabbath – which means rest – by releasing the yokes from the burdened as He had promised in His manifesto; “He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives” (4:18). Moshe Bar Kepha writes; “𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
Luke is very particular in sustaining the inaugural theme of “dethroning the powerful and lifting up the lowly” (1:52) throughout the Gospel. Christ’s bestowal of distinctive titles such as “Daughter of Abraham” and “Son of Abraham” upon the hunched woman and the diminutive Zacchaeus respectively is indicative of the great radical reversal of the Kingdom of God wherein the eschatological banquet despised by the rich and the able is now reserved for “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.” (14:21).
Therefore the Kingdom of God is not a neatly ordered conglomerate of perfect beings rather a haphazard assortment of imperfect people. God honours the purity of heart rather a flawless physique, as the Lord told Samuel concerning Eliab; “𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵.” (1 𝘚𝘢𝘮. 16:7).
Festal Greetings!
~ 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐨 𝐅𝐫. 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥
Urho, The Way 