Transgressors of the law

Luke 13:10-22

     Confession time. I went into the big city yesterday for the first time in  quite a while. I usually don't need much prompting. I love the city as much as I love the quaint life here on our little island - each has its own merits. The only problem that has arisen is how I react to some of the other drivers both in the city and on the extraordinarily long ride home.  It's almost as if I am transformed when I drive through the tunnel into the city. And then there is dealing with the crazies racing along the interstate at the speed of light who weave in and out of traffic as if they were weaving an intricate tapestry. My reaction to these crazies and the dynamic it sets up in our car can get tense. After our last trip I had some good introspection about how I can't change others, only how I react to them.  I am happy to report that the drive yesterday was uneventful and I stayed quite out of harms way. It was peaceful and pleasant. 

        One sure thing I noticed amidst the intense crowds of the city was that the people often seem like barriers to cars in the more congested areas. So when I had waited longer than perhaps most people might feel acceptable and faced with a "no turn" sign when I simply needed to turn and get to my desired location ( in easy sight line ), I made the turn without a flinch. I broke the law!

        I know, I could go on forever but to what point? PLEASE, get to the point! I was thinking this morning about Jesus breaking the 'law' about curing on the sabbath. I was thinking about Jesus not abolishing the law but fulfilling the law. So, what laws are we to adhere to? Are we free to disobey laws? Are the crazies on the road the ones who are correct, perhaps faithful people who feel exempt from the law? Have I been the vile one, the transgressor for reacting and thinking they are lawless savages? Have I been the transgressor all along?

         It is quite impossible to know the hearts and minds of people passing you at the speed of light on an expressway. It is equally impossible to tell the hearts and mind of someone shuffling along the sidewalk in the city next to you or even a person passing you in the hall at work. 

      So after last night's delightful ( if not long ) ride home I have come full circle and today's passage seems to re-enforce that with me. We cannot change how other people act, we can only change how we react to them. This is true for driving of course but also for how many other of life's situations? Can we know what is in someone elses' hearts or minds when they transgress the law or act in any way n which we disagree? Is it my job or yours to intercede and condemn anyone? As I realized before and realized yet again, I cannot change them, I can only change how I react. The only rule or 'law' that is always and most assuredly there for us to obey is..... LOVE. 

        

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. 

He said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.’

And again he said, ‘To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.