Christ has risen brothers and sisters! It is my hope that all of you have rejoiced in the Lord, that all of you share in the great joy of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is my hope and prayer that all of us may have this joy with us always, and that all of us may be guided by the Light of God and the Grace of the Holy Spirit, so that we might always have life with God, life in union with God, and life in communion with him. How wonderful that life is my brothers and sisters! Let us keep that hope with us always.

Today, we have a Holy Scripture Passage that records an event in Jesus' ministry, that on a Sabbath, he healed a woman who was with a crippling infirmity, and she was with this condition for a long time, 18 whole years. Jesus Christ, being the Son of God, healed her on the spot of her infirmity, and the woman who was healed of her longtime infirmity which was serious glorified God. However the ruler of the synagogue, meaning the local religious leader of the local synagogue, took offense at this, and Jesus Christ firmly denied his hypocritical teaching, and teaches to us who will listen lots of very important lesson that we can apply to our faithful lives.

Firstly, this event clearly shows the power of God, and shows that Jesus Christ is fully God. This condition that the woman had was very serious, since she should not even straighten up, and this condition lasted for 18 whole years. This can really not be healed by any doctor of the day, not even the best trained doctor. It could only be healed by one who had great power, power never before seen manifested among the human race, power that is like the power used to create heaven and earth. Since Jesus Christ healed her on the spot of her illness, this clearly shows Jesus Christ to be fully God, for he commanded her to be healed, and it was so. And it does show the wonderful love of God also, and it shows that God indeed is very powerful, and can overcome anything, even the worst of sicknesses. It teaches us to have faith in God, for his Almighty Power is always used to keep us all safe, nourished, and faithful.

This event also shows and teaches us that we must not be like the ruler of the synagogue here. Most likely a Pharisee, the leader of the synagogue was held in such rigid tradition invented by human hands, and so he was insensitive to God's mercy. He also thought that by zealously keeping these human traditions that the religious leaders at the time built around the actual Law of Moses, that he was serving God, but in reality, it just made him more legalistic and more hardened against the mercy of God. Christ here teaches us to not be like the Pharisee here, and teaches us to also be ready for any virtuous action, and to gladly accept any virtuous action and act of God's mercy with sincerity of heart.

What is interesting is Christ's command to think of it, and then states that on the 18th year of the woman's suffering, that she was healed on the Sabbath. Christ here directs us to look at his command with a deep spiritual and religious meaning. The Greek rendered for eighteen years is literally "ten and eight years." Some of the Holy Fathers of the Church, two being Saint Ambrose and Saint Theophylact, see the number ten as representing the Ten Commandments, which is the Law of God, and the number eight as a reference to Christ's Resurrection, for Easter Sunday is often called the eighth day. The spiritual meaning here that we can understand and apply to our lives is that since this woman was healed on the eighteenth year of her suffering, the woman sort of a representative of sinful humanity suffering in sin, we can understand that humanity is lifted up by faith in Christ, since the woman also had faith in Christ, and it is the result of this living faith in Christ, who fulfills the Law and the Grace of God, that we have life with God, and how wonderful is that life with God!

This passage has a lot of teaching from Christ, and it is so wonderful that by the Grace of the Holy Spirit we are able to understand the teachings of Christ also through his actions, for his very actions also are life-giving and filled with teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us continually hold fast to our faith in Christ our Lord my brothers and sisters, and let us always have life with him, unto the very end of the age. Amen! ✝️