"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)

Lk 13:10-17

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman, you are set free of your infirmity." He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply,"There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day." The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?" When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

She couldn't stand correctly in any way, and therefore she couldn't look at reality, at people, at God normally. She couldn't raise her eyes to the sky because someone was holding her bent to the ground. It was Satan who enslaved her soul. Spiritual impotence makes a person unable to make any spiritual effort for weeks, months or even years, unable to see God and feel His action in his life. He sees only what is earthly, temporal and vain. This state of mind leads to illness and spiritual apathy, to enslavement by Satan, who does not necessarily possess a person, but effectively disturbs his attention from God's matters, focusing it on material and sensual realities. This state of spirit is easy to recognize because it manifests itself in reluctance to pray and the things of God, and strives for earthly things and the satisfaction of earthly desires. Someone who seeks himself more than God, thinks of himself more than God, and satisfies himself more than God, may be bound by the devil, who has bent him to the ground, breaking his moral spine. After all, this is the greatest desire of the devil: to turn us away from God. He will tempt us with the spirit of passion, jealousy, greed, and consumption? To turn us away from God, the devil must propose something that will become a god for us, something that will trap us and force us into bonds of enslavement. These bonds are stronger than our strength and efforts, so any struggle with them leads to further, even greater injuries. The only thing that can help us is God's grace that heals, which is more powerful than sin and death. Christ can help, because He rules over evil and can break its chains. He does not want to see us in this condition, us, children of God, whom He redeemed with His Blood. Saint Paul confirms this truth in his letter to the Romans (Rom 8:12-17): Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation —but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co- heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Therefore, after healing the woman, Jesus, turning to the ruler of the synagogue, calls her DAUGHTER, pointing to her true dignity. We too are sons and daughters of God and therefore deserve God's grace and healing from sinful wounds. To make this happen, let us turn our eyes to Jesus and take them away for a moment from earthly matters and desires that fall like burdens on the shoulders of our souls. Let us allow Christ to straighten our lives, which also means: repair, rebuild, restore to good condition. And the good state of our lives is when, apart from what is earthly, we also see what is heavenly, because God is also an important, if not the most important, part of our lives.

Father Marcin Cwierz, OSPPE

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"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)