SHE'S A BIT OF A MYSTERY, THIS WOMAN. I can't help wondering about her. All we know is that she'd been suffering for 18 years with a severe physical disability that made it impossible for her to stand up straight or even look up. And that she was present in a synagogue where Jesus happened to be teaching one Sabbath day. Luke 13:10—13 .
I've thought a lot about this woman. How difficult it must have been for her to get to the synagogue. The Bible doesn't say why she went. There's no indication she knew Jesus would be there that day. No reason to believe that she'd sought him out, as many did, for healing. And yet, she was there. Jesus called her to him, and she went. And as he touched her, she was healed.
This story always gets me thinking about the link between churchgoing and well-being—physical, as well as mental and moral. It's not that I think church is some magical place or that healing is dependent on a person's location. Surely someone stranded on a desert island can be healed. God is everywhere, and can always be relied upon to lift anyone out of any difficulty—wherever they are.
