Charlotte Elia offers a reflection on Luke 13:10-17. You might hear this as just another story about Jesus finding controversy by healing on the Sabbath, but that issue was never really up for debate and seems like a distraction. The far more interesting, and unfortunately common, event here is that a religious leader witnessed an actual miracle and objected:
“I have seen God working. I have seen God working in the midst of our churches, and I have seen leaders object. Just like the leader of the synagogue in today’s story, I have seen them witness the same miracles that I have witnessed and say, ‘No, not today. That’s not on the agenda. Let’s shut down whatever that is, and get back to the business at hand.’ And that’s nonsense. That’s ridiculous. That’s absurd. And everyone knows it, and yet it keeps happening.”