How is it possible that I’ve read through each of the gospels over 100 times and still find a story I don’t remember reading before?  Not just a word, a phrase, or even a verse, but an entire story.

While there is nothing particularly remarkable about this story, I’m just amazed that it strikes me as new.  Maybe it’s because it’s “unremarkable” that I don’t remember it?  No excuse.

Even more amazing is that I’ve probably watched the Jesus Film a dozen times, which is taken from the actual words of Luke’s Gospel, and I don’t remember ever seeing this story either.

Luke 13:10-17 records Jesus healing a crippled woman on the Sabbath.  She was crippled by a spirit for 18 years, bent over crooked, unable to straighten up.

When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”   Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

The reaction of the synagogue ruler is familiar to me.  He’s indignant that Jesus has healed on the sabbath.

Jesus’ response is familiar to me.  If you have a donkey or an ox, don’t you untie it and lead it to water on the sabbath?

But the crippled woman?  For all these years, I’ve completely overlooked her story.  How many other things have I overlooked?   That thought motivates me to keep reading, keep digging, keep learning.  I don’t doubt that 30 years from now I’ll still be seeing things I’ve never noticed before.

But it also makes me wonder, how many other stories have I overlooked, not in the Bible, but in the lives of people all around me.  I overlooked this old, crippled woman, but Jesus didn’t!  How many people do I overlook every day?  In my busyness, in my doing of God’s work, in my relentless push to move forward, how often do I just not see what is right in front of me?

Spirit of God, give me eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to feel, feet to move and hands to act!  I want to be #likeJesus!

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