Charity and love are core virtues of our Christian faith. They are foundational in helping us noticing those who tend to be invisible in society. Through kindness and love we can see and acknowledge individuals with whom society, daily routines or systematic prejudices routinely overlook.
In today’s gospel, we have a woman described as having a spirit that crippled her for 18 years, leaving her bent over and unable to stand up right. Jesus notices her in the middle of teaching, interrupts himself, calls her to him, and lays hand on her and heals her. This woman was invisible to the religious structure around her, and yet Jesus stopped his teaching to see her, call her forward and even addressed her a daughter of Abraham in a way of restoring her dignity. Jesus’s love for this woman in her disability led him to heal her, setting her free from her infirmity, even when he knew that would make the religious leaders indignant, mad at him for breaking the sabbath
law. While others walked past her or looked down, Jesus was able to notice her predicament.
Fr Fred Jenga always uses a statement, “Nze ani!” “Who am I that the good lord can bless profoundly, a lowly person from a humble beginning”. Jesus always notices us he notices our humble state, before we see him. He did that when calling his apostles, even calling Matthew from the tree. He calls us out before we call him. What matters
to us is that we notice the Lord seeing us, and we respond to his call. If we respond to the Lord’s seeing, as the woman did, we too will experience the Lord’s life-giving presence, we shall be able to stand up straight filled with joy, hope and faith. With light shining deep in our hearts we shall in turn be able to notice those who are invisible in
society or community and readily extend the same love and honor to them.
Jesus also rebukes the religious leader for hypocrisy.
To this religious leader, healing, helping someone else get better is work, not worship.
This religious leader cannot notice the actual predicament that prevailed on this woman. As the woman glorifies God, his anger and indignation blinded him to the significancy of the moment.
He is so caught up in the ritual observance of the Sabbath that he lost sight of God’s mercy.
We might ask ourselves; are there areas in our lives where rigid expectations or judgement blind us to someone’s pain or need for grace? We need to realize that true faith values kindness, mercy, and human life over legalistic traditions. I am sure we'vehad situations in our lives when we felt invisible, overlooked, and passed by. Or people looking at us not seeing us; those were not great experiences. Can we let those sad moments be a springboard for conversion in our hearts. We must look up to Jesus who sees us and is the God who calls us. We also need a heart that is open to the surprising movements of the Spirit of God in others especially those in need and pain, those considered invisible