WEBVTT

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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

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of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory be to Jesus Christ.

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Today's gospel event and miracle, first of all,

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it occurs only in St. Luke's Gospel. But the

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way it is structured in St. Luke's Gospel, it

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is one of the many times of confrontation between

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Jesus and people. who were concerned about the

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externals of religion rather than the internals.

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So man made laws, so to speak, rather than the

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health and well -being of a person. The person

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involved here is a woman who has been bent over

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for 18 years. St. Luke, as I've said a number

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of times, is interested in simple, common, everyday

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people when he writes his gospel. Of course,

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the other evangelists are as well, but this is

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a characteristic of Luke. And also, I think it's

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a characteristic of Luke, who tradition tells

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us was a physician. And even before his conversion

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to Christianity, the traditions tell us, that

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he was an unmercenary physician. In other words,

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he treated common everyday people who couldn't

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afford the medical care that was expected from

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some physicians. The woman is bent over. Now,

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most of us, as we grow old, start to stoop and

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bend over. I'm a pretty good example of that.

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I have to learn to stand up straight. I'm reminded

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by people very close to me, stand up straight.

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But with this woman, of course, it was something

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chronic and something very severe. Very likely,

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she suffered from what we call nowadays scoliosis.

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I know a number of people who have that, and

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I'm sure many of you do, but it is, first of

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all, in severe instances, it's very painful.

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And also in most severe instances, because of

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being bent over, internal organs don't function

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as well as they should, especially the lungs.

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So this woman was bent over, probably, you know...

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suffered physically, but then also the frustration

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and embarrassment of someone like her because

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she couldn't stand up straight. And for better

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or for worse, people would notice her because

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she would stick out in the crowd. But Jesus had

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compassion on her. He, let me see. Yes, he had

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compassion on her, and he also did this for another

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spiritual purpose. And I think that a commentary

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by St. Luke in one sentence illustrates the spiritual

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significance of this. St. Augustine in the 4th

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century... comments on this gospel of St. Luke

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and says that the whole world was bent over and

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bowed down until the coming of Christ. I don't

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think anyone could put it any better than that.

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The whole world was bent over and bowed down

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until the coming of Christ. When our Lord came,

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The disciples of St. John went to him and said,

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Are you he who is to come? And he said, Go and

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tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind

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receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are

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cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised

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up. We saw that a few weeks ago with the... only

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son of the widow of Nain, also from Luke. The

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poor have the good news preached to them. And

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this is a reflection of Psalm 146, which we sing

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at almost every divine liturgy. Familiar. The

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Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens

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the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those

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who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous.

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The Lord watches over the sojourners. He upholds

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the widow and the fatherless, but the way of

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the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord lifts

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up the world which is bowed down until his coming.

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The Lord also lifts us up individually. Whether

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it's a physical illness, but I think even more

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importantly, spiritual illnesses. First and foremost,

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sin. The Lord forgives our sins when we are bowed

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down and weighed over by sin and the guilt. And

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when we confess our sins to the Lord, he forgives

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us. So it is being bowed down by sin and also,

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I would say, by discouragement. And what comes

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to mind to me at this time of season as we prepare

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for the Christmas period, the holidays, how many

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people are bowed down and depressed. Sorrowful

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about something. Maybe it's because they can't

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be with their loved ones for Christmas. Or even

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more often, the loved ones who have passed on.

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The spouse who has died. Maybe the children who

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have died. So people at a time of joy, people

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a lot of times are bowed down spiritually, emotionally.

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depressed. The Lord has the power to lift us

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out of sin as well as to cure and heal our emotions

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and our feelings. So when we celebrate this event,

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we see this, we give glory to God who through

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Christ has given the world, lifted up the world.

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and given us the power to be lifted up by his

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grace from our sins and illnesses and emotional

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hurts. To him be glory and honor forever and

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ever. Amen.