作者Revd Sally Hitchiner 聖馬田堂副主任牧師 眼神接觸是社交互動不可缺少的部分,但要兩個人才可以有眼神交流。 坐輪椅的人經常說,由於他們與站著的人視線水平不能一致,在社交上分外感覺孤立。 視力不佳的人經常說他們在社交傾談中被人忽視。 他們的問題,不在於身體的殘障,而在於他們給社會排斥。 今天福音經課中的年長婦人,正正就是沒有機會與別人眼神接觸。 十八年來她被鬼附纏繞,令她腰背無法挺直。 日復一日,她只能看到地上的灰塵、她自己的腳、別人的腳。 也許她活在痛苦之中。毫無疑問,她必然感到極不愉快。 在當時的社會,她應該不太可能結婚,因此她不會有工作或是配偶為她提供穩定的經濟來源。 當時的社會,不會為殘障者提供足以讓他們有尊嚴地生活的幫助,所以她只能靠別人的憐憫接濟,才能生存下來。 我不禁猜想,即使她的身體狀況容許,她也未必有勇氣與人眼神接觸。 我又不禁會問,究竟有多少人會見到她。 她大概每星期都會去這座猶太會堂。 但人們碰到他們覺得是在受苦或是無用的人,通常都會視而不見。 想像一下,如果今天有一位皇室成員在這裡(也許真有皇室成員在此也不出奇,畢竟這是聖馬田堂!),他們的一舉一動,就是摸摸耳朵,都會被手機拍下來,瞬即在網上瘋傳,被千萬人評頭品足。 但那些被認為比我們受苦更多的人,那些我們認為沒有用的人,卻往往被人忽略。 在環顧四周時,許多人根本沒有注意到他們的存在。 一般來說,苦難是沒有面貌的。 造成這位婦人狀況的成因,是用被動式來描述的。 沒有解釋原因的聲音,沒有理由說明為什麼是她而不是其他人受苦。純粹是 一股力量使她二十年來的大部分時間都彎著腰。 為什麼苦難對一個人的影響比另一個人更大? 苦難不會和你對話,不會給你爭辯的機會。 苦難沒有眼神接觸。 然後就是管會堂的領袖。 他不僅對她視而不見,而且當有人指出這女人時,他還要生氣。 「她為什麼不在會堂不那麼忙碌、少些人往來的日子才來?」 他不斷地對人群說:「有六天應該工作; 在那些日子可以來求醫,不要在安息日。」他的說話是對著群眾講的,但是說話的內容卻是關於那位婦人。大家可能會覺得這一幕有點搞笑;但細想之下,就會領略這是多麼殘酷無情。 然而,在這一切紛攘之中,我們看到了耶穌。 請大家跟我一起回顧這段經課的第一句話。 「安息日,他在一間會堂裡教訓人。 就在那時,一個婦人出現了」-耶穌在安息日教導眾人,突然間這個婦人就不再是隱形的了。 一個婦人出現了。 耶穌不只是看她一眼,而是真的看到了她——當耶穌描述她的痛苦時,他說「漫長的十八年」。她所受痛苦甚大,耶穌切實看到,沒有迴避。 所有的目光都集中在耶穌身上。 他停止教導,對她說話,耶穌叫她走近自己,使她進入每個人的視線。 他觸摸她,告訴她,她已脫離了所有困擾她的事。 在那個殘障人士受壓迫的社會裡,她最大的願望就是重新站立起來。 靠著耶穌,她做到了這一點,並直接與上帝對話。 每個人都聽到她要說的話。 耶穌說,這個婦人是亞伯拉罕的女兒,其他人不應該帶著有色眼鏡看待她。 當宗教領袖想要強調自己不需要從罪得釋放時,總喜歡自稱為亞伯拉罕的子孫。 耶穌告訴他們,這個婦人也是亞伯拉罕的女兒。 「想想你飼養的動物,」耶穌對管會堂的人說,「即使在安息日,你也會解開牠們,帶牠們去取水。」婦人來到會堂置身群眾當中、按照自己需要取水、與同胞一起守安息日,都是應份之事。 她來見耶穌,也是應份之事。 讓我們再來看看之前那一位仁兄,就是管會堂的領袖。 會堂的領袖會受到羅馬人的密切監視。 如果在平日進行醫治,就不會有騷動的風險……身處沒有自由的社會,過於引人注目是一件危險的事。 管會堂的人並非禁止婦人尋求醫治,而是要求她在沒有那麼危險的日子前來。 管會堂的人所說的是出於恐懼,而不是仇恨。 他時常擔心的,是強暴的士兵,可以隨心所欲地關閉這座會堂或殺死其領袖。 管會堂的人也許在疑惑,上帝是否仍然看到祂子民的苦難。 整個猶太民族都屈服在羅馬的邪惡壓迫下。在中東,舉足輕重的政治勢力對他們不屑一顧。 但當耶穌出來傳道時,他沒有對猶太人視而不見。 耶穌看見他們,呼召他們進入大家的視野,伸出手來觸摸他們,醫治他們,將他們從一切痛苦中釋放出來,使他們可以再次讚美神。 耶穌對這個婦人說「漫長的十八年」,也許不是因為他聽到有人說,這婦人不能站直身子,已有這麼多年。 也許是因為他知道,日子雖然漫長,但神從未移開眷顧目光,而是一直與她同在,數算每分每秒。猶太人長年遭受壓迫,神也一直在守望等待。 耶穌知道這些歲月很漫長。 安息日是休息的日子。 耶穌有關安息日的教導是,神的眼目從沒有離開亞伯拉罕的任何一個子孫。 神將會在「大安息日」回來,將他們召喚到全世界的視野中,使他們得自由,並釋放他們,使他們可以再次讚美神。 他們也要帶領大家一同敬拜。 耶穌正是將安息日的概念融入禧年的概念中,禧年是釋放和豐盛應許得以實現的日子。 就像先知耶利米、以西結、哈巴谷一樣,這婦人有如一面鏡子,體現了猶太民族的特徵。 通過進入猶太教堂,而不是遠離人們的視線,這位婦人向她的同胞傳達了一個訊息。 她說,我們可以正視我們如何被奴役,因為我們有出埃及的盼望。 因著她的信心,因著她在聖日前來會堂,展示自己的力量,而不是躲藏起來,她的行為受人千古傳誦。 她不僅僅是魔術師的助手。 她隨時隨地都能讚美上帝,因為她無懼旁人嘲笑譏評,矢志不離群體,本身就是一首永不止息的讚歌。 她實在是基督的肖像,配合耶穌教導眾人。 她不僅是亞伯拉罕的女兒,也是一位先知。 她是我的英雄。 對於每個感覺受到世界忽視的人,他們的訊息無疑是好消息。這好消息是為所有無人理會的人而宣講的。 神看見你了,在這麼多年以來,神一直守望,神的日子快要來到,祂要回來釋放你,使你可以再次歌頌神。這日子也許是世界終局的「大安息日」,但也可能是平常的安息日,或是每天休憩、重新得力的時候,甚至就在此時此刻,在今天的主日聚會、神聖筵席當中。 我們從今天的福音經課中學到的是,每當耶穌出現時,總有意想不到的事情發生。 所以,我必定會定睛注目耶穌。 Eye contact is a key part of our social interactions but it requires two people to do it. Wheelchair users often report that their experience of social isolation is exasperated by not being at eye level with standing people. Those who are partially sighted often say they are ignored in conversations. It's not so much their disability that is the problem as the social exclusion.
The older woman in our gospel today had no opportunity to make eye contact. Eighteen years earlier an evil happened that resulted in her being unable to straighten her spine. Day after day all she can see is the dust on the ground, her feet, other people’s feet. Maybe she’s in pain. She’s certainly in discomfort. In that society, it is unlikely that she would have got married so there would be no stable financial provision either from work or from a spouse. Without a society that provided for dignified assistance for those with disabilities, she would have survived through the pity of others. I wonder how strong her ability would have been to make eye contact even if she had the physical opportunity. And then I wonder how many people saw her. It’s possible she was at this synagogue every week. But people don’t tend to see those they perceive to be suffering or less useful. Imagine if a member of the Royal Family was here today (perhaps they are, you never know with St Martins). Every move they made would be noticed, every scratch of the ear, filmed with mobile phones, posted online and rewatched tens of thousands of times. But those perceived as suffering more than us, those we think aren’t useful, are ignored. In scanning a room, many people simply fail to notice they’re there. Suffering in general is faceless. The reason for her condition is described in passive verbs. There is no voice to offer an explanation, no reason why it is her rather than another person. Just a force that has bent her double for the best part of two decades. Why does suffering affect one person more than another? Suffering doesn’t have a conversation. Suffering doesn’t give you a chance to argue your case. Suffering has no eye contact. Then there’s the leader of the synagogue. Not only does he not see her, when she is pointed out, he is irritated. “Couldn’t she have come on a less busy day when fewer people would have been around?” He keeps saying to the crowd “there are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, not on the sabbath.” He is speaking to the crowd but about her. It would be comedic… if it wasn’t so cruel. But in the middle of this, we see Jesus. Look back at the first words of this passage with me. “Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then a woman appeared” – with Jesus teaching on the sabbath and suddenly this woman is not invisible. A woman appeared. He doesn’t just glance at her Jesus REALLY sees her – when Jesus describes her suffering he says “eighteen long years”. Jesus isn’t afraid to see the extent of her suffering. All eyes are on Jesus. And he stops teaching, speaks to her, calling her to come close to him, into view of everyone. He touches her, saying that she is set free from her all that ails her. In that society of oppression for disability, her greatest desire was to stand straight again. With Jesus she does this, and speaks directly to God. Everyone hears what she has to say. Jesus says that this woman is not the labels they have given her but a daughter of Abraham. The religious leaders often refereed to themselves as sons of Abraham when they wanted to assert their lack of need of liberation. This woman, Jesus tells them, is a daughter of Abraham too. “Think about your farm animals” Jesus says to the synagogue leader “you untie them and lead them to get water on the sabbath” She was right to bring herself to be with everyone, right to get the water she needs. Right to be with her community on the sabbath. Right to come to see Jesus. But perhaps we should look again at our friend the synagogue leader. Leaders of synagogues would have been closely watched by the Romans. If the healing had happened on a weekday it wouldn’t have risked a stir… Being too visible without liberation of their society was dangerous. He’s not asking her not to be healed, but to come on a day that would not be so dangerous. He’s speaking out of fear not hatred. Always in his sight are the violent soldiers who could close down this synagogue or kill its leader on a whim. Perhaps he wonders if God still sees his people’s suffering. The entire Jewish people were bent double under the evils of Roman oppression. They were overlooked in the middle east by more important political powers. But when Jesus is teaching they are not invisible. Jesus sees them, Jesus calls them to come into view, Jesus reaches out to touch them and Jesus will heal them, free them from all that ails them so they can praise God once more. Perhaps Jesus says “eighteen long years” to the woman not because he’s heard someone say she’s been unable to stand up that long. Perhaps he knows it was that long because God never looked away and counted every second with her. God has been watching and waiting for the long years of oppression of the Jewish people too. Jesus knew that the years had been long. The sabbath is a day for rest. Jesus’ sabbath teaching is that God’s eyes have not left any of the children of Abraham. God will return on the Great Sabbath, to call them into view of the whole world, to set them free and to liberate them to praise God again. And they will lead everyone in worship. Jesus is weaving the idea of sabbath into the idea of the Year of Jubilee, the great year of liberation and plenty promised. Just like the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, she embodied the characteristics of their people as a mirror. By coming into the synagogue rather than staying out of sight, this woman is a message to her people. She is saying it’s ok to face up to how we are enslaved because there is hope of an Exodus. Because of her faith, because of her strength to come to the synagogue on the holy day, not stay hidden away, her actions have been talked about for thousands of years. She isn’t just a magician’s assistant. She is ready to praise God because she has been constantly praising by refusing to leave her community, no matter what they threw at her. She is a picture of Christ. This woman is teaching in partnership with Jesus. As well as being a daughter of Abraham, she is a prophet. She is my hero. Their message is Good News for everyone who feels unseen. This is good news for everyone who is ignored. God sees you, God has been watching for all these long years and the day is coming when God will return to liberate you to sing God’s praises again. Maybe it’ll be that great Sabbath at the end of all time, but maybe it’ll be a regular sabbath, rest and restoration in the everyday even in the banquet we have here in our sabbath gathering, today. What we learn from our Gospel reading today is that anytime Jesus is present there might be interruptions. I’d keep an eye on him.
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