Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time - Long-Suffering and Silent Endurance

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Long-Suffering and Silent Endurance

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. Luke 13:11–13

Eighteen years is a long time to have suffered under the bondage of satan. This healing took place on the Sabbath day in a synagogue while Jesus was teaching. Unlike many of Jesus’ miracles, this woman did not approach Him or ask for healing. Instead, He saw her in the crowd, listening to Him teach. Given that He possessed the fullness of knowledge, He was immediately aware of her long-suffering and silent endurance.

How satan had bound her with this ailment is not mentioned, but we can be certain that our Lord knew. Most likely, God permitted her oppression in preparation for this very moment when His power would be made manifest through her healing. This is an important point that goes to the heart of the mystery of evil: Every evil God permits is allowed because He knows a greater good can come from it. He does not arbitrarily permit satan to oppress without His knowledge and consent.

In your life, are there circumstances that feel oppressive? Perhaps you have suffered from an ailment, a hostile relationship, a difficult work environment, or some more direct form of diabolical oppression. When that happens, we are often tempted toward discouragement, wondering why God allows it to continue, whether He even cares, and why He seems silent to our pleas.

By reflecting on this woman’s eighteen years of diabolical oppression followed by her healing and deliverance, we learn that everything God permits is ultimately for our good. In the midst of suffering, that can be hard to believe, but it is true. God never ignores our prayer and is never unaware of our afflictions. If we begin with that foundational matter of faith, it will help us patiently and silently endure sufferings with hope. This is not necessarily hope that God will one day relieve us, but a deeper hope and certainty that if He allows us to endure something, it is for a reason. And that reason is always for our good, the good of others, and His glory.

A second important lesson we learn from this story is the fierceness with which Jesus defends this woman against the hostile leader of the synagogue. When the leader sees her healed on the Sabbath, he rebukes her and the crowd, saying, “There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day” (Luke 13:14). Jesus responds by calling him a hypocrite and then speaks tenderly about the woman and her suffering: “This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?” (Luke 13:16). His defense of her causes the whole crowd to rejoice.

Culturally, during those eighteen years of affliction, many would have looked at the woman with disdain, presuming her suffering was due to sin. Jesus did not look at any sin she may have had. Instead, He saw the strength with which she silently endured all those years. Even if she had not been cured, her soul was likely far closer to God for having borne her long-suffering than if she had not suffered at all. Jesus’ defense of her highlights His love and His awareness of her fidelity amid affliction. When He looks at our souls, He perceives the same.

Reflect today on those you know who have endured great suffering. It’s easy to pity them or even judge them, assuming their hardship stems from their own fault. Try instead to see them as Jesus does. Look with admiration. See their strength. See the humility that has grown through suffering. Do the same for your own life. Rather than looking for a way out of your difficulties, accept them, believing