"Oh Woman, Dear Nameless Woman"

(Please read Luke 13:10-17)

Oh woman, dear nameless woman,
your life isn’t as it should be.
What has held your head down?
What has bent your back and heart
so severely?

What has burdened you so, dear woman,
that you are bent over …
that you are unable to stand straight …
that you cannot look into the eyes
of others?
What has shackled you in this position?

Is it poverty … or abuse?
Has all sense of worth
been stripped from you?
Have the cruelties of life
spit upon you and mocked you?
Have you been used by men to the point
of losing your own name?
Has death taken the very ones
who would have taken care of you?

Oh woman, dear nameless woman,
how your heart must long
to look into the eyes of others once more;
to seek hope and acceptance and love.
But alas, you cannot, can you?
Your head cannot be lifted.
For whatever reasons, it is bent low.
You see only the dust of the streets
and the feet of those who
step over you and around you
and on you.

Oh woman, dear bent-low woman,
God has brought you to this place …
to this synagogue … to this person
who is teaching freedom from bondage.
On this day … yes, on this very Sabbath day
you will be set free
and will stand tall once more.

You must sense this hope, don’t you?
You made such a great effort to come.
You risked being turned away by the leaders
as being one so nameless that
you would be in the way …
a mere nuisance in their day.
But you have come to this place.
Dear woman, is this a last hope for you?

He has called you … not by name, but “Woman”.
Even before his touch,
even before you might stand tall,
he proclaims that those things
that had kept your head low
and your back so bent
be gone forever.

Did you hear his words, dear woman?
SET FREE!
Set free from all of the bent-down bondage!
His eyes are the first eyes
that you have seen in so long.
How can you not respond
in the way that you do!
Standing straight … Praising God!

Oh woman, dear nameless woman,
Have you heard his name for you?
"Daughter of Abraham".
Your great faith has given you a name
and this man whose own name is Jesus
has seen your faith,
even in your crippled posture.
What a beautiful name you have!

anna