Leading Courageously When Grace Won’t Wait

Introduction

Howard Thurman once wrote, “It is necessary to examine the anatomy of the issues facing us in order to know what must be done to create a society in which it is possible for people to live together in peace.”

That means we cannot simply accept rules, laws, or systems at face value.

We must look underneath them… to see...

...whose voice they amplify,

...whose they silence,

...whose dignity they protect,

...who they diminish...

But Christian imagination doesn’t stop there.

Christian imagination is the Spirit-given capacity within us to see the world as God intends it to be...

...to envision a reality where...

...love is the measure,

...justice is the norm,

...and every person’s dignity is honored.

It is both a way of looking truthfully at what is and a way of looking with hope at what could be.

This week, we saw a blatant example of how the law can be twisted into a tool of control.

In Texas, new redistricting lines were drawn.

On paper, it’s a matter of maps and boundaries...

...legal, procedural, part of “how the system works.”

But when we look closer… the result is clear…

Black and Brown communities are carved up… their voting power diluted...

I grew up in Grapevine, Texas, which is situated in Tarrant County.

A friend of mine shared an article from the Fort Worth Report that this redistricting plan would result in black people losing four-fifths of their voting power in Tarrant County.

Four-fifths of their voting power…

…will be suppressed because the Texas Legislature would eliminate U.S. House District 33 from Tarrant County.

Critics call this act a racist move to silence 150,000 voters.

The goal?

The goal is to maintain political control, even at the cost of justice and representation.

It’s reminiscent of Jesus in the synagogue.

A woman, bent over for eighteen years, is healed with a word and a touch.

Instead of rejoicing, the synagogue leader scolds Him: “There are six days during which work is permitted. Come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath day.”

The law… intended as a blessing… is wielded as a control tool, keeping the marginalized where they are.

Whether in county maps or sacred spaces, law becomes oppressive when it cements inequality instead of dissolving it.

Yet scripture refuses to leave us in that place of oppression.

Hebrews tells us there is a kingdom that cannot be shaken...

...where justice and mercy stand forever.

In Luke, Jesus refuses to honor rules that keep someone from healing...

He prioritizes liberation over legalism.

There are times when we use the law as a means of social control. In moments like these, scripture reminds us that Jesus came to liberate us through divine grace.

When the rules are used to control rather than to liberate, how do we as followers of Jesus discern whether we are protecting tradition or resisting God’s grace?

Let us see what the scripture has to say to us today...

God’s Law Twisted into Control

Picture the woman in our text today.

Eighteen years bent over.

Eighteen years looking at dust instead of sky.

Eighteen years straining to see the faces of her loved ones.

Eighteen years without relief.

Eighteen years...

Now imagine Jesus calling her over, speaking words of freedom...

Placing his hands on her… and her spine unfurling like a flower opening to the sun.

The crowd gasps...

...and she praises God… It’s a moment of pure grace.

In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was a holy day of rest...

God’s capstone touch to creation and a sign of Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

To keep the Sabbath was to remember that Pharaoh’s demands no longer bound them...

...but free to rest in God’s provision.

Over time, Sabbath observance developed into a practice of holiness...

...a means of grace in which we experience God's very presence through complete rest or intentional acts of worship.

Luke emphasizes the Sabbath as a time to refrain from work, but in Jesus’ day, the Pharisees had overlaid this gift with layers of rigid requirements.

What was meant to remember liberation had, in the hands of Pharisees, become a form of bondage...

...a religious observance turned into a system of social control and oppression.

In our own time… we have seen how laws meant to protect the common good...

...can be wielded to silence voices and maintain control.

Just as the redistricting in Texas carves up communities to reduce their power...

...the Sabbath rule was being carved into a tool that reduced the woman’s worth to the timing of her healing.

Both are examples of what happens when the law becomes about control rather than compassion.

So the question comes back to us friends...

In our church, communities, and personal lives… are there traditions or rules we cling to that, if we’re honest, serve more to preserve our comfort than to extend God’s grace?

Jesus shows us that God’s grace doesn’t wait for a more convenient day.

Grace acts now.

Grace liberates.

Grace says the law is fulfilled and not broken when it frees people.

God Shakes Loose What Cannot Stand

This is what happens when grace is allowed to do its work…

…it shakes loose the grip of control and sets people free.

And that shaking isn’t always gentle…

Sometimes it unsettles us…

Sometimes it topples what we thought would always stand.

I remember watching September 11th unfold on live television.

It was my senior year in high school, and we were reading Beowulf, and our classroom was interrupted by another teacher who whispered something in Mrs. Davis’s ear.

Next thing you know, the television is turned on, and it was a shock.

...a building burning, but still standing...

Then came the collapse...

The ground shook, the air filled with dust, and what had seemed immovable crumbled before our eyes.

It was loud, disorienting, and devastating...

Even miles away, at the southern end of our country, you could feel the ache of watching something once thought unshakable come down.

That’s the kind of image Hebrews gives us...

...a shaking so deep and thorough that nothing built on the wrong foundation can remain.

Hebrews draws a sharp contrast between two mountains...

Mount Sinai… and Mount Zion...

Sinai was where the law was given...

...surrounded by smoke, fire, and fear.

The people stood at a distance… trembling at God’s holiness.

But Zion is the city of the living God… the joyful gathering of angels, the assembly of those made righteous by Jesus’ blood.

The writer says God is shaking not only the earth but the heavens...

...removing everything temporary, distorted, or oppressive...

...so that only what is unshakable will remain.

This is not destruction for destruction’s sake… It’s liberation.

God is tearing down the walls and systems that imprison so that the unshakable kingdom of grace, justice, and mercy can fully come.

The gospel reading, Luke, gives us Jesus, who is doing this shaking work in the synagogue.

By healing on the Sabbath, Jesus exposes the fragile foundation of a tradition that has lost its heart.

In Texas, as in many places today, when voting lines are drawn to silence some voices, God’s justice shakes the false security of those who think they can maintain control forever.

The shaking is a sign that oppression cannot last in the light of God’s reign.

The shaking described in Hebrews is not only about systems in our society...

...it’s about what’s in us...

Sometimes God has to shake...

...our own assumptions,

...our comfortable routines,

...and even our cherished traditions to reveal whether they’re anchored in love or in fear.

If assumptions, routines, or traditions in your life are built on control, they will fall...

But… if it’s built on grace, it’ll endure.

Kerygmatic Fulfillment

When the rules are used to control rather than to liberate, how do we as followers of Jesus discern whether we are protecting tradition or resisting God’s grace?

Luke shows us one answer...

Jesus will not let the law be used to keep someone in bondage.

Jesus heals the woman on the Sabbath.…

...not despite God’s law… but in fulfillment of it...

...because the heart of the law is always love.

Hebrews shows us the other…

God is shaking loose everything temporary, distorted, or oppressive, so only what is rooted in God’s unshakable kingdom remains.

This is the Good News…

...that in Christ, we are already persons of that kingdom.

The same grace that straightened the woman’s back is the grace that straightens our courage.

The same Spirit that moved Jesus to act moves us to stand with those still bent under the weight of injustice.

Here at University United Methodist Church, this is what it means to live the vision of our church...

To love boldly mirrors Jesus… by creating a place of belonging...

...that welcomes neighbors of every race, gender, sexuality, ability, and beyond into our fellowship...

...weaving their stories into the tapestry God has been creating here for over 150 years.

To serve joyfully is to meet the needs of our neighbors not from mere duty, but from the delight of knowing Christ is in our midst...

...whether we are feeding or clothing those in need...

...whether we’re sitting with someone in their grief or healing.

To lead courageously is to speak and act for justice… even when it costs us...

...standing with the marginalized, defending the dignity of the vulnerable, and helping build systems that reflect God’s love.

We still live in a world where rules can be twisted into tools of control...

...to redraw boundaries, to silence voices, to erase the memory of those who have suffered...

But scripture calls us to resist that distortion.

The Gospel invites us to imagine something greater...

...a community where love is the measure, justice the norm, and every person's dignity is honored.

Friends… the unshakable kingdom is already breaking in.

The question is whether it will come, but whether we will join.

May we, by God’s grace, be a people who refuse to delay liberation until it’s the right day…

...loving boldly, serving joyfully, and leading courageously...

...until all creation stands tall in the light of God’s redeeming love.

In the name of our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.