by 4G Core Team member Katherine Albin
For today's devotion, I wanted to share with you a poem by Irene Zimmerman:
Woman Un-Bent by Irene Zimmerman
That Sabbath day as always she went to the synagogue and to the place assigned her right behind the grill where, the elders had concurred, she would block no one’s view, she could lean her heavy head, and (though this was not said) she’d give a good example to the ones who stood behind her.
That day, intent as always on the Word (for eighteen years she’d listened thus), she heard Authority when Jesus spoke.
Though long stripped of forwardness, she came forward, nonetheless, when Jesus summoned her.
“Woman, you are free of your infirmity,” he said.
The leader of the synagogue worked himself into a sweat as he tried to bend the Sabbath and the woman back in place.
But she stood up straight and let God’s Glory touch her face.
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What stood out to you when reading? Who do you resonate with today?
Every time I've read this poem, I always get chills when I get to the lines "as he tried to bend the Sabbath and the woman back in place."
Are there times where you or others (perhaps unknowingly) have tried to bend the Gospel to the detriment of others? Do you have memories of times that you have stood up straight and felt God's glory on your face?
Dear God, help us to see and invite your beloved children into spaces of grace. Thank you for breaking societal barriers for the healing of your people. Guide us in the work of dismantling harmful systems that keep people on the fringes. Amen.