“Deliver me and set me free,” our psalmist prays. We know what it is like to feel the need to pray in that way. At some point in our lives, and maybe at many points, we, each and all, find ourselves in some sort of bondage from which we cannot seem to escape on our own. It feels like the snares of the world, the trappings of our culture which all too often result in overwhelming fear and anxiety, have us tied in knots, and we can see no way out. The stress becomes untenable. Maybe our bodies, minds, spirits begin to react in negative ways. The downward spiral just doesn’t quit. We are desperate—we cry from the depths of our being, “Deliver me and set me free!”

The good news is that when Christ Jesus shows up in the midst of our mess, he calls us to him, and declares, “You are set free from you ailment,” just as he did for the crippled woman in today’s gospel. No matter what our ailment is—no matter what holds us in bondage--no matter whether it is within or without—no matter how big or how small—the Holy One will set us free, enable us to stand up straight and tall, and lead us on the path of Love stretching out before us.

The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that “our God is a consuming fire,” a refining fire of Love as I mentioned last week. The Holy Spirit comes to us as flames of fire (Acts 2:3) to enkindle divine Love in our hearts, so that, having been set free from our distress, we may go forth in the power of the Spirit to be God’s Love in the world here and now.