In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
I have heard the Gospel of the Kingdom, my dear brothers and sisters, and I have come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He has defeated his enemies—death, sin and idolatry—and invites as many as would believe to join in his victory. I am freed, death no longer holds sway over me, and I may live a life of joy, thanksgiving and generosity.
And a stranger walks into Church. And this stranger is unlike me. She has not heard the Gospel and her soul is bent so she cannot look up: the Satan has forced her to look ever downwards, towards the earth, towards the grave, towards death. The fear of death has crippled her soul and she is at a loss what to do. And I see my opportunity, “This,” I tell her, “is what you must do, this is what you must say, this is what you must think. These are the rules of Orthodox Christianity: come and follow them.”
The Lord, meanwhile, has another approach. I treat her as someone to whom I may demonstrate my superior knowledge and that I have heard the Gospel first, the Lord treats her with love and compassion. The Lord comes forward and says to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” And I am shocked and scandalised. And even as her soul straightens itself and stands tall for the first time in a long time, I question the actions of my God and Saviour, “She does not know the Gospel,” I rail at him, “she does not know what she must do, what she must say, what she must think.” Because I have turned the Gospel into rules, the Kingdom into another form of slavery, God into a tyrant.
And the Lord calls out my hypocrisy and I am put to shame. I know the Gospel yet I fail to apply it in my own life and I presume to tell others a distorted gospel, a fake gospel, a gospel of rules rather than the Gospel of Love. But if I repent, if I allow even a tiny spark of the Gospel into my life, a fire will kindle within which would attract many to Christ—not by teaching them rules but by giving them an encounter with the divine.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord says to you and he say to me,
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
John 13:34–35
By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
And when one comes in seeking the Gospel let us preach to them not with words and with rules but with love. The love which is kindled within us, the love which desires that we serve, the love which does not hold judgement over another, the love which makes room for the other rather than swamping them with rules and customs. And by this, dear brothers and sisters, we will be servants of the Lord, by this we will be Christians and true heirs of eternal life.
To our incarnate, crucified and risen Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ, be all glory, honour and dominion, together with his unoriginate Father and the All-holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit. Amen.
Brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
— Ephesians 6:10–17
At that time, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?” As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
— Luke 13:10–17