Touch the Needy

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled Touch the Needy, was written by Estera Poroska Escobar. It wasn't surprising when Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize. True to form, she received the reward in the name of the hungry, of the naked, of the homeless, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society. Those were the people she ministered to for most of her life. Jesus modeled how to care for and love the marginalized, regardless of circumstances. Unlike the synagogue leaders who respected the Sabbath law more than the sick, when Jesus saw an ill woman at the temple in Luke chapter 13, He was moved with compassion. He looked beyond the physical impairment and saw God's beautiful creation in bondage. He called her to Him and said she was healed. Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

By touching her, He upset the leader of the synagogue because it was the Sabbath. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, compassionately chose to heal the woman, a person who had faced discomfort and humiliation for nearly two decades. I wonder how often we see someone as undeserving of our compassion.

Or maybe we've experienced rejection because we didn't meet somebody else's standard. May we not be like the religious elite who cared more about rules than fellow humans. Instead, let's follow Jesus' example and treat others with compassion, love, and dignity.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Luke chapter 13 verses 10 to 17. On a Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for 18 years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her forward and said to her, Woman, you are set free from your infirmity. Then He put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leaders said to the people, There are six days for work, so come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath. The Lord answered him, You hypocrites, doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her? When He said this, all His opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things He was doing. Let's pray. Jesus, thank you. Thank you for your infinite love and incredible compassion for all people. No matter who we are, where we come from, the mistakes that we have made, you still show us how to care for the hurting by caring for us first. May we, like you, be moved with compassion when we see someone in need and do what we can to help them. It's in your name that we pray. Amen. His encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.