December 12 - Luke 13:10-17 - set free from infirmity

IN THOSE DAYS, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. She was bent over and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, He called her over, and said, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work should to be done, come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead it away to give it water? And should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, who was bound by Satan for eighteen years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?” When He said this, all His adversaries were put to shame, and the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that He was doing.

Saint Ambrose of Milan compares the infirm woman to a vine:

The members of the church are similar to this vine. They are planted with the root of faith and held in check by the shoots of humility. He placed in the church a tower of apostles, prophets, and teachers who are ready to defend the peace of the church. He dug around it when he had freed it from the burden of earthly anxieties. Nothing burdens the mind more than concern for the world and lust for either wealth or power.
An example of this is in the Gospel. We can read the story of the woman "who had sickness caused by a spirit, and she was bent over so that she was unable to look upwards." In fact, her soul was bent over. It inclined to earthly rewards and did not possess heavenly grace. Jesus saw her and addressed her. She immediately laid aside her earthly burdens. These people also were burdened with lusts. He addressed them in these words, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." The soul of that woman breathed once more and stood up like a vine around which the soil has been dug and cleared.