It is no longer politically correct to use the word “crippled.” We are now supposed to say “disabled.” I get it, but the Bible was not written in (or to) twenty-first-century people. So please forgive me as I proceed to “kick against the goads” for a while.

Our scripture lesson for today begins with a woman “who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.” This passage poses a double dose of non-PC speech, since it’s no longer cool to believe in demons either. Those nasty spirits have been reduced to quirks in people’s personalities. You’ve heard many people say things like, “He’s dealing with his demons.” They don’t really mean demons, they just like to misuse the word and give it a new understanding.

So in the new PCV (Politically Correct Version), Jesus is presented with a woman…