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Disabled AND Blessed: God's good news for disabled persons here and now

In Christian spaces and in wider society, disabled persons are made to feel inferior, broken, undeserving of support or equal participation in their communities. Like the Gospels' Canaanite (or Syrophoenician) woman, we are expected to be grateful for the merest crumbs — because at least it means we've received anything at all. Meanwhile, in most churches, the closest we get to "good news" is the hope that maybe if we just pray hard enough, we'll be miraculously made abled; or, failing that, that our disabilities will vanish in heaven.

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But across cultures and faiths, disabled persons fight back. We refuse to submit to our dehumanization. We reject the narrative that disability negates our wholeness, our holiness, our seats at the table. We speak out about the gifts we've discovered through our disabilities, even while making room for honest rage and grief. We wrestle with our own internalized shame, with God and scripture, and with our communities till we've received the blessings we're owed — and which, it turns out, were ours all along.

a painting called "Whirlwheel" by Olivia Wise. It is of a person with deep brown skin and upraised arms wearing a long red dress seated in a wheelchair. The art style makes the dress seem flame-like and lends to the feeling of movement, as if her arms are swaying and wheelchair rolling. The canvas is colored in pinks, reds, yellows, and white.l

"Whirlwheel" by Olivia Wise.

Uprooting ableism, cultivating God's Kin-dom

In the following pages, we'll explore disability through a liberative faith lens, so that we may all join together in the work of ushering in God's Kin-dom — where all bodies and minds are valued, all gifts cherished, and where disabled persons not only have equal seats at the table, but places of honor at the disabled Christ's banquet.

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NOTE: All of the following pages are under construction!
Stay tuned for the cleaner, fuller versions.

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Table of Contents:

 

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  • DELVING DEEPER — more history, key concepts such as crip time, pride
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    • Upcoming! For now, see the resources at the bottom of the "Disability Basics" page.
       

  • DISABILITY IN SCRIPTURE — How did biblical peoples understand disability? How do we reckon with the Gospels' healing narratives? What good news does scripture offer disabled persons here and now?
     

  • DISABILITY IN COMMUNITY — What ableism pervades our faith spaces? How do we reckon with and uproot it, and cultivate radical welcome and celebration in its place?
     

    • Upcoming! For now, see the "Further Resources" page for more on this topic.​
       

  • MORE DISABILITY & FAITH RESOURCES — Where else can I learn about disability theology, biblical interpretation, & ecclesiology / church applications?

"Luke 14 Banquet" by Hyatt Moore, a painting featuring a long table with a white tablecloth laden with food, surrounded by individuals of different ages and races and with various disabilities. There are people with down syndrome, people with different types of wheelchairs and canes, a seeing eye dog, and more. Jesus stands among them, smiling and talking.

"Luke 14 Banquet" by Hyatt Moore

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