LIBERATION LECTIONARY - DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH

Dignity in Disability

“Sure, disabled people “move too slow, need too much, and get in the way.” Disabled people also afford others a pace to be more present, create ways to improve the quality of life, and are children of God. What you see in those within reach reflects how you ultimately view the sacrifice of the Divine Disabled Empath. You will either look for the grace in us or risk losing the mercy that is to be found to include us in the life of the church and accessibility in culture.”

Rev. Raedorah C. Stewart, from the Justice Unbound Devotional, “Disabling Lent”

Daily Scripture Readings

Sunday Romans 8:34-35 ‘Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”

Monday Romans 8.1-2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Tuesday Romans 8.14-17 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not enslave you, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to kinship. And by Them we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit themself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Wednesday Romans 8.18-19 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

Thursday Romans 8. 22-25 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to kinship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Friday Romans 8. 26-29 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit themself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And God who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Them, who have been called according to God’s purpose. For those God foreknew They also predestined to be conformed to the image of Their Son, that Jesus might be the firstborn among many siblings - brothers and sisters.

Saturday Romans 8.30-33 And those They predestined, They also called; those They called, They also justified; those They justified, They also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? God who did not spare Their own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with The Creator, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

Reflection: Freedom Requires Action

This week we celebrate the birthday of Action St. Louis, the largest political power organization for Balck people in Missouri. Action St. Louis was born from the values of self-determination and confidence that Blackness is worthy, beautiful and powerful. In 2016, Philando Castille and Alton Sterling were killed within 24 hours of each other in Minnesota and Louisiana. Ferguson Protester Kayla Reed and clergy organizer-administrator Michelle Higgins shared a vision for a Black power organization built to respond to the revolutionary rising of Black people in the Saint Louis region; built on the teachings of Ella Baker, and built to become the eventual political home for Black St. Louisans. “When Alton was killed on July 5th, then Philando was killed right in the midst of our mourning for Alton, the people knew we needed to rise up, and we knew we needed to organize.” the co-founders remember. After a few phone calls to fellow organizers and an invitation from a beloved local gathering place to host an all Black convening for direct action strategy, and grounding in community; on July 13th, 2016, in St. John’s United Church of Christ on North Grand Blvd, Action St. Louis was born.

Redefining dignity for every body.

Action St. Louis was founded to respond to and reclaim the definition of Black dignity. For many people in past and recent history, dignity means “to be treated with the same respect given to a white cisgender man.” Liberation from God redefines that. Both Black movement and Black Jesus demand freedom for all bodies, without caveats or demographics. When we say free we mean free - for all. Global anti-Blackness gives us an ancient and universal measure of the struggle for humanizing in a particular space among a particular people. If Black feminism is not dignified in a particular context, chances are anti-Black ableism, total misogyny, capitalism and even ageism will be present. When you enter a faith space, a hospital or a grocery store, are there signs that consideration for your freedom and worth are built-in to the structure of the space? Do you set up your home and design your gatherings for the joy, comfort and honor of the differences among your guests? Even dreaming of this kind of lifestyle is a part of liberation. We call it “Freedom dreaming.” Much like Action St. Louis was born from a freedom dream - among other pressing things! - the work of embracing disability pride takes both learning and doing dignity. It takes relearning and redefining dignity, it takes freeing our forced definitions of freedom, confessing our ableism and fear, and then getting to work, moving into the action that freedom requires.

One of the practices we enter into when we are reclaiming is to dismantle and undo, then rebuild and relearn. Ableist Christianity has given us some cruel and non inclusive perspectives on healing, comfort, and freedom. Do you think of disability in the binary of suffering and healing? As in, is being disabled always suffering? We believe that dignity, freedom and healing will always hold hands, and rightly so! But how do we define these things? Freedom means broad accessibility, not particularized ability. Dignity means visibility and love for all bodies, not exploitation of some for the reputation of others. Healing does not look like a body that stands, speaks, sees, hears. In the book Care Work, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha gives us this challenge:

“Everyone I know longs for healing. It’s just hard to get. The good kind of healing is afforable, has childcare, and no stairs, doesn’t misgender us or disrespect our disabilities and sex work. Good healing believes us when we are hurt and listens when we say what we need, understands that we are the first and last authority on our own bodies and minds.”

Do you perceive the God-talk here? The first and last? Authority? So this is freedom, so this is dignity: being treated like we are as deserving as the divine.

Meditation & Prayer: A Litany of Confession, Amen & Alleluia

From the African Prayer Book, by Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“Lord we confess our day to day failure to be human. Lord we confess to you. We confess that we often fail to love with all we love and are, because we do not fully understand what loving means, often because we are afraid of risking ourselves.

Lord we confess to you. We confess that we cut ourselves off from each other and we erect barriers of division. Lord we confess to you. Lord we confess that by silence and ill-considered word, we have built up walls of prejudice. Lord we confess that by lack of sympathy, we have stifled generosity and left little time for others.

Holy Spirit speak to us, help us to *receive your word of forgiveness, for we are very *stubborn. Come fill this moment and free us from sin. ~~

All shall be amen and alleluia. We shall rest and we shall realize**

We shall realize** and we shall know. We shall know and we shall love.

We shall love and we shall praise. Behold our end which has no end.

Amen, Ashé. ~~

*in the original version of the confession prayer, these lines are ableist. “for we are very deaf” is used after “help us to listen to your word”.

**in the original version of the Amen prayer, the word “see” is used instead of realize.

Our hope is that we can offer this alternative in order to maintain use of these lovely prayers without staining liturgical practice with ableism.

Recommended Resource

Disabling Lent Devotional from Unbound ~~ This collection of essays on the season of Lent celebrates the body of Christ and our diverse abilities. The devotional is wonderful for any time of year, and it is available in pdf and audio formats.

Freedom Week Two