A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability

It illustrates conservative and liberal int Written by a pastor with extensive experience in preaching to persons with disabilities, this book offers a methodology for understanding disability in the life of a congregation.

It illustrates conservative and liberal interpretations of various healing texts in Scripture. Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about A Healing Homiletic , please sign up.

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Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Nov 27, Dustin Mailman rated it it was amazing.

A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability

Feb 15, Naomi rated it really liked it Shelves: Props to Kathy Black for sharing her understanding of how to preach the challenging Gospel passages in an inclusive and affirming way for those of us living with chronic illness and disabilities -- and to counter the usual cultural narrative about chronic illness, disability, and faith. By modeling how to engage the Gospels, Black provides a method for working faithfully and creatively with other stories and texts. Jun 01, Mer rated it liked it Shelves: One I was looking forward to read when I saw the title, but after the first few chapters I was a bit disappointed.

I feel what was being stated was a little obvious at times and lacking depth to keep me reading. Chad Bogdewic rated it it was amazing Mar 30, Margaret Tyler rated it it was ok Aug 25, Jim Denton rated it liked it Jan 11, Jackie Braun rated it it was ok Nov 17, Sadie rated it liked it Sep 25, Conrad Staton rated it really liked it Dec 12, Vanessa rated it really liked it Apr 12, Nora rated it really liked it Mar 06, She argues that this is essential, not only for reasons of justice and inclusion, but also because she believes that people with disabilities are most aware of their bodies and thus best suited to reflect theologically on issues of embodiment.

For Eiesland, people who have experienced disability have an epistemological privilege: As a result, any theology of disability must be done not only for, but also by, people with disabilities. Eiesland's image of God has specific characteristics. First, the Disabled God rejects the notion that disability is in any way a consequence of individual sin. She sees the scars of Jesus as verifying this claim: Jesus did not sin, yet became disabled.

The invitation to touch Jesus' hands and side shows that taboos against disability are to be rejected, and that shallow expressions of sympathy and pity are inappropriate. The Disabled God provides an impetus for transformation and liberation in the lives of people with disabilities, just as the resurrection of Jesus provides an impetus for transformation and liberation in the world. The stories of the crucifixion and resurrection also lead Eiesland to reject the notion that God has absolute power; she argues instead that God is in solidarity with people with disabilities and others who are oppressed.

This is a God who has experienced and understands pain and rejection. Eiesland suggests that the Disabled God emphasizes relationality over hierarchy, values embodiment in all its diversity, and provides a profound example of inclusion, love, and acceptance. The Importance of Disability Theology The models presented by Black, Block, and Eiesland offer powerful additions or alternatives to traditional images of God. Each demonstrates that the idea of God is not incompatible with disability, and, moreover, shows that it is possible to argue that God is for or on the side of people with disabilities.

Such models help explain to churches why they must attend to issues of justice, sending clear and unequivocal messages about the intrinsic value of people with disabilities. We are not a problem; we are of God. You do not include me as a favor to me, but rather because I am part of the goodness of creation. The memorable image of the Disabled God, as one who intimately knows and even experiences disability, is especially important: How can one be a Christian and not value experiences of disability?

The image necessarily leads to changes in understanding and in action. As Eiesland remarks, "New religious images, values, and ideas about disability are essential as we seek to live our ordinary lives. Without them the barriers that people with disabilities encounter, while they may occasionally be lowered, will never be demolished" Eiesland, a, p.

Just as traditional religious imagery is found in all aspects of our worlds, these new images also have the potential to effect real change, within and beyond church communities. In addition to calling us to real action, all three of these models refute the notion that the religious practices and interpretations of the able-bodied are the only relevant perspectives. And, just as feminism and black liberationist thought has shown us, challenges that are made to the content and methodology of theology what we say and who may say it can profoundly influence other aspects of the movement.

Religious images are not only relevant in religious settings. Models such as the ones presented in this paper demonstrate that disability is not simply an "issue" to be dealt with by able-bodied theology. Rather, through their very praxis, these models show that experiences of disability bring valuable insights to the disciplines of religious studies and theology, insights that travel and carry weight beyond these disciplinary boundaries.

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Of course, each of the models presented here has shortcomings: Does Black's commitment to inclusion mean that some advocates of Deaf Culture are not living in the image of God? Is Block's proposal of the Accessible God intelligible for those who experience chronic pain? Yet these shortcomings are not altogether surprising: Beyond this, it is important to note that each of the models presented here focuses specifically on the Christian tradition; we are still in need of imaginative theologians to reflect on images and metaphors from other religious traditions.

And this, too, is an insight we gain from reflection on disability — there is so much diversity that we must attend to, noting commonalities while also valuing the beauty of radical diversity. To describe her struggle with images of God and the need for new images, Eiesland relates the following story:. A man was wandering in a deep jungle not knowing where he was.

Suddenly, he saw another man approaching him and so he called out, saying, "Help me, I'm lost.

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But he did have one piece of advice. He gestured back over his shoulder and said, "Don't go that way, I've tried it already. We have found them mostly treacherous and inaccessible Eiesland, b, p. Eiesland argues that existing theological paths are inaccessible, and that people who value the experiences of disability must forge our own paths.

The three models discussed above do just that: They show us that accessibility is about more than just ramps and inclusive language; the question of accessibility is important all the way through to the very core of our practices and our belief systems. Beyond this, we see that there is great potential for disability theology to go beyond issues of accessibility, offering new images, understandings, and practices that draw on the knowledge and insights that come from wildly diverse experiences of disability.

The impact of disability theology is confined neither to people with disabilities nor to the arena of religion, but rather, as we have seen with other liberation theologies, has the potential to affect wider worlds and fields of study as well.

Critical reflection on and from disability has the potential to expand our understandings and worldviews, offering a significant contribution toward a future that is fully inclusive of and congruent with the immense complexity that comes from our diverse experiences of embodiment. Handbook of disability studies. Graduate theological education and the human experience of disability. The Word becomes flesh: An incarnational model of preaching based on linguistic and cultural aspects of the Deaf community.

A theology of access for people with disabilities. The withered hand of God: Disability and theological reflection. Toward a liberatory theology of disability. Women with physical disabilities. Feminist practical theologies in context , pp. Encountering the disabled God. The Other Side, 38 5 , We have this ministry: Ordained ministers who are physically disabled. Reassessing religious practice , pp. The body of God: Unexpected guests at God's banquet: Welcoming people with disabilities into the church. Volume 1 through Volume 20, no. Beginning with Volume 36, Issue No.

For example, it ignores the fact that religion is a significant facet of the lives of many people with disabilities, as Nancy Eiesland describes in this way: Block explains that this image: Besides choice of language, theological lenses and interpretive approaches can be energizing or alienating to our brothers and sisters with disabilities or mental illness. In A Healing Homiletic, Kathy Black offers interpretive options for scripture that deals with healing of various disabilities.

A Healing Homiletic: Preaching and Disability

Her discussion of mental illness and demon possession is especially fascinating. The account of the Gerasene man in Mark 5 resonates with my experiences in accompanying friends and family members with mental illness.

Speaking about mental illness from the pulpit helps to de-stigmatize its often hidden presence and encourages people to share their stories so that they can be supported and included fully in the community. In another vein, some may still make links between sin and disabilities or illness. Such assertions are insensitive, deny the goodness of God, and trivialize the lives of those with disabilities.

Finally, preachers send a powerful message through their choice of illustrations and stories. When preachers include stories of people with disabilities and their family members, they should avoid making them into heroes or inspirational examples—this denies the full humanity of people with disabilities and uses them to serve our purposes. Such stories can be empowering. For example, installing a ramp so that everyone can have access to a building can be a form of healing.

With these factors in mind, preaching is a great tool to support ways God is already at work, inviting people with diverse abilities and challenges to minister in the world. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Turn on more accessible mode. Turn off more accessible mode. Skip to main content.