This article aims to open our eyes to a reality known and understood by few and invites us to develop a greater awareness of empathy and solidarity with those who suffer. In this sense, it is very important to encourage and mobilize churches, in order to generate a spiritual awakening and a revival of love and compassion, which channels the building of bridges to reach people with disabilities and to transform communities of faith to welcome and accompany them.
We say that people with disabilities are the largest group among the forgotten because there are one billion people in the world with some type of disability (15% of the world’s population), and most churches have not yet included them in their communities. It’s sufficient to see the low attendance in church of people with disabilities and much less, leadership among them. Furthermore, among Hispanic mission organizations and Bible seminaries there is no formal nor serious work being considered to take this least-reached group as the one in greatest-need-of-attention in the world.
According to the latest Lausanne Movement Infogram *, one in seven people has a physical, intellectual or emotional / social disability. Not only are there very few who work integrally among them, but the gifts that God has given them to designate them as leaders among people who have or do not have a disability are still not recognized. There is a richness, a potential that has not yet been fully explored.
It is also important to understand that if we talk about a person with a disability in a family, we are talking about the fact that the whole family that is part of that reality also has special needs, thus the number of vulnerable and in-great-need-range is even greater.
This reality challenges us to think that doing missions among people with disabilities is not an option for the church, but rather tending to people with disabilities should define and characterize the intended role of the church.
An outreach strategy that Jesus used can be seen in John 5: 1-9 where a case is told of a man who was paralyzed for 38 years at the edge of the pool of Bethesda, waiting for the movement of the waters to be able to enter and be healed; he just hopelessly longed for someone to have mercy and put him in the pond. This man said to Jesus: “I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up.” This passage of scripture challenges us to think that the best evangelism strategy is the touch of a person sensitive to the needs of his neighbor, towards that person with a disability. People who often find themselves in a situation of exclusion long for a touch, not a judgment, not a sermon, just a touch. In this way, inclusion is a process that liberates and dignifies.
In Luke 14: 12-14 we see God’s obvious command to invite them to a banquet. The story pays attention and specifically describes the characteristics of how the guests should be: “the blind, the maimed, the lame.” They are invited to become part of the body of Christ. But apparently the message was not understood, so Jesus had to explain it by means of a parable, the same one that is recorded in verses 15 to 24.
Throughout the parable, Jesus spoke from the host’s perspective; however, at the end, in verse 24, Jesus assumes the host’s perspective on himself, speaking directly to those present. “I tell you that none of my first guests will taste a crumb of my banquet.” From that moment it becomes a personal speech. You are the guest who has sent an excuse; Those who made no excuses upon receiving the invitation were the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.
The point is, it does in fact matter who you invite to your own banquet, because that reflects where your treasure is. The worst disability in God’s eyes is indifference.
Furthermore, we could name many, many examples in which Jesus shows us the number one characteristic of his ministry: compassion. And this kind of compassion responds to the holistic needs of people, body, soul and spirit. His compassionate character was a priority in his life.
Remember that EVERYONE is the wedding guest.
In short, compassion is active. And therein lies the difference with commiseration. The latter is a feeling of sadness and does nothing about it, but compassion leads you to take action. This is an action in which both are transformed, both those who accompany and those who are accompanied.
I have come into contact with Hispanic missionaries who work with people with disabilities in Middle Eastern societies, which are family societies. It is beautiful to see that this type of service to the Lord has opened the doors of the government, because they have seen their interest in a reality and need for those people in which no one had set their eyes to generate some solidary assistance. Thus, it is considered honorable work. One of the missionaries told me that, during the many years ministering in Arab countries, he has seen how families give themselves to Christ. Many parents have returned to their homes (after having abandoned them when they learned that they had a child with a disability) due to the intervention of someone who included their children in their lives, without being a medical professional or therapist, but who, moved by compassion, chose to establish rehabilitation and aid centers.
In the Arab world, this type of service is a great opportunity to fully preach the gospel of the Kingdom. The Arabs even have a name for this type of approach, for this diaconal work, considered indescribable by them. They call it “The greatest expression of love.”
On an important note, we see that there is a general tendency to underestimate the special abilities that a person with disabilities has to understand things and understand what is happening around them, especially if they have some type of intellectual challenge. However, those of us who are blessed to accompany or stand alongside people with disabilities can attest to their incredible ways of thinking, feeling and expressing themselves towards others. You would be amazed at the results. As Ephesians 3:19 says “and to know the love of Christ that exceeds all knowledge so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God”, I believe that for typical people, many times our intellect constitutes an impediment to understand and accept God’s love because we rationalize everything. Alternately, they “skip that step”, so to speak, and with a supernatural knowledge and sensitivity, they receive the love of God.
I leave you with this reflection:
How are we raising our children? What are we teaching our grandchildren? Are we training them to be COMPASSIONATE people in the style of Jesus? Are we teaching them to love what nobody loves? Does your child have a friend with special needs? Do you invite him to your house? It is very likely that this child will be teased at school and may find himself in the context of being excluded by others, and it is probably that he will even be mistreated. What are you telling your children about the ways they can intervene in the lives of others through the love of God? As we know, compassion is not taught in a classroom, it is practiced; kids will learn it when they see their parents do it. They will learn to be tolerant by seeing you accepting someone who is not like you and does not have the privileges that you have. They will come out of their circle and their small surroundings, when you go beyond your comfort zone. This is the practical gospel!
As Churches we have a responsibility to be inclusive, transforming and supportive communities, where each person can contribute with their capacities and disabilities, with their weaknesses and strengths, sure that in this integrality and diversity God blesses us. I Corinthians 1: 27-28 says: “because the foolishness of the world chose God to shame the wise and the weakness of the world chose God to shame the strong and the vile of the world and the despised God chose, and what is not, to undo what is, so that no one can boast in his presence. So when you don’t approach the weak and the despised, you are missing out on God’s best: experiencing and living in and for His love.
Pay attention to the way the church looks at a person with disabilities. It focuses on their injury and what that person cannot do. Remember that person is not “just disability”, he is much more than that, he is a person. God is waiting for us to speak up. As Proverbs 31: 8 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak. Speak for the rights of all those who are defenseless.”