Seeking the face of the disabled Christ

BY JOSEPH PINKARD*

What aspect of the Easter story stands out in your memory? Is it the Last Supper and Peter’s three betrayals of Jesus? Is it Jesus’ trial before Pilate? Or possibly the risen Christ appearing to Mary?

As a teenager, I was pretty cynical about the world. I struggled with my sense of self-worth, which influenced my outlook on the world and those around me. This made things hard for my family and friends, as I was often quite a negative person. When a youth pastor challenged my attitude, I simply responded, “I am just a realist.”

When it came to engaging with the Easter story during these years, I was always drawn to the disciple Thomas’ encounter with the risen Jesus in the Gospel of John, Chapter 20. There was something reassuring for this young realist to learn about a disciple who boldly stated, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Then, about a week later, we read that ‘doubting Thomas’ is hanging out with the other disciples when he encounters the risen Jesus, who invites him to “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

In recent years, the Easter story and the account of Jesus and Thomas have taken on new meaning as I have ministered alongside people with disabilities.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ emphasise the importance of valuing people with disabilities in our faith communities.

Disability theologians have introduced me to viewpoints that have important implications for how we include people with disabilities in our faith communities.

Nancy L. Eiesland pioneered a liberatory theology of disability in her 1994 book The Disabled God. Eiesland argues that when the risen Jesus showed his wounded hands, feet and side to the disciples and let them touch him, he challenged the belief that disabilities should be avoided or hidden. Instead, he urged his followers to see their shared humanity and equality through his own wounds.

Amos Yong expanded on this viewpoint in his 2011 book The Bible, Disability, and the Church. Yong argued that the risen Jesus Christ’s impaired body should shape how we understand God's image. This suggests that we should embrace a more inclusive view of God’s people, both in the Church today and in the afterlife.

Most recently, Amy Kenny, in her 2022 book My Body is Not a Prayer Request focused on the crucified Jesus Christ. Kenny reflects that, “Jesus disables himself on our behalf. This goes directly against our notions of self-preservation and victory by demonstrating how God’s power is self-emptying, radically forgiving, and displayed through disability.” Kenny concludes, “I refuse to be ashamed of my disabled body because it displays the crucified Christ. It is twisted and twitchy and tired, but it is triumphant.”

Each of these theological viewpoints challenges our traditional readings of the Easter story that possibly skim over the nature of Jesus’ impaired body. They also convey an important message about the inclusion of people with disabilities in the Church. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ emphasise the importance of valuing people with disabilities in our faith communities.

In the words of Amy Kenny, “Next time you approach a person with a disability, can you search their face for the disabled Christ?”

*Joseph Pinkard is The Salvation Army’s Intercultural and Disability Inclusion Team Lead