Shaun Rossi // The Heart of Accessibility, Disability & Ministry

Mephibosheth was pursued, welcomed and given access to eat at the king’s table with his brokenness, not after he was healed from it.

“1 And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” 3 And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4 The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” 5 Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6 And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” 7 And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” 8 And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” 9 Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson.”

— 2 Samuel 9:1-9

Sermon OutlineI. Disability & Humanity

“21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. ”

— 1 Corinthians 12:21-24

“Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? ”

— Exodus 4:11

“21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.”

— Luke 15:21-22

“12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. 15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. ”

— Luke 14:12-23

“According to one survey, adults with disabilities were 40% less likely to attend church or any place of worship and the more severe the disability the less likely they would be involved in any way. Further, more than half of parents with disabled children report that their children have been excluded at church because of their disability, and the odds of having a child with autism never attending church or a religious service are double what they would be for others.”

— From Kevin Timpe's book on Inclusive Community

“2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

— John 9:2-3

“9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

— 2 Corinthians 9:9-10

free e-book “disability and the sovereign goodness of god” by: john piper

Does God have a good design in my or my loved ones disability? Disability and the Sovereign Goodness of God by pastor—theologian John Piper is a free ebook that seeks to answer that question. Read the following excerpt from the introduction:

“Disabilities are a reality. They break into our lives in various forms: as the product of genetic misalignments in the womb, as the result of tragic accidents, as the byproducts of infectious disease, and from the degenerative effects of old age. They affect joints, bones, nervous systems, lungs, hearts, and brains. And even in the United States — a country that leads the world in medical innovation and technology — roughly 20% of citizens live with a disability. And no church is immune. Every church leader must be prepared to answer very hard questions about the goodness and sovereignty of God.”

Download and read the book Disability and the Sovereign Goodness of God for free here.

Join the New accessibility ministry at ucc

UCC is starting a new accessibility ministry that will seek to serve primarily those at UCC with a disability as well as parents of disabled children (present and future). The purpose of the ministry is to remove barriers restricting access to the Gospel and community life, for those with disabilities, at UCC.

A team is now being formed to launch phase I of this ministry in January 2020. If you are interested in learning more, joining, or contributing to this ministry in any way (such as ideas or expertise) you can email the ministries coordinator Care: [email protected]

Small Group StudyIntroduction

1. In the sermon it was quoted:

“According to one survey, adults with disabilities were 40% less likely to attend church or any place of worship and the more severe the disability the less likely they would be involved in any way. Further, more than half of parents with disabled children report that their children have been excluded at church because of their disability, and the odds of having a child with autism never attending church or a religious service are double what they would be others.”

• Based on general observation, do you agree with these statistics? What kinds of things keep people with disabilities, or families with disabled children from being included in the church?

2. In the sermon it was said:

“The fact is we are all disabled. Mankind’s fall into sin affected everything! Sometimes disabilities and disabling conditions can be traced from fallen sinful acts; but more often disabilities are simply a result of the residual effects of the fall itself, evidence of the brokenness of creation.  But, we are wrong when we speak about people with disabilities as “those kind of people.” The difference is not a difference of kind, merely a difference of degree in brokenness, whether visible or invisible. Every human being bears affects from the fall. The most easily visible are physical disabilities. But all people bear marks of the fall: physical, psychological, mental, or certainly spiritual.”

• What do we mean when we speak about “disability”? What types of disabilities are there?

• Is it helpful to remember that all people disabled because of sin?

• Why should we work hard not to think of disabled persons as “those kind of people”? How practically can we find against this tendency?

Into the Texts

1. Read 1 Corinthians 12:14-27. In the sermon it was said:

“The apostle Paul describes the church using the metaphor of the human body. He said that “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” (v. 18). Some parts he describes as weaker but indispensable and others as less honorable and less respectable but treated with special honor and greater respect (vv. 22–23). Certainly on one level Paul is describing people with disabilities, broken people, as part of Christ’s body, the new community. And his description of the Christian community should be understood as normative, as what we should see when we walk into church. And yet, statistics show us that these weaker, indispensable, and especially honorable members are, for the most part, simply not there. People with disabilities and their families are strikingly absent from most churches today."

• What does it mean to you to be a part of the body of Christ? If Jesus showed up disguised as a stranger, what would he learn from your congregation about the makeup of the body of Christ?

• When the Scripture refers to the “weaker,” members we need to remember that this weak­ ness is society’s preconception, not a statement of fact. What does it mean that all of us are indispensable to the whole? How do we nd our strength in our weakness?

• In mainstream culture , independence is praised and dependence is feared. Is the concept of interdependence a more Christian approach? If so, what might interdependence look like in the life of the church?

• How can the church discern and employ gifts of all members? Is there a process to make sure that members of all ages and abilities have a chance to give and receive?

2. Read Luke 14:12-24. In the sermon it was said:

“… But as the parable continued, Jesus says that when told by his servant that this had already been done and there was still room, the banquet host told the servant to go outside the city to more “obscure places and “compel people to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23). I think a strong grammatical case can be made that when Jesus said “people” he meant more of the poor, crippled, blind, and lame who lived outside the city and were not as easily found or seen. It may be that the only guests would finally be those least expected to be at such a banquet table—the physically disabled and the socially marginalized—the broken.”

• Jesus was turning the accepted conventions upside down when he suggested that people from the margins should be the guests at the great banquet. What does this passage suggest for our churches in the twenty first century?

3. Read 2 Samuel 9:1-9. In the sermon it was said:

• Who is Mephibosheth? Why does he have good reason to fear King David?

• How does King David first address Mephibosheth? Why is this significant?

• What is the theological significance of David inviting Mephibosheth to eat at his table “always”?

• What kind of practical arrangements needed to be made for this to take place?

Application

1. In the sermon it was said:

“Allow me to step outside of the text for a moment and remind you that all human beings are made in God’s image, deserving life and dignity. At creation, Scripture says, God made man and woman in his image (imago Dei) and this was very good. All human beings, no matter how broken or disabled by the fall, are genetically unique human beings deserving life and dignity. And, God does not make mistakes with the disabled. We read in Ex 4:11 (God is speaking to Moses in light of his disability) “Then the LORD said to him [Moses], ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?’” God does not make excuses for what we call disabilities; He takes credit for them!”

• Do you agree with the statement, God takes credit for our disability?

• What kinds of questions arise as we consider a God who is completely sovereign and people with severe disabilities? How do you personally resolve these? What texts address?

2. How can we at UCC a) better serve people in our church with disabilities? b) Make UCC more accessible for those with disabilities?

• In particular, discuss how can we preach the Gospel to those with cognitive disabilities, when our standard approach is usually an intellectually demanding sermon?

• Note, email your suggestions to Care the accessibility ministry coordinator (her email is in the post above).

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