December 1

Disability and mental health justice is the work of the people of God.  It is also the work of abolition. When we turn the swords of ableism into plowshares of accessibility and spears of exclusion into the pruning hooks of inclusion, we will be closer to the realm of God, closer to true freedom from the enslaving paradigm of able-bodied supremacy.   Unnecessary pain is caused when accommodations for people with disabilities are seen as a heavy burden, rather than acts of love at the heart of inclusive community. As beloveds of God, we choose to transform pain into healing through the work of disability and mental health justice.

The Disability Justice Movement reminds us that disabled people have the wisdom and practices we need to survive and thrive in times like these. As systems fail and social supports are stripped away, we need the “crip wisdom” of our disabled abolitionist ancestors like Harriet Tubman, Benjamin Lay, and Fannie Lou Hamer, who show us that on the way to freedom, no one is disposable. Our disabled kin have much to teach us about turning wheelchairs into protective blockades in protest and scant resources into abundant mutual aid and collective care pods.

We join the Biblical prophets in the spiritual work of dreaming and creating a world where we do not learn ableism anymore. We answer the call of Jesus to ease the painful burdens of ableism. We are all invited to follow the Holy One and walk in the light of disability justice for all.

Prayer

Disabled God, we are grateful for the ways you become human among us.
You wanted nearness with us so much, you became God-with-us, in skin and bones.
This Advent, awaken our hearts to these depths of bodymindspirit love,
so that we might become collaborators in incarnation,
transforming love into practice,
stairs into ramps,
swords into ploughshares,
divisions into interdependence. 
For the love and freedom of your people.  Amen.