BOOK REVIEW
Over the years repeated studies of the social habits of
persons with disabilities and their related families have been done. The one
constant, despite changing attitudes in education and employment, indicates
that families remain isolated outside of community and the church due to
perceived differences. Thomas E. Reynolds (PhD.-Vanderbilt), the Associate
Professor of Theology at Emmanuel College in Toronto, Canada seeks to chart a
path towards inclusion that does not begin with self-sufficiency but human
vulnerability. Reynolds writes VulnerableCommunion: A Theology of Disability and Hospitality not only as a theologian
but also as a father of a child with significant disabilities. His ideal audience
is neither the typical lay disability minister nor family of persons with
disability, but pastor theologians responsible for creating local church
community.
This 256 page book delves deeply into theological and social
constructs yet remains rooted in the real experiences of theologian as father. While
the focus is certainly not on his family’s story, the occasional vignettes
shared lend credence to critical thought within the work. It is in part this
passion that provides an impetus to reconstructing a theology of disability
that begins with vulnerability – thereby offering inclusion to all humanity by privileging
disability and culminating with hospitable community. This prophetic beam into
the cult of normalcy illustrates redemption through the paradox of Christ’s
power in weakness.
Reynolds begins his discussion by summarizing the current
progress of disability theology, quickly discarding the medical model and
clearly articulating that while impairments may be physical, disability is a
social construct. He pushes beyond the sticky answers of theodicy questions by
arguing that theological understandings are held sway by that same construct
and must be re-examined through the lens of privileged disability. He grounds
his hermeneutic of disability within the larger redemptive narrative, arguing
that all persons in their vulnerability co-exist in God’s presence.
Rethinking disability must begin by challenging the cult of
normalcy, Reynolds asserts. He defines true community as the place where
personhood of all is welcomed and allowed to flourish with purpose within a
structured framework. He argues that all social cultures create a sense of
normal which imposes control on those that are abnormal while acknowledging
that dominant Christian understandings of holiness (wholeness) has contributed
to the overarching pejorative social norms. Reynolds rebels against this
construct due to his rejection of its fundamental premises. Normalization does
not equate to independence, free choice, and utility; those are subsets of yet
deeper holistic goals. He argues against society’s reasoned perception by which
personhood is determined through the participation of the free, equal, and
independent. He continues by illustrating the faults inherent within the
productive imperative – the societal pressure which promotes consumerism by
creating efficient capital – which further marginalizes those with
disabilities.
Reynolds posits an alternative ideal, drawing upon
redemptive hope that lies within the relational embodiment of welcome and the
moral embrace of love. He sketches out a new anthropology, illustrating an
economy of exchange, not based on body capital but upon gracious gifts of God
distributed throughout Christ’s body. All beings are therefore incomplete and
vulnerable – wholeness and personhood is only found through coexistence within
Christ. Vulnerability necessitates all persons are at times needy and endure
suffering, facilitating genuine bidirectional, enabling, welcoming, and
available love.
Reynolds reexamines God’s continuing redemptive loving
relationship towards his creation. His analysis of the creation story yields
that all created beings are welcomed as good, despite what human economies
might attribute. Furthermore, he asserts that the creation story illustrates
the interdependence and vulnerability of creation upon itself. It is this
vulnerability which attracts the ensuing shadow of tragedy in which God too
suffers. Yet it is through this suffering that the culmination of the redemptive
story is enabled.
Reynolds presents the providential grace that upholds the
created order as the antidote for the cult of normalcy. He argues that the
image of God signifies that humans have the capacity to share in relation,
creation, and the agency of God’s work. Sinfulness disrupts this capacity, but
the redemptive suffering of Christ, sharing in our vulnerability, allows for
reconciliation. It is this redemption that transforms vulnerability into
communion with God – foreshadowing the future eschatological glory. This
Reynolds states, validates his thesis – disability bearing the image of God,
perceived as part of creations vulnerability and not as a deficiency, is an
affirmation of God’s redemptive love.
Reynolds concludes his work by seeking to empower the church
(ecclesia) as a hospitable place – a
vulnerable community. The task of the local church is to work out this new
anthropological economy living out as the body of Christ by means of embodied
relationships. It is in this space that genuine healing takes place through the
welcoming of the weak and vulnerable hiding within the margins of society. Church
growth occurs as welcome leads to welcome. In essence, the church can only
become a redemptive space by empowering those with disabilities to find a
welcomed place at the table.
Reynolds successfully articulates his position that the
paradox of the cross and vulnerability are the nexus of community. Some may
justifiably find his identification of market capital enterprise and the rise
of eighteenth century reason as the locus of continued marginalization untenable,
as persons with disability were not privileged prior to that time either. Yet
his point resonates within the lower echelons of society and is vital in his juxtaposition
of the powers of this world with the frailty of humanity.
While Reynolds navigates deep theological and philosophical
threads through the majority of the book, the transition towards a hospitable
communion of love seemed ragged. It was here that he turned away from a reasoned
arguments towards a narrative approach derived from his personal experience, classic
Dostoevsky literature and both Lukan and Pauline biblical theology to explain how
love transforms perceived deficits into welcoming hospitality. His return to
the idea of a new economy within the body of Christ that had been introduced
earlier could have been explored further. He briefly touches on the impact that
vulnerability could have on the Christian response to the alien, stranger, and
others in the margins but never completely develops those thoughts in this
work. His conclusions, though valid, appeared to be underdeveloped as compared
to the rest of the book. Perhaps that is where the role moves from the theologian to the pastor.
Vulnerable Communion
is an important foundation for local church leaders. Rather than explaining why
disability ministry should occur, it successfully remembers the fact that all
are disabled and all have gifts. Only in the mutuality of shared vulnerability
can the household of God affect the world. If the concepts illustrated in this
book are implemented in the local church, all modes of ministry will look radically
different.
