WWJD? He would practice inclusion

If you see a disability as an inconvenience, anything is possible. If you see it as a handicap, it becomes a stumbling block.

My pastor was talking in his sermon about how the Apostles and Jesus must have felt dealing with the crowds of people, some of whom were disabled. He brought up the topic of inconvenience and how, as Christians, we need to extend ourselves beyond a comfortable, "feel good" point. Jesus did. He taught his Apostles to.

What would Jesus do? He would practice inclusion.

Yet, somehow, this never sunk into our society. For years we kept people with disabilities behind closed doors. We shut them out of society. We passed a law about 16 years ago called the American with Disabilities Act in our country which has helped improve access. Yet, globally, the UN is still working on a treaty for the rights of the disabled.

Why has it taken so long to get out of the gate with this? Why is it that when we speak up we are told to stay home? (See comment to prior post.) Or treated as if we have a sense of entitlement?

What is this resistance to change?

One part of it is that there is inconvenience involved. This inconvenience can be solved by planning ahead for the most part. It is a fact of life, every single day, for those of us who live with disabilities. We learn to accommodate situations to our disability and vice versa. You probably do the same thing with more minor disabilities - like wearing glasses or bringing along medication on a trip. It's just that we don't think of these minor disabilities the same way.

So if your next question is how can your congregation do that, please just ask us- either the person in your congregation who has the disability or email me. We will be able to tell you what it is we need - if anything.

Sometimes all we need is a handshake and a welcoming smile.