Disabled Jesus, part 3b

Prophetic Presence: Subverting Power Dynamics Part 2

I have been watching the Winter Paralympics. Right now, vision-impaired skiing is on TV. The UK won a silver medal! Going downhill on skis with a brightly dressed guide when you only have 5% vision is frightening, even to watch. Well done, Neil Simpson.

Yesterday was seated skiing. More nail-biting action on an unusual looking peice of kit.

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³² As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. ³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), ³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. ³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, ⁴² “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Matthew 27:32-44 ESV UK

Prophetic Presence:

The Government is interested in disability. This is from a recently published paper:

“Society’s attitudes towards disability are mainly negative, often focusing on impairments and limitations. This leads to infantilisation, pity, ridicule, and hierarchies of desirability.

“Research describes how non-disabled people sometimes view and treat disabled people with pity. This means that non-disabled people can feel sorrow towards disabled people, who they think are suffering and experiencing misfortune. While disabled people want to be treated with compassion, pity can position disabled people in a negative light, as people who are helpless and require charity from others.” ¹

Through the perspective of the disabled, the Passion of Jesus is a moving and comforting story of a vulnerable God who is closely involved in our experiences.

The presence of the disabled Christ challenges the Church to shift from viewing disabled people as objects of pity or charity to recognizing them as active participants who carry prophetic witness within the Body of Christ.

But there’s a problem with discussing vulnerability. Disabled people often feel vulnerable due to others’ pity. Personally, I don’t want pity or to be called inspiring. What I need is help, not to be seen as inspiration. With the right equipment, amazing things can be done at the Winter Paralympic Games. With support, I can thrive.

Inspiration porn, watching disabled people in order to be inspired, is like sex porn. It gives you a warm glow, and like sex porn it does not satisfy. It gives you a false image and leaves people trapped. There is no “one size fits all” with disability. Different people need different things to make them thrive. A slope to help wheelchair users and pram pushers into church is good. Our chuch is about to build one once we find an alternate place of worship for the 3 months our building will be inaccessible. A hearing loop for the deaf? We’ve had for over 50 years. But the little things get forgotten, who is going to help crutch uses and the blind or partially sighted at a buffet lunch? Are you having conversations in doorways or aisles? Keep them clear or stay on tle look out for people needing access.

Which is why I am talking about the vulnerabitity of Jesus. Jesus who made himself vulnerable for the sake of us all. Those who are made vunerable by the actions of others or by the standards of society can look to Jesus and see in him that God knows how they feel and will walk alongside them. They see Jesus being mocked not only by the Jewish priests who arrested him, or the Roman soldiers who tortured him, or the crowds that passed by him: Jesus was also mocked by people in the same situation as himself. “I’ve learned to cope, why can’t you?” is the thing that hurts me most.

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¹ Public perceptions and attitudes towards disabled people: a thematic report. Published 29 January 2026