In a return to our new summer series, seeking wisdom from the stories and voices of women throughout the Christian tradition, Pastor Mike Yager shares insights from the life and unique calling of Joni Eareckson Tada and the story of Jacob in Genesis; in both cases, journeys transformed by the reality of disability. A perspective often neglected, stories like that of Joni and so many others challenge the ableist assumptions within our culture (the church included), and are a resounding call to the vitality of vulnerability.
Live Teaching Podcast
Scripture & Quotations
Genesis 32: 24-30
Genesis 33: 8-11
Hebrews 11: 21
“Life’s beauty is inseparable from its fragility.”
-Susan David, Ph.D.
“There is a difference between curing and healing, and the church is called to the slow and difficult work of healing. We are called to enter into one another’s pain, anoint the sick, and stick around, no matter the outcome.”
- Rachel Held Evans, Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church
“God’s desire is for transformative relationship, not productivity or independence. God doesn’t want Jacob to manufacture prosperity or swear an empty oath of allegiance to an insurance-policy faith. Instead, God is willing to wrestle for Jacob to learn how to limp. God is after transformation and healing, even when it manifests differently than we expect.”
- Dr. Amy Kenny, My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church
“We represent people’s worst fears. To many, we bear the marks of judgement, decay, or disease. But, in reality, we display the prophetic witness of what is true for all humans. All bodies are interdependent and fragile; ours just make it more evident.”
-Dr. Amy Kenny, My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church
The blessing of a limp teaches us that our identity is not what we produce or achieve.
The blessing of a limp helps us to slow down and see one another differently.
The blessing of a limp reminds us of our limits.