To start the new year, I am working through a sermon series that examines the Sermon on the Mount and the values for kingdom life and living that Jesus shares with us through it. These are values that call us to a deeper form of life. One that seeks to create a world, here on earth, where the kingdom of God is realized and experienced, even if only in a small way, in the lives of those touched by Christ’s life and words.
In other words, the Kingdom of God is about the Beloved Community being realized on earth.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., frequently spoke of the Beloved Community in his work for racial and economic justice during the 1950s and 1960s. In “MLK Reflection: The Beloved Community,” Drs. Sonnette Bascoe and Benjamin Espinoza wrote of this community being “where all people are respected, cared for, and treated as equals.” They also go on to write that it is also “where there is no space for injustice, prejudice, or discrimination.”
The Beloved Community is the living reflection of the Kingdom of God.
To take this a step further than Dr. King’s monumental work, I believe the Beloved Community, one where all people are respected and cared for, is one that includes people with disabilities in their authentic selves, where they can live freely, love boldly, and experience human flourishing through the use of their gifts and talents.
Any kingdom-focused work centered on the disability community must desire to establish a beloved community where people with disabilities are a sacred and equal part of society and the church. A true beloved community is not possible without people with disabilities being able to share, contribute, and participate as equal members of the community.
It is the work of the church, as the ongoing witness of Jesus Christ in a broken and hurting world, to seek the transformation of our communities in such a way that it creates a more beloved society that welcomes and encourages all people. The church is called to work in the love of Christ to create a world where all may not just know the love of God, but experience it in ways that lead to a new life of grace and hope for all.
That work must be one that advocates for the betterment of the disability community, so that it may truly be beloved and experience true flourishing. We cannot limit our work to what takes place within the walls of our church, or even to the needs of exhausted and lonely parents. Don’t get me wrong, that work is vital and important; however, the sacred work that the church must be involved in is much deeper.
The sacred work of building a beloved community where every person with disabilities is valued, respected, loved, and a part of the community. I believe that is kingdom work, Sermon on the Mount work, Jesus-focused work.
If we truly desire to be part of a beloved community, then we have to be willing to listen to the needs and concerns of people with disabilities. We need to listen to their stories and give them a voice to speak and raise their concerns. We must be willing to stand beside the community as it advocates for its needs. We also must be willing not to advocate against causes that would harm the ability of the disability community to thrive.
Building a beloved community cannot only focus on what happens at First Church at So-And-So Street. It must involve the entirety of the disability experience and how the person with disability might thrive in a beloved community.
This requires allowing people with disabilities to lead and be part of creating the community that includes them. No true beloved community can ever exist without the involvement and participation of those who have often been excluded from the community. If we want a more accessible, inclusive, and welcoming society, one that truly embraces people with disabilities, then it must be disability led and inspired for it to happen.
Christ calls us to be part of God’s work in creating something new, different, bolder, and more loving than anything society can offer. He calls us to be part of the work of the kingdom of God’s beloved community.
Our dream and desire must be to create a beloved community where, in every corner of our land, people with disabilities can live without harm, thrive without slander and ableism, express themselves authentically, and be included in all aspects of society, and experience all the blessings of life.
A true beloved community cannot exist until the disability community is a vital part of the beloved community.
Shannon Blosser 