Dignity for All by Father Ian Maher

Dignity for All

by Father Ian Maher

This story from Mark’s gospel of Jesus healing a deaf man who had a speech impediment, would certainly have caught the attention of his first century audience. It drove home the point that the signs anticipated by Isaiah were being fulfilled in the life of Jesus. In Isaiah 35.5-6 we read: ‘Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy...’

This was part of a prophecy of renewal following the sadness of exile. Isaiah was declaring that God’s people would be rescued from oppression and that creation itself would celebrate. He continues:

‘And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away (Isaiah 35.10).’ The healing of the deaf man by Jesus was a sign of the in-breaking of the long-anticipated Kingdom of God; a sign of Christ’s victory over all that binds and oppresses humankind; all that prevents us from knowing the fullness of life to which God calls us. Imagine the difference that the encounter with Jesus meant to that man’s life. He would have been an outcast, pushed to the margins of society. Some would have regarded his deafness as punishment for his sin. We don’t know for sure, but the man’s circumstances may have forced him to be a beggar. Then, he encountered Jesus and his life changed for good. Mark records what happened vividly: ‘Immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released and he spoke plainly’. Perhaps for the first time in his life, the man was treated by others as a person. In any event, his life would never be the same again. We live in a society where the deaf and those with speech difficulties are not ostracised in the same way as they were in Jesus’ day. Employers and service providers have come a long way, and there is much to rejoice in with regard to progress over recent years through both education and legislation such as the Equality Act 2010.

Nevertheless, discrimination does still exist against people with disabilities. The playing field is far from level. We can see this, for example, in the continued lack of employment opportunities; in problems of accessibility; in communication difficulties. In so many different walks of life, people with disabilities remain considerably under-represented when viewed in the light of the whole population. There will, of course, be situations where a particular disability rules a person out; but in many cases I think two related negative factors come into play. The first, and most insidious, is the tendency to see a person’s disability first and the person second; the second factor is an unwillingness to commit sufficient resources to ensure that any disadvantage caused by a person’s disability is removed or alleviated. Disability then becomes as much a social construct as it is a physical or mental condition. Such failure of imagination can result in society excluding some rather than including all of its citizens. The fact of the matter is that there are no such distinctions within the Kingdom of God: every person is precious and of equal worth. As is so often the case in the miracles of Jesus, the healing of the deaf and speech-impaired man points beyond itself to a greater truth: It is more than the fixing of a body, but the sign of God’s love breaking into the pain and disfigurement of a broken world. It is a pointer to that greater healing that will find its fulfilment when God’s kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven. Healing is something that all of us long for, regardless of whether our needs are visible. We are all broken people, even if that brokenness remains hidden. In the meantime, it is incumbent upon all of us who seek to follow Christ faithfully to ensure that we do everything in our power to make our society a more just and equitable place for all people; where the intrinsic value of every human being is afforded the respect and dignity it deserves.

I am a priest and minor canon at Sheffield Cathedral. My last post prior to retirement from stipendiary ministry was as the Multifaith Chaplaincy Coordinator and Anglican Chaplain at Sheffield Hallam University, where I worked for 12 years.

https://imaherblog.wordpress.com/ Twitter @IanMaher7