Healing and Theodicy

One of the most difficult questions pastors and theologians have had to deal with throughout the ages is why there is so much suffering in the world. Volumes have been written in response to this question. Rabbi Harold Kushner tried to deal with this issue in his popular book When Bad Things Happen to Good People. This underlying question plagues many clergy today as they attempt to provide pastoral care to persons with disabilities—particularly those who are experiencing disability for the first time. A person has been in a car accident and wakes up in the hospital without the ability to walk. The long-awaited birth of a baby finally arrives, but joy turns to unknown fear as the expectant parents wait in silence while the doctors rush the newborn off to ascertain her physical condition. What do clergy have to offer to those who experience such suffering when the immediate shock and anger wear off and the questions are raised about why this happened to them? Where is God in the midst of their pain?

The questions are difficult. On the one hand, we have years of training, and many laity look to us for answers. For some people, clergy are the representatives of God, and they come to us not only for comfort but also for help in finding some meaning in their life situations. And while clergy may be exceptionally competent in many areas of ministry and feel in control of many situations, dealing with persons with disabilities makes many clergy uncomfortable. We have volumes to say on most topics (after all, preaching is a major part of our job), but we are uncomfortably silent when it comes to this particular group of people. We do not know what to say, we do not have any real answers, and their vulnerability raises in us questions about our own finitude and fragility. If this happened to them, what prevents me from being in their situation tomorrow?

In our attempts to deal with these issues and answer these questions, clergy have rightly relied on theology, tradition, and biblical guidance. The problem, however, is that Christian tradition and the Bible itself are very ambiguous on this topic, and clergy end up conveying mixed and often confusing, contradictory messages—in pastoral care settings and in preaching.

Angel or Devil, Blessed or Cursed

One contradictory message many churches convey is that persons with disabilities are both blessed by God and cursed by God. Some within the Christian tradition label the persons with a disability as "angel" while others label the same person as "devil."

Religious communities often view persons with disabilities as blessed, specially chosen by God to be courageous witnesses to the world. How often have we heard persons with disabilities praised for their perseverance, their inner strength, their visible witness that nothing in life will destroy their inner spirit or their will to make meaning out of their lives? Children with disabilities are often called "little angels." And parents with disabled children are seen as saints because of the "extra burden" they carry. We use words such as "valiant battle," "courageous woman," and "blessed by God," as we stand in awe at the ways some people are able to manage their lives, and we wonder if we would do as well.

Persons with disabilities are also considered blessed because the Bible implies that people have disabilities so that God's mighty works can be made manifest in and through them. They are blessed by God and used as witnesses to God's power. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul says, "I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." Some believe that Paul's "thorn in the flesh" was some kind of disability. The writer of the Gospel of John credits Jesus with saying that the man "was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him" (John 9:3). The parable in Luke about the great dinner indicates that it will be persons who are blind and lame who will taste the heavenly banquet, not those who were initially invited (Luke 14:1624). Preachers have preached these texts in ways that continue to support the notion that persons with disabilities are blessed by God, and therefore are angels and saints.

At the same time, because of the literal and often traditional interpretation of many of the healing texts in the Gospels, persons with disabilities are often equated with the devil—they are perceived as being cursed by God. In recent years, a man who was born with severe physical deformities was looked upon with disgust and suspicion. Several times people said that only a pact with the devil could create such a grotesque being. They judged the man solely by his outward appearance. They found it difficult to imagine a God who would create such deformities. Therefore, they reasoned, the person with the disability must be of the devil.

Persons with disabilities are often considered sinful, lacking in faith, or even possessed by evil spirits or demons. The connection between sin and disease/disability that has emerged in the preaching of the healing texts has created a theological perspective that continues to permeate many of our churches today. Stories abound of persons with disabilities who have been told that if only they had enough faith, they would be cured.

Many people quote biblical sources to justify this position. Sin, or lack of faith, or demon possession must be the cause of disabilities, because in the story of the healing of the man who was paralyzed, "When Jesus saw their [the man's friends'] faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven'" (Mark 2:5). In Mark 5:34, in the story of the woman with the flow of blood who touched Jesus' cloak, Jesus says "Daughter, your faith has made you well." In Luke 9:39, it is an unclean spirit or demon that seizes the boy and "convulses him until he foams at the mouth."

Christian leaders and religious institutions explicitly or implicitly support these opposing images: blessed and cursed. Disability implies punishment for sin or lack of faith, but it also implies obedience to God's will in being a courageous witness to the world. What effect do these contradictory images have on the way persons with disabilities view themselves? How do these images affect how other people treat persons with disabilities in our churches and in society?

Both of these images—angel and devil, blessed and cursed—have a similar effect. Both cause other people to stay away and not become too involved. No one wants to become involved with someone who is cursed unless trying to convert or save that person. And most people see "angels" as a little too beyond their reality as they deal with the daily struggles of life. Whether they believe that persons with disabilities are blessed or cursed, the general belief is that their condition is God's will, and we should not interfere.

God's Will

It is a basic...