Missional spirituality and the embodiment of imperfection

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the phenomenon of spirituality by exploring the meanings that persons with disabilities ascribe to spirituality. A theology and/or a spirituality of disability is essential to our understanding of what it means to discern who God is and to recognise what it means to be human. The lives of people with disabilities give a rich revelation of God and reveal a fuller picture of being imago Dei. An indisputable affinity exists between God and vulnerability. Imperfection is part of being human and strengthens spirituality. God’s radical embodiment, known as ‘deep incarnation’, is tied to the relational character of the Triune God. The deep and interdependent relationship of the Triune God imitates the relationships among persons (imago Trinitatis). The implications of Jesus’ co-suffering with creation, specifically Jesus’ solidarity and compassion with the oppressed and marginalised are emphasised. The Divine Spirit’s empowering, life-giving agency and the significance of the Spirit’s realm of vulnerability are reflected upon. A spirituality of vulnerability, imperfection and marginality is the primary modus of mission and humanity. A qualitative phenomenological research process was followed. The basic framework of Henri Nouwen’s three movements of spiritual life, representing a person’s ‘inward (self)’, ‘outward (others)’ and ‘upward (God)’ relations, were employed in a semi-structured interview schedule of open-ended questions. Thirteen participants shared their unique experiences of disability and spirituality. In a post-Christendom era followers of Christ should (re)discover the existence of the church as defined by mission. The missio ecclesiae should focus on mission from the margins and not on self-preservation, power and perfection. Both mission and spirituality require a process of transformative reconstruction to form a missional spirituality (missio spiritualis), as incarnational, embodied, relational, Trinitarian, cruciform, this-worldly, diaconal and liberative – it embraces kenotic love, acknowledges imperfection and is justice orientated. It is at the margins that the vibrant centre of the Triune God’s presence and work in the world (missio Dei trinitatis) is to be found. Some recommendations, which could serve in the implementation and continuous development of a missional spirituality, are provided to missional communities.