Serious Brain Disorders, formerly called Mental Illnesses
Written by the Rev. Norma Mengel
Invocation
Creating, saving, and sustaining God, we thank you for creating us in your image, each having gifts that differ according to the grace given us, so that together we make up the whole body of Christ. Help us to learn new ways to encourage each other to develop our gifts to the fullest, to love one another with mutual affection, and to extend hospitality. May we be sensitive and helpful to one another in our areas of need. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
ROMANS 12:1-13; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:4
ROMANS 12 HAS profound lessons for me as my spiritual journey leads me to reflect on the meaning of disability for myself personally and for ministry. From our human perspective, each of us comes with some kind of imperfect body. Some of us think we are too tall, some too short, some have arms or legs that are paralyzed, some have eyes that can’t see, ears that can’t hear, brains that are disordered, hearts that are weak. No matter the condition of our bodies, we are to give ourselves as a living sacrifice and know that we are holy and acceptable to God. We are made in God’s image, and God wants our whole being. As we make this commitment of our whole selves, our minds are to be remade or transformed. We are not to model our thinking and behavior on the culture around us, but we are to let God’s spirit within us, remake us so that our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors are changed, enabling us to know God’s will in all areas of our living.
I will relate this passage to one area that has touched me deeply-attitudes toward persons who have what the “world” calls “mental illness” but accurately should be called “brain disorders:” Society would have us stigmatize, discriminate against, and exclude persons with these disorders from our “normal” world. Our transformed thinking would have our attitudes and actions be ones of love, acceptance, and hospitality. “Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor…. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality” (Romans 12:10,13).
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think…. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us…… (Romans 12:3-6).
Just as our human bodies have many parts, each with different functions, so it is with Christ’s body. As The Living Bible puts it so vividly, “We are all part of Christ’s body and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other and each needs the other. God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well:” Persons with brain disorders or any other disability have many abilities and gifts to contribute and are needed to make the body of Christ complete. One’s disability does not define the person. Each person has gifts and needs that differ from another person’s gifts and needs. All are essential for the body of Christ to function at its fullest.
It is my belief that God created us to be interdependent, not independent or dependent. This is an area where we must not let ourselves be squeezed into the world’s mold. Society teaches us that independence is to be valued above all else and that a state of dependence is to be avoided at all cost. I think this creates an attitude of pride, arrogance, and a sense of isolation, causing people to think of themselves more highly than they ought to think: “I made it, why can’t you?” It causes people to think that they are selfsufficient, with no need for God and no need for others. One of the hardest things for anyone to do in our culture is to ask for help. And yet, Jesus told us, “Ask, and you will receive:” I believe our relationship with God is one of interdependence and our relationship with others is also interdependent, we are called to be one body.
My particular story and calling leading me to this understanding of interdependence and giftedness started in my nursing student days as I learned the marvelous workings of the human body through a study of anatomy and physiology. It deepened on a personal level when our son became ill with a brain illness called bipolar disorder at the age of seventeen. In the depth of the pain, we experienced both a profound sense of God’s comfort directly and through some members of the body of Christ and a profound awareness of the stigma, discrimination, and isolation toward these illnesses in society and the church. Our health insurance didn’t consider these brain illnesses as physical illness, though the last time I looked, the brain is a very important member of the body. To this day, there is a great inequity in insurance coverage for needed treatment of brain illnesses.
The congregation, of which we were a part at the onset of the illness, demonstrated transformed minds and attitudes and shared deeply their gifts of compassionate caring. Later, our life journey took us to a different part of the country and to a different congregation where few offered help, few visited when he was hospitalized or even asked about his welfare. We withdrew, became silent about the illness, and felt like modern-day “lepers:” It was only after we, as a family, found the joy of interdependence in support groups of other suffering persons, that we found new friends and were able to come out of “hiding,” talk openly about the disability, become involved with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), become better educated, find the best treatment, and use these new gifts in the body of Christ to minister with and to other persons with their unique disabilities and abilities for the welfare of the whole body of Christ. As people met our needs, we were able to meet others’ needs.
Persons with identifiable disabilities have unique needs, but each also has unique gifts and is essential in making Christ’s body whole. For starters, “we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God” (2 Corinthians 1:4). The ministry of presence is a great gift to offer.
Our son has this gift and many others to offer the body of Christ. He has a beautiful tenor voice, a believing heart, and a compassionate spirit. He is a choir member, a generous person, an employee, a son, a brother, an uncle, and he has a recurring illness, bipolar disorder. His illness does not define him. He is not a manic-depressive. He is a person who has an illness who periodically needs help in caring for himself. He needs medication; he needs other people’s respect, love, and prayers; he needs God’s comfort and mercy. He does not need to be part of some marginalized, stereotyped group of people called “the mentally ill:’ No, he is a person who is “fearfully and wonderfully made” in the image of God, who has been given unique gifts to use in making the body of Christ whole. We were created to be interdependent, members one of another, with all our gifts working together to make up the body. One person’s disability is filled in by another person’s ability. When any one of us, or a group of us, is excluded because of some lack of ability, we are prevented from using our God-given gifts to make Christ’s body complete. Together let us make the beautiful mosaic that God intends.
Reflection Questions
1. What are your strengths (abilities)? What are your weaknesses (disabilities)?
2. Can you describe a time when you recognized you were interdependent and needed the gifts and help of other people? How did you feel?
3. What is the world’s view as it relates to persons with disabilities? How does this compare with the teachings in Romans 12?
4. Do you know anyone with a brain disorder? Are these persons an integral part of your church’s life? If not, why not?
5. What are some of the ways your congregation or your family can practice hospitality so that all members of the body experience genuine love and each can be encouraged to develop their gifts so that the whole body is functioning as God intends?
Litany
One: We are called to proclaim the truth. Let us believe.
All: This is true: Jesus said,” I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
One: It is not true that persons with brain disorders or other disabilities are
second-class citizens and must accept isolation, discrimination, and stigma.
All: This is true: All people are made in the image of God and are people of worth, holy and acceptable to God.
One: It is not true that brain disorders are weaknesses of character and cannot be treated.
All: This is true: Brain disorders are treatable.
One: It is not true that stigma, discrimination, and neglect shall have the last word.
All: This is true: The church is called to take the lead in stamping out societal stigma and discrimination and to welcome and affirm all people as children of God, with gifts that differ according to the grace given us.
One: It is not true that we were created to be all sufficient and independent.
All: This is true: We were created to be interdependent-all a part of the body of Christ with different abilities and different work to do and it takes every one of us to make the body complete. Thanks be to God.
Suggested Hymns
“Called As Partners in Christ’s Service” 495 TNCH “Won’t You Let Me Be Your Servant?” 539 TNCH
2002 WOMEN’S MOSAIC SERIES
WE102 Designed and printed by United Church Resources, Local Church Ministries
Women’s Mosaic Series 2002
UCC Women’s Resource
Margaret (Peg) Slater, Editor