Blessed Are the Binary Breakers
Religion & Spirituality
For Holy Week, Avery joined Laura Sommer on their Autistic Liberation Theology Podcast to discuss two Gospel stories through a disability theology lens — with some trans theology sprinkled in: John 12's account of Mary of Bethany anointing Jesus; and Mark 14's telling of Jesus' Agony in the Garden.
Our world does not teach us how to face discomfort and pain healthily: we avoid, dismiss, or deny it; or we blame the one suffering; or we jump to action even when there are no easy fixes. In Bethany, Mary teaches us the art of simple affirmation and tenderness in the face of another's suffering. In Gethsemane, Jesus shows us the power in taking time to lament, to complain, to rage, to question — to feel whatever emotions come — when we are the ones in pain.
Read along with the episode transcript here.
For the unabridged episode, listen on Laura's podcast here, where the episode is titled "The Gethsemane of things."
Talking Points:
- (0:00 - 4:52) Introducing the topics – making space with Jesus for fear and grief; chronic pain
- (3:22 - 9:33) First story: John 12:1-8 — reading; discussing Judas – it’s fine to ask questions
- (9:34 - 13:53) Hierarchy of luxury — judging the spending of poor & disabled persons, activists
- (13:54 - 15:31) Mary had to use oil on Lazarus’ body not long before; now she can use it on Jesus while he’s still alive to appreciate it — Trans message: “Give us our roses while we’re here”
- (15:32 - 17:19) Avoiding inspiration porn; diluting people’s message after their death — MLK, Jesus
- (17:20 - 24:29) Mary affirms Jesus’s identity and mission when no one else does — versus avoiding, blaming, denying, or trying to fix disabled persons’ pain; our culture doesn’t teach us how deal with discomfort
- (24:30 - 28:20) The oil will follow Jesus through his suffering; comfort to Mary as well; it’s hard to feel helpless as the person suffering or the person watching that suffering
- (28:21 - 33:49) Second story: Mark 14’s Gethsemane story; comparing the disciples’ sleep to coping with reality by shutting our eyes
- (33:50 - 40:38) Jesus took the time and space to sit with his grief; disabled people deserve to grieve their own experiences without it “betraying the cause” — allowed to camp a while in the Gethsemane of things
- (40:39 - 42:40) Community members who affirm your experience make all the difference; it makes sense that it’s the women who “get” Jesus because they know what it’s like to have their pain & reality dismissed
- (42:41 - end) Wrapping up
__________
Blessed Are the Binary Breakers is part of the Rock Candy Podcast Network. Find more shows, such as Bible Bash, at www.rockcandyrecordings.com.
This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. Other music used in this episode: "Mod 4" and "Mod 5" by Jeremy SH Griffith.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/binarybreakers/message"We’re in this for the liberation” — More from Rev. Krissy on transforming the Church
Marginalized Bodies as Spectacle & the Good News in Jesus's Disabling Wounds
Queering the Cross, Tomb, and Resurrection
What's in a Name Change? — How I became Avery Arden and made it through the legal process
O Beautiful Dust — Lenten Prayers & the Gospels’ genderqueer water bearer
Coming Back to Life — Rev. Krissy is a politically queer UCC pastor
Naming Faith — Eric Sharp is a Pluralist Agnostic & Systemic Therapist
Revisiting Nativity: Was Jesus born in a barn or a house, and why does it matter?
The Binary Breaking Transness of Jesus — Clip from an interview with Joseph Peterson
Numinous Names: Stories of name changes across genders, cultures, and faiths
"His Name Is John": magnAUtism & allyship in Luke 1
The Blending of Pagan & Christian Belief: Black Book's tour of nineteenth-century Russia
The Transcendent Tale of Brigid of Ireland: Celtic Goddess, Catholic Saint, and Voodoo Lwa
Sex Work and Satanism with Azura Rose
Manlike Babies, Cuckolded Joseph, & the Sex Worker Madonna — More from Neville on Morality in Renaissance Art
"I am God and not a man" - Exploring God's gender in the Book of Hosea with Liam Hooper & Peterson Toscano
God Gets Vulnerable: A trans & autistic look at Elijah and the "still small voice"
When a trans traveler and an autistic apostle cross paths: Reading Acts 8 in community
"God's love should not be tainted by the fear of earthly hatred" - April is a proud Catholic Latina trans woman
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Devoted To Prayer
Cast The Word
Let Me Be Frank | Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Podcast | Diocese of Bridgeport, CT
The Bible Recap
BardsFM