Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness

The four essays in this gem of a little book originated at a conference sponsored by the Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability at the University of Aberdeen in 2006. The book's publication represents a collaboration between InterVarsity Press and the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School that pairs leading thinkers with practitioners to explore what hope means in a world of brokenness. Hauerwas (b. 1940) is the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School with a joint appointment at the Duke University School of Law. Vanier (b. 1928) is the founder of L'Arche, "an international network of communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities experience life together as fellow human beings who share a mutuality of care and need. Today over 130 L'Arche communities exist in 34 countries on six continents." Vanier and Hauerwas take turns writing the alternate chapters of the book. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that "those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable" (1 Corinthians 12:22). That sort of thinking subverts what society considers "normal" and challenges the labels, stereotypes, caricatures and false assumptions that we make about people who are weak in body, mind, or spirit. Vanier's stories relate how L'Arche emphasizes "living with" instead of "doing for" or trying to "fix" the disabled. The goal is not a solution to a problem but a sign of hope, of the possibility to love each other. Care, not a cure, is the invitation that the weak offer us. To live and think this way signals the end of all social meritocracy, and the upending of the "pyramid of hierarchy" that so many of us seek to climb. And so, Vanier says, "I'm not interested in doing a good job. I am interested in an ecclesial vision for community. We are brothers and sisters, and Jesus is calling us from the pyramid to become a body."

I originally bought this book thinking it would be simply a Hauerwas book. I was surprised to see that it was more of an exchange or conversation between Hauerwas and Jean Vanier, the founder of L'Arche Communities. The book is brief, easy to read, and compelling in multiple ways. I actually found Vanier's sections more compelling and moving spiritually than Hauerwas' - though I appreciated what Hauerwas had to say. Vanier's communities emphasize great humility and gentleness of a sort that is unique in the world - a humility that comes from weakness. He seeks to treat those who we see as "handicapped" as equals. His is not a condescending love; but it is a love that says, "you are as important as I am and I have weaknesses just as you do." It is a radical departure from the conservative who tends to ignore the downtrodden and the liberal who tends to condescend toward others in telling them what's good for them. This kind of love is actually very much in tune with the love of Christ and his disciples in the NT. Hauerwas sees lessons to be learned by "the church" from Vanier and vice-versa. Vanier's communities are a great model for the way churches should be - and this is a vital point. He gives great emphasis to weakness and humility as well as to the critical import of shared meals and laughter - without pretense (all central NT concepts that are often missing in churches). One gets a sense that though there are great struggles and often a lot of pain in his communities, there is also great love, family acceptance and joy - isn't that a great model for a congregation? This book is a very worthwhile read, especially for those in Evangelical churches who tend to be condescending toward or simply ignore those who are downtrodden - whether from some physical handicap or from their sin. As the apostle Paul exemplified in his life, and as Christ exemplified in his life and death on the cross, the power of God is greatest in human weakness and humility. Vanier captures this well in his life. Though one may disagree with some of his theological perspectives (Vanier seems to place no importance on conversion - and this de-emphasis on conversion to Christ is one of the central problems with many modern Christian writers and groups who have given an important voice to reaching out to the poor), Vanier is still an exceptional example to the typical American Evangelical who tends to follow the worldly path of personal exaltation, success-driven confidence and condescension - rather than the Christ-centered path of weakness and abject humility. In life and attitude, he models Christ better than almost all churchgoing evangelicals.

I was intrigued when I got a copy of Living Genly in a Violent World. I had heard of Jean Vanier's work in founding the L'Arche communities, in which individuals with mental disabilities live together in community with those who don't have such challenges. Stanley Hauerwas, meanwhile, has long been a literary and theological conversation partner for me, and while there are many areas about which I would disagree with him, he is reliable in his ability to challenge the way I think. This book, part of the Resources for Reconciliation series put out by InterVarsity Press and Duke Divinity School's Center for Reconciliation, was an intriguing read. The book is formatted as a set of four essays, two by Jean Vanier and two by Stanley Hauerwas. In some ways, it almost feels like two books with a shared theme: Vanier spends his chapters reflecting upon life among the mentally disabled and how it should shape us, while Hauerwas uses the example of L'Arche as a launching pad for a larger argument about rest, servant-leadership, gentleness and peace theology. The essays are all relatively short, with the book weighing in at around 100 pages. Those looking for a systematic argument for the views it espouses will be disappointed. Indeed, there were many times when I found both authors making side comments and following rabbit trails which seemed to have little bearing on the overall discussion. Add to this the fact that I'm sure many (including myself) will find ample cause for theological disagreement with some of the authors' underlying ideas, and many would probably dismiss the work as rubbish. However, I cannot do so because of one simple fact: agree or disagree, almost every page of this little book is beautifully and thrillingly provocative. I found this especially true while reading Vanier. His theology leaves plenty to be desired, but his rich experience spending his life among those who are truly the "least of these" in a society which idolizes knowledge and productivity leave him with deep insights that are rare in many more theologically rigorous authors. His wisdom about rest, into what Christian love really looks like, and about how to really learn to celebrate life all set me back on my heels. Hauerwas as well supplies some challenging thoughts, especially when he discusses our modern understanding of time and how it is antithetical to true biblical rest. The fundamental question which these authors are wrestling with this: is there room in our Westernized Christian understanding of holiness and life for those who are mentally broken in ways the rest of us often discount? If there isn't, perhaps it's time to rethink just what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the first place. When the gospel is not for the least of these, it's probably just something we've concocted for our own comfort.