Forming Faith Blog

People First, Our Language Matters (Luke 4)

Posted on January 7 2025 by Gregory Rawn

As he said in Nazareth, Jesus came for people who are marginalized and disempowered. In our own thinking, speaking, and teaching, we must emphasize people’s dignity over their disabilities.

A Hebrew Torah scroll. Jesus read from a scroll of the prophet Isaiah, emphasizing that God puts people first. Our language affects how we work with Jesus.

In this Epiphany season, Jesus has been revealed as God’s beloved Son. Now that Jesus has been baptized, it’s time for him to get to work. Luke gives us a two-verse description of Jesus working in Galilee before zeroing in on his visit home to Nazareth. After all, conflict is often more revelatory than smooth sailing (and makes a better story).

However—though I might be reading this wrong—it seems here that Jesus started it. Jesus proclaimed his mission, and the people “spoke well of him.” It is after their next question that the conflict starts: “‘Is this not Joseph’s son?’” I read that as “hometown boy makes good.” I guess it could be said in derision, but I can hardly see that Jesus would be offended that he is referred to as Joseph’s son. Sure, his “biological” father is God, but Joseph is the one who raised him alongside Mary. Regardless, Jesus then challenges the people, emphasizing that God’s work is often to those on the “outside” not to “insiders.”

Jesus’ Priorities and God’s Kingdom

Within the Gospel of Luke so far, Jesus has either been absent, or he speaks as a reaction to others. Now, he becomes the main actor—as a teacher. Although it’s not directly mentioned until Luke 4:43, what he is teaching about is God’s kingdom.

He starts by quoting Isaiah 61:1 (part of our reading from back in December) and then declares that this is about him. He is the one God anointed to bring wholeness and justice (shalom) to those who most need it. His work is to bring God’s kingdom, first to those who others consider “outsiders.”

Language Matters

The poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed. This is the language that Jesus quotes and people use. My plea to you: Don’t. I’m not saying that you should avoid topics of income inequality, oppression, and disability. Far from it. I’m asking that we pay attention to the language we use in faith formation and beyond. We should learn how it impacts our thoughts, worldview, and actions.

Person-First Language

There is a movement that has arisen that is called person-first (or people-first) language. It was started by those who work around the topic of disability. The basic point is that when we speak about “the disabled,” we are defining certain human beings by a health condition, despite the clear fact that a health condition is only one aspect of who a person is. It is also a way for people to “other” people who might have different characteristics than them. This is a step that moves to dehumanize people, to remove (in our subconscious, at least) a person’s inherent, God-given dignity.

Note: The use of person-first language is not without its own problems or controversy. The primary alternative is called “identity-first” language (so it would be “a blind person” rather than “a person who is blind.”) The best case is to ask a person which they prefer, but in terms of biblical characters, that’s not an option. Our focus should be on emphasizing a person’s inherent dignity not only on language. In my limited research, it seems that both sides often avoid using the adjective as a noun (“the blind,” versus “blind people” or “people who are blind”). And it is most important to avoid outdated language such as “crippled” and “lame.”

How To

At its most basic, to use person-first language, you would take a normal term—like the disabled, diabetics, the blind—and put the word “person/people” in front of it. We would then say, “People who are (disabled, diabetic, blind).” This emphasizes that we are focusing on someone’s personhood and only then talking about a certain characteristic. This is most important when we are talking about people who are historically thought of as “less than,” marginalized, or disempowered.

Using person-first language can be awkward in our writing and speech. At Spirit & Truth Publishing, we endeavor to do this in our faith formation resources, but I’m sure you could find errors on our part, as this is often a new way of thinking for our writers and editors (and publisher). While—at its most basic—we can use the formula “a person who is…,” it’s best to vary the language we use.

Non-Health and Ability Contexts

More recently, I have been working to extend this concept to characteristics of other marginalized communities (not that this originates from me). Poverty, captivity, oppression, homelessness, etc. do not define a person; they are (temporary, negative) situations that a person might be in. As we work for justice to bring about God’s kingdom, let us focus on the inherent, unalterable, God-given dignity of each person we meet and fight to change the situations and systems that cause suffering. I think it is also helpful to be more inclusive of situations like food or housing instability since the injustice is not just about people who are hungry or homeless now, but people who do not have reliable access to food, safe housing, etc.

Jesus’ Mission, Our Mission

While there is a significant part of Jesus’ mission that is beyond us—namely the “saving the world” part—we are called to continue the work of the kingdom. Loving others requires working for justice. A good place to start is how we think and speak about the world.

I am not here trying to criticize the biblical writers or translators. What I want is to challenge all of us (myself included) to consider how we think and the language we use. Jesus’ mission statement here is a good place to start. Perhaps we can start with:

“The Spirit of our God is upon me: because the Most High has anointed me to bring Good News to those who are poor. God has sent me to proclaim liberty to those held captive, recovery of sight to those who are blind, and release to those in prison.”

Luke 4:18 (The Inclusive Bible, 2007)

“God’s Spirit is upon me. I am anointed, commissioned by God, to bring true justice and shalom to the people suffering in our world—those who society has disempowered economically, socially, and physically.”

Luke 4:18 (my awkward paraphrase)

The biggest point here is to be cognizant of how our thinking, speaking, and teaching impact others. Each person we meet or talk about is a beloved child of God, made in God’s image, and inherently worthy of dignity and respect. God calls us to work for justice against the marginalization, disempowerment, and suffering of these beloved children.

Blessings,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

Download a FREE Activity for 1/19/2025
Free Resource

During the main Narrative Lectionary year (September 8 to June 8), we provide a free resource download from one of our products to help you in your faith formation ministry. This week, download the activity “The Scroll” from our Living the Word: Kids (3rd-6th, NL) curriculum. This activity can be adapted for use with most faith formation participants!

This post is adapted from the original written for January 17, 2021.

Order Faith Formation Resources

It’s not too late to order for winter (and spring)! The new year is underway, but you can still purchase what you need and download it right away! Order winter and spring seasons for the Narrative Lectionary, Revised Common Lectionary, and Classic Sunday School products. If you don’t have much time for full-length children’s Christian education, then check out our Kids Mini Lessons for the NL and RCL.

Are you looking for shorter resources for family/intergenerational events or Sunday school? Check out our Learning Together series, a set of five-lesson units on a variety of topics. You can read outside reviews on both our newest Do Justice and Created to Care units! Our faith formation resources are easy to use, theologically sound, and inclusive.

At Spirit & Truth Publishing, we might have exactly what you are looking for:

Stay updated by liking our Facebook page, subscribing to our e-newsletter, or following this blog!

Leave a Reply