Becoming Friends of Time – John Swinton

Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness and Gentle Discipleship –  by John Swinton

Summary of Basic Thesis/Argument:

John Swinton recognizes “that we live in God’s time, and that makes all the difference in the world to the ways in which we see and act in the world” (page ix). Throughout this book, Swinton seeks to connect a theology of time with how we think about and engage issues surrounding disability. In a sense, Swinton conducts “an extended meditation on what it means to live faithfully within the time that God has gifted to us…[in light of] the experiences of people living with certain forms of neurological disability” (page 11). He comes to the conclusion that “we are not the sum of our neurological configurations” (page 12). Instead, after examining several kinds of neurological disability, Swinton determines that “time properly understood provides us with an opportunity to love God…and love one another, and through that love learn to recognize surprising things about the power of our differences” (pages 204-205). Throughout the book, Swinton works to “displace the centrality of the brain as the essence of our humanness and replace it with the centrality of Jesus” (page 14).

Analysis:

Swinton begins by summarizing how the development of the clock began to control much of our lives. In doing this he probes some of the cultural implications of that development. He traces the shifts brought about by changes in clocks that moved people’s perceptions from “event time” to a more fragmented sense of time ruled by minutes and seconds. Prior to this, “time was seen to have a wholeness and a sense of purpose within which the events of a day served as a constant reminder that time belongs to God” (page 27). Eventually, this shift in our perception of time would bring significant implications to our views of personhood, identity, and worth. Time was now money, and the linear way with which we measured all manner of progress determined how we now evaluated our world.

After summarizing the changes in our perception of time, Swinton shows the implications that a linear, fragmented perception of time can have on our views of neurological disability. When coupled with theories of evolutionary progress, people with disabilities are considered a burden who waste time. In addition, even the definition of “normal” is controlled, to a great extent, by perceptions of time. The notion that people with disabilities “are a burden on others because [they] cannot contribute is simply another way of saying that the way in which persons with profound disabilities use their time is incompatible with current temporal assumptions and expectations” (page 52). Instead, Swinton believes that “a very different mode of time exists within the world….[and] those living with disabilities play a rather different role” (page 53).

Swinton desires that those who follow Jesus learn to tell time differently. Christians must recognize that “… ‘the time framed by the incarnation and consummation needs to be lived in a way that recognizes God’s intervention in history’…” (page 63). In Jesus, God has shown that God is love. We are called to love, and “love takes time” (page 67). Swinton contends that we should notice that God moves very slowly, especially given the time frames involved in evolutionary change. And slowness “is not sloth” or wasting time (page 71). Instead, becoming friends of time requires that we “accept time” and “cherish” it (page 75). Through this, our hearts learn to move slowly.

Next, Swinton explores questions regarding whether people with profound neurological disabilities are true disciples of Jesus. What does it mean for such people to know and follow Jesus when they “can never intellectually know anything about Jesus?” (page 88). When examining this question, Swinton directs his readers to consider the parable of the wicked servant in Matthew 25:14-30). He implores us to consider the church as the servant and the “talents” as “the various vocations of all of its members” (page 90). He asks “If we fail to recognize some person’s vocations, do we not force them to bury their talent?” page 90). Instead, Swinton argues that the church should “move away from framing the lives of people with profound and complex intellectual disabilities in terms of charity and pastoral care and begin to attend to issues of theology, discipleship, and vocation” (page 90). He draws the sharp distinction between inclusion and belonging. Churches must work hard at moving beyond simply including those with disabilities and instead make space for them to belong as fellow disciples who contribute to the community. In doing this, we need to reframe discipleship from an individual notion to more of a communal idea.

Swinton highlights the distinction between knowing “about” God and knowing God. He insists that we must continually remind ourselves that “…‘we are always dependent on God to reveal God to us: we are equally incapable of reaching up to heaven even with our minds to grasp the nature of the Divine’…” (page 107). Additionally, “There are different ways in which people can come to know Jesus and different ways in which people can hear the call to become his disciples” (page 107). For those with profound intellectual disabilities, Swinton maintains that they come to know and trust God “in the embodied love of the members that comprise Jesus’ body, and if that love does not induce faithful trust, [they] will in a real sense not come to trust God’s goodness” (page 112). He concludes this section by asserting that it is “only within a vision that is driven by God’s time and God’s purposes that any of what has been argued thus far makes sense…” (page 113).

Swinton then moves to contrast membership and inclusion with discipleship and belonging in the context of vocation. He views vocation as participation with God in the redemption of all things (including time), and each individual’s call to a particular vocation as an aspect of providence. He believes that providence “is the way in which God places a hopeful story on the happening of the world,” rather than God determining the details of human happenings (page 116). Providence “provides a narrative that allows us to orient ourselves within God’s time” (page 117). From within this perspective, Swinton draws our attention to the important distinction between being and doing. For those with profound intellectual disabilities, it is often “a vital and most beautiful fact that some members of Jesus’ body may simply be called to bear witness to the powerful truth of being” (page 124).

After considering vocation, Swinton moves on to consider issues surrounding dementia and memory. Swinton begins by summarizing standard perspectives on personhood and time where what is thought to make us a person is the “ability to narrate that perception [of time] accurately” (page 141). In contrast, Swinton maintains that when we consider the “temporal simultaneity of God’s time” this notion of personhood must be called into question (page 145). Also, he shows that the tense aspect of our memories is affected by our whole being, not just our neurological faculties. “Memory is sensuous, embodied, and timefully free” (page 150). Memory is not something just to do with recall, but “with impact” as well (page 157). When conceiving of memory in this way, connections are made to our heart in a way that affects our whole being. The meaning of memory in this context moves beyond recall to how certain things “touch, stimulate, comfort, and warm” the hearts of those with dementia…[and] perhaps if we slow down, find a space of gentleness, patience, kindness, endurance, trust, and faith, we can discover that their hearts have remembered much more than we have given them credit for” (page 161).

Following his analysis of dementia, Swinton looks at acquired brain injury and the personality changes that can often occur with those types of injuries. He draws our attention to the fact that at “the core of human life is an inability to control time and a deep awareness that everything that we have and all that we know is temporary, unstable, and deeply fragile” (page 167). In the final three chapters of the book, Swinton explores the question of what “practical and theological difference does an awareness that we live within God’s time make to those who live with acquired brain injury and its accompanying changes in personality” (page 169). He begins by examining the difficulties associated with brain injuries and the process of “rebuilding” the self. He recounts examples of how people have had to learn to live with the person they have become.

After describing the difficulties associated with adjusting to the changes after brain injury, Swinton explores issues associated with identity in terms of our life which “is now hidden in Christ (Col. 3:3 NIV)” (page 177). He asserts that Paul’s language surrounding our being “in Christ” provides helpful tools for considering how to respond to brain injury and the changes we encounter in that context. In addition, Swinton draws on the metaphor of exile to “draw theological attention to interesting ways of losing one’s self and coming to terms with the ‘new self’” (page 184). In fact, he asserts that for all of us, those with acquired brain injury and those without, it is only “in Christ [that we] can discover the truth of who we are” (pages 187-189). The term “hidden” is especially important to this discussion. All of us, to an extent, suffer from flawed perceptions of our selves. And so, Swinton asserts that “Who we are is who we are in Christ, and crucially, that is hidden” (page 189).

Swinton concludes his book by examining the importance of ritual when approaching disability from a position that seeks to establish genuine community. He points out that rituals “are operationally expressive in that they embody doctrine and enable us to feel what we believe to be true” (page 201). When encountering all kinds of disability, rituals embed us in time “properly understood” which helps us to “experience the simultaneity of God’s time: recognizing the past in the present within the context of a future that has already come in Christ” (page 201). The time associated with this way of viewing the world recognizes time as “a gift that is intended to be given away” (page 208). In doing so, we recognize our call by God, not “…‘to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love’…” (page 211).

Strengths/Weaknesses and Questions:

I appreciate much of what Swinton presents in this book. In particular, I think his emphasis on the communal aspects of discipleship for followers of Jesus is important (being in Christ), especially when considering issues surrounding neurological disability and what it means to truly belong to a community of Jesus’ followers in that context. I also think his examination of belonging as it relates to vocation is helpful. Finally, I resonated with the insights he offered in his examination of the relationship of time with economic worth.

On the other hand, I wish that Swinton had focused more on the issue of the simultaneity of God. He makes a strong statement regarding the importance of this concept when engaging issues surrounding disability, but did not probe very deeply as to the theological nuances regarding the implications of this subject for our approach to disability. Perhaps by more fully exploring the Trinitarian aspects of this topic he would have more naturally delved deeper into the concept of simultaneity. However, on the whole, I think this book was a very interesting and helpful examination of an important topic.