So What?
Most of us have preached at one time
or another, a sermon noting that the real birth of Jesus wasn't as pretty
as the creche in the front of the Church on Christmas Eve. We have pointed
to the dirty surroundings, the smelly animals, the loneliness of the setting,
as an antidote to the antiseptic, Hallmark version of the Nativity.
But this reading calls us to something
more. It asks us to find in the advent of the Savior something that scandalizes
even us, as it scandalized Joseph. Where in this narrative, where in the Incarnation
do we find the place that makes us say, "No, wait, I can go this far,
but no further. If you ask this, I cannot continue to walk with you."
Where is the place in the story where we fall away? where we put Jesus quietly
away, not wishing to shame him, but not wishing to associate with him, either?
It seems that God must come to us in
the scandalous, so as to make clear to us our natural tendency to scandalize,
to make victims, scapegoats. It is no less true in the Incarnation than in
the Crucifixion. Paul said it this way, "God chooses what is weak to
shame the strong. God chooses what is foolish to make foolish the wisdom of
the wise." If we are not scandalized by the Incarnation, we aren't looking
closely enough. Everyone, no less we who try to preach peace, needs to be
made aware, over and over again of the way that we are like Joseph - good,
but still entangled in mimesis, scandalizing others, and scandalizing ourselves
at God's self-revelation in Jesus.
Anthropological Reading
This Sunday's Gospel text revolves around
scandal. As we have said elsewhere in Preaching Peace, "scandal"
is an important category in mimetic theory. It is also an incredibly important
element in the Gospels. When Peter rebukes Jesus for his first prediction
of the Passion, Jesus says of Peter, "You are a scandal to me!"
When Jesus instructs his followers not to cause the "little ones"
to sin, he tells them not to "scandalize" the little ones. When
Jesus speaks to his followers at the Last Supper, tells them that they will
"fall away" on account of him that night, he says that they will
"be scandalized" by him.
Scandal is caused by mimetic desire.
It is the result of gradually escalating rivalry that leads the one scandalized
to violence, to the scapegoating process. Jesus uses hyperbolic language ("Cut
off your hand!") to indicate how terribly important it is that we not
cause scandal to one another as believers. Paul does the same thing. (1 Corinthians
10:31-11:1) And yet both Jesus and Paul maintain that Jesus and the Gospel
will be a scandal to those still embroiled in mimetic conflict. Indeed, one
of the marks of the in-breaking of the reign of God will be scandal. Of that
we can be certain. At the moment of Jesus' crucifixion, all his disciples
"fell away" (were scandalized) at the revelation of God's purpose
and methods.
And here, in the story of the beginning
of Jesus' life, a good and just man, Joseph, is scandalized at the discovery
that God has acted, that Mary is with child. His compassion and goodness are
made explicit in his determination to put her away quietly, to avoid shaming
her or having her stoned (which he might have done), but finally, none of
us, Joseph included, can avoid the snares of mimetic desire, and he plans
to void the betrothal. Jesus begins and ends his life as scandal, and in the
middle, he teaches us, "Blessed is the one who is not scandalized by
me." (We translate it "takes no offense at me." Matthew 11:6)
It is important to read this scandal
in the context of the scandalous genealogy Matthew has given as its prelude.
Four women are named as part of the genealogy. Many commentators have noted
this, and most of them note that all four of the women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth,
and "the wife of Uriah") have somewhat scandalous sexual histories.
Following immediately on the heels of this recitation of Jesus' strange ancestry
we have the story of the pregnancy of Mary by someone other than her husband.
Only a direct revelation of the Holy Spirit prevents Joseph from acting on
that scandalous revelation. No matter how good the individual, we are all
victims of scandal, and we all see the Gospel as scandalous at some level.
Historical Cultural
We have already noted the peculiarities
of the genealogy that precedes this week's Gospel text. The importance of
this context for the birth narrative cannot be overstated.
What we'd like to point to, here, however,
is another peculiarity of Matthew's text. Daniel Patte, in his commentary
on Matthew, elucidates, by way of his method of analysis known as "structural
semiotics" the "hierarchy of convictions" of the evangelist.
The method itself is far to complex to describe here (which may be why the
method met an untimely end, folks just didn't have the patience to learn and
use this very illuminating discipline) but it leads out of the text insights
that are otherwise quite invisible.
The "conviction" that we want
to point to in the context of this reading is one about "believers."
That is, according to Matthew, "believers" only come to the truth
about Jesus' identity by way of 1) knowledge of the Scriptures and 2) independent
revelation. Both are required. Either leaves the believer without a grasp
of the Savior's identity. Patte's illustration of this reality uses the story
of the Magi, who, having received independent revelation (the star) could
not find Jesus until they consulted the priests in Jerusalem, who told them
that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. Only then could they follow
the star the rest of the way. Similarly, the priests, knowing the Scriptures,
did not find Jesus, because they could not read the stars, and received no
independent revelation.
In this Sunday's text, Joseph knows enough
of his Scriptures to know that he is not supposed to marry a woman who carries
someone else's child. But Joseph, being a righteous man, is also open to revelation,
and God speaks to him through a dream, revealing Jesus' identity, not only
as God's child, but God's child who comes as scandal. Here we have enshrined
in Scripture itself the antidote to certain forms of bibliolatry, as God demonstrates
that we cannot trust text alone to lead us.
Either
this page has not yet been completed, or we have not found any significant textual
issues in the lectionary texts for this Sunday.
What's New:
What's New? on Preaching Peace. (Hover your mouse over to pause cycling) |
Isaiah 7:10-17
The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be
deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will
not put the LORD to the test. Then Isaiah said: "Hear then, O house of
David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is
with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat
curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the
good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good,
the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. The LORD
will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days
as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah-- the king
of Assyria."
Romans 1:1-7
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the
gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy
scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according
to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the
spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through
whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of
faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves
who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all God's beloved in Rome, who
are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary
had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to
be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man
and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him
in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will
bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from
their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the
Lord through the prophet:
"Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,"
which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did
as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no
marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Occasional Articles
As with the Introductory Articles, we
will add other articles as time permits or as our readers request. If you
have a suggestion for anything, please let us know.
Michael Hardin
Is the Apocalypse Inevitable?: Native American Prophecy and the Mimetic Theory presented to the Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2008
Michael's Essay for a Celebration Volume honoring Rene Girard
Michael's Response to Willard Swartley's Covenent of Peace at the November Colloquium and Violence Meeting
Does
Peace Make A Difference? - Michael's essay in response to Rick
Warren's P.E.A.C.E. plan (which somehow never mentions peace).
An Analysis of Rick Warren - Michael's response to "The Purpose Driven Life."
"The
God of Pat Robertson" - a response to Pat Robertson's words
to the people of Dover, PA.
"A
response to Charles Stanley's "A Nation at War"
"Must
God be violent? A Diagnosis and Prescription for Modern Christianity"
The
Scapegoat: Christologies in Conflict - A Study in Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Biblical
Testaments as a Marriage of Convenience: Rene Girard and Biblical Interpretation
Finding
Our Way Home: A Brief Note On The Authority and Interpretation of Scripture
"Does
The Passion of the Christ Preach the Gospel?"
A
sermon for the holiday devoted to Dr. Martin Luther King. (requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
GRASPING
GOD: Philippians 2: 1-11 in the Light of Mimetic Theory
Essay on Brethren Life & Thought to Rene Girard and the Recovery of Early Christian Perspectives (Brethren Life and Thought)
Essay on Mimesis and Dominion to The Dynamics of Violence and the Imitation of Christ in maximus Confessor (St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly)
"EcoSpirituality"
Or What Happens When You Sit Down With A French Literary Critic
Jeff Krantz
Mighty
One or Crucified Messiah? Competing Christologies and the Chiastic
Structure of Mark's Gospel
There's
No Such Thing as the Rapture - A sermon preached at the Church
of the Advent, Westbury (requires Acrobat Reader)
Holy
Scripture and the Consecration of Gene Robinson - a response
to the request of the Windsor Report for a Scriptural rationale. (requires
Adobe's Acrobat Reader)
Worship - The Redemption of Desire by Jeff Krantz
Myth
and Film - a piece written for the City of Angels Film Festival
The Stations of the Cross - Rewritten by Jeff Krantz
A Dramatic Presentation of the Stations of the Cross for Youth by Barb Fabijan-Waddell
Escaping
the Power of "My" - A NonViolent Approach to Stewardship
Preaching
Peace in Hollywood: The Theologies of Terminator, Lord of the Rings, and the
Matrix
V
for Vendetta - The Name Says It All A review of the movie.
Essays, Sermons and Liturgical Pieces by Friends of Preaching Peace
"Jesus and the Gibeonites: Reading the Bible from the Perspective of the Hidden Victim" by James Warren.
Mark Heim's "No More of This" - A hymn on Nonviolent Atonement
Kate Layzer's "No More of This" - A hymn on Nonviolent Atonement (and inspiration for Mark Heim's hymn!)
Alan Cork, "Transformation" in L'Arche: A Mimetic Account presented to the Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2008
"The Wisdom of God's Peace" a sermon by Jim Amstutz, co-pastor of Michael's church.
Girard's Christology - Per Bjornar Grande
Violence, Anarchy and Scripture: Jacques Ellul and Rene Girard - Matthew Patillo
Comparing
Plato's Understanding of Mimesis to Girard's - Per Bjorner Grande
C. Frank Terhune, an Easter Sermon: "God's Big But" (no kidding!)
Gerald Biesecker-Mast's paper from Theologia Pacis on Pacifist Gospel Epstimology.
An essay by the Rev. John Hill on Mimetic Theory and Catechesis
