So What?
As much as his parables, Jesus’
healings also turned the way people thought upside down. By simply caring
for others, as his Father cared for him, Jesus transformed mimesis and thus
redeems each and every one of us as victims of mimetic desire and its fruit,
disease and death.
However, to see ourselves only ‘as
the paralytic’ would be to miss a great opportunity in the text. We
are given the job now of declaring the forgiveness Jesus’ proclaimed.
We may be sitting beneath them as those around us “un-roof the roof”
to bring to us others paralyzed by sin. Then, too, if we put ourselves in
the place of the scribes we can learn valuable lessons regarding our own theology.
If indeed, Jesus’ authority should challenge our own resentments, we
may find ourselves asking for forgiveness for the ways we have become mimetically
entangled in retribution and vengeance.
Jeff adds:
Susan Sontag's books, "Illness as
Metaphor" and "AIDS and Its Metaphors" are helpful to the preacher
here. We tend to think that we are too sophisticated to attribute illness
to sin, but Sontag demonstrates that with cancer (Illness) and AIDS, treatment
of these diseases is often delayed or avoided because of the social stigma
still attached to being "sick." Sontag goes on to point out that
"illness" is an arbitrary social construct. Think of the way we
use "sick" as means of demonstrating that someone doesn't fit in.
"Oh.. he's just sick!" Some germs make us "sick," according
to our social norms, others don't. Some physical differences render us "disabled,"
others don't. It is purely arbitrary. In terms of mimetic theory, "illness"
creates difference, and difference generates risk of being scapegoated.
Jesus overcomes disease and disability,
yes, but primarily because it is an arbitrary source of expulsion. (Think
of leper colonies.) In healing, he restores us to community. In today's story,
Jesus makes that most clear by dealing with the real problem first.
Anthropological Reading
We are very early into the story of Jesus
and already there is trouble afoot. Had it been anyone else we would have
immediately named him a troublemaker and created a myth where the victim is,
you guessed it, guilty as charged. Everyone knows someone like this, a person
who is always starting something. But this time, since it is Jesus we are
talking about, the One vindicated by God through the resurrection, another
aspect or side of conflict emerges, namely, the conquering of the powers.
In the popularly structured world-view
of good and evil, conflict rages. Our human history is the history of our
conflicts. What is it we had to learn about the past in school? The names,
events and dates of the Conquerers. We say the victors write history, don’t
we? Our entire historical framework is conflict based. The text today is precisely
about the nature of the conflict, as Jesus perceived it. It had to do with
what happens when culture does not forgive.
Jesus comes into this unforgiving world
as a trickster. For evil, love is repellent, kindness is torture, light is
darkness. Jesus is the trickster in that world. In him, the Kingdom of God
is already dawning. His presence disturbs the logic of the mimetic process
and calls into question all of its judgments.
Mimesis can be traced through several
threads in this narrative. One thread has to do with the distressed thoughts
of the scribes that Jesus had blasphemed. If they had uttered them aloud,
Jesus would have been immediately thrust under the threat of the death penalty
(usually by stoning). In the minds of the scribes Jesus had placed himself
in the place of the One whose name was too sacred to be spoken. Jesus had
set himself up as a rival over against God. And as the keepers of God’s
authority on earth, they perceived that Jesus had also set himself up against
them. His reply and demonstration point out that he is following God; he acts
as God would act. His entire program of reconciliation can be summed up in
this narrative and an entire theory of religious doubt can be summed up in
the questions of the scribes. Who is this Jesus, anyway, that God should give
him such authority? Like the villagers of Capernaum we too can say, “We
have never seen anything like this!” On the one hand negative mimesis
and collective violence are exposed and defeated and on the other hand mimesis
is itself transformed as Jesus chooses to imitate God alone. If we can read
this narrative and not walk away with the same wonder and amazement as the
‘people’ in the text, we have not yet discerned just how powerful
and revelatory is Jesus’ mission.
Historical/Cultural
Some form critics see our present text
as a composite of two different stories. Perhaps this is so but as Taylor
notes: “It seems reasonable to suggest that historical testimony would
be preferred to creative invention at a time when eyewitnesses still lived.
This consideration suggests that the account is historical and not Gemeindetheologie.”
In addition, the internal structure in the episode and the fact that forgiveness
of sins and healing are both elements of the domain of the reign of God suggest
that it is not impossible that we have here a single conflict story motivated
by a healing. We believe that the desire to separate the healing and forgiveness
elements of the pericope come from the failure to understand Jesus' primary
concern here, the exclusion of the paralytic. When the man is let down through
the roof, Jesus' response is to remove the stigma attached to his disability.
In Jesus' world, this is a much greater burden than the paralysis itself.
Jesus addresses it first, as a teaching to those gathered, no doubt intending
the conflict it creates.
This conflict can be seen in the rivalry
created in the minds of the scribes (‘teachers of the Law’). Ched
Myers: “The scribes are incensed and for good reason. Their complaint
that none but God can remit debt is not a defense of the sovereignty of Yahweh,
but of their own social power. As Torah interpreters and co-stewards of the
symbolic order, they control determinations of indebtedness.” (Binding
The Strong Man)
Jesus’ shift away from what Myers
calls the ‘debt code’ is the same shift that Marcus Borg (Conflict,
Holiness & Politics) observes when Jesus contrasts his ‘mercy code’
with the ‘holiness code’ of the Pharisees. Code, then, refers
to commonly accepted ways of structuring social relationships, almost always
hierarchically. Jesus’ preference for the ‘mercy’ code or
‘forgiveness code’ highlights his acknowledgement of these ‘codes’
as models of theological thought that helped to frame social relationships,
but he invests the codes with ‘new teaching.’
Furthermore, Myers’ observation
regarding the correlation between political and religious power is one we
don’t want to overlook. It is an invisible fulcrum upon which the tension
of this narrative rests. Once their God is challenged, the powers that be
are challenged. The converse is also true. As we have observed several times
in our look at the gospels, the principalities and powers that Jesus overthrows
have both an inner and an outer dimension. Myers’ exegesis confirms
what we have learned elsewhere about the structuring of mimesis in human culture.
Another observation we have made regarding
the interlacing character of mimesis and its consequences is echoed in Vincent
Taylor’s comments on this text: “The inference seems justified
that Jesus traced the man’s plight to sin and believed that his spiritual
restoration was a primary and indispensable condition to recovery. Jesus by
no means believed that sin was the sole cause of affliction and calamity,
but he could not fail to observe how closely mental, spiritual and physical
conditions are connected…It is even possible that the declaratory word
was curative in intention.”
Finally, at this point in Mark’s
gospel, and we are just at the beginning of our chapter 2, the conflict is
already so intense that the religious authorities are just words away from
condemning Jesus to death. As in the Fourth Gospel, there is conflict with
religious authority from the opening days of Jesus’ ministry. In both
opening narratives Jesus seems to know his opponents’ thoughts. The
world of the principalities and powers is on ‘full display’ in
the presence of Jesus, they are completely exposed like department store window
dressing.
We can see that there was an extraordinary
challenge in Jesus mission. The consequence of the ‘exposure’
of mimetic powers produces an emperor with no clothes. What was God really
like? The keepers of sacrificial theology had to wonder about all this. Jesus
had usurped the right of religion to forgive sin and the right to determine
judgment and thus, justice. In the system of religion there are degrees of
forgiveness and justice. With Jesus’ Father, to forgive all is to be
just to all, for all could just as well have been justifiably damned. We are
revealed as the ones who hold the grudges, not God.
2006:
And in Jesus it is revealed that we
Christians are forgiving, like God.
Either this page has not yet been completed, or we have not found any significant textual issues in the lectionary texts for this Sunday.
Introductory Articles
We will add articles as we are able,
or as users of the site request them, so if you have suggestions for additional
pieces, please write to us!
"Introduction
to Mimetic Theory"
"Mimesis"
"The
Scapegoat"
"The
Pillars of Culture"
"Jesus"
"The
Four Gospels"
A Brief Introduction
to Luke
What's New:
What's New? on Preaching Peace. (Hover your mouse over to pause cycling) |
Is 43:18-25
Ps 41
2 Cor 1:18-22
Mk 2:1-12
(Isaiah 43:18-25)
Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about
to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make
a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honor
me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers
in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed
for myself so that they might declare my praise. Yet you did not call upon
me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel! You have not brought
me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have
not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense. You have
not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your
sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with
your iniquities. I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
(2 Corinthians 1:18-22)
As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been "Yes and No."
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and
Timothy and I, was not "Yes and No"; but in him it is always "Yes."
For in him every one of God's promises is a "Yes." For this reason
it is through him that we say the "Amen," to the glory of God. But
it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting
his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.
(Mark 2:1-12)
When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was
at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not
even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some
people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And
when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed
the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat
on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Son, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting
there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this fellow speak in this
way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" At once Jesus
perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves;
and he said to them, "Why do you raise such questions in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven, ' or to
say, 'Stand up and take your mat and walk'? But so that you may know that
the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the
paralytic-- "I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home."
And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them;
so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never
seen anything like this!"
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian
Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United
States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
