When the world looks at us, the church
of Jesus Christ, what do they see? Do they see a community of people all welcoming
the kingdom of God as toddlers? Do they see a community of people who welcome
the unwelcome or serve one another as though the other was always more highly
esteemed? Or do they see a community that argues about who is greatest, and
who is biggest, who is best, and who is worst? Do they see a group of people
who reject the ungodly, show no hospitality to those who will never be able
to pay them back, and who regale in being served?
What does the world see when it looks
at the church? Do you think we moderns are any different than James and John?
How deep has mimesis spread its toxin in our Christian spirituality and ministry?
Socrates said that ‘the unexamined life is not worth living.’
If take Mark, and Jesus, seriously, then we must begin to ask why we are like
the disciples and what it is we are not seeing. God pours out the Spirit to
open our eyes, but that is next week.
This is getting unfair. Why do we always
seem to be rehearsing the disciples’ incomprehension? Or are we celebrating
our own? Either way or both ways, we and they do not seem to get the point of
Jesus. Our lectionary reading omits verses 32-34 in which Jesus again predicts
his passion. When we recall that it is consistently the theology of the cross
the disciples do not get, we can better understand their perplexity and their
inability to get what Jesus was saying.
We are also given another interesting
twist on the way mimesis developed in the circle around Jesus. A few weeks
back we saw the problems of mimesis in the discussion of the greatest. In
this episode, the problem is solved. Jesus has a right and Jesus has a left.
2 spaces available. James and John are two brothers. All things being equal,
if they each sit at the side of Jesus, well it’s just like they are
equal. Resolution of conflict, but only for them. For as soon as the other
disciples get wind of this, they become rather indignant and angry at the
sons of thunder. For in order for James and John to co-opt the seats at the
side of Jesus, it was necessary for them to form an alliance and thus effectively
eliminate all other challengers. Or we might say, the mimetic process ends
with the Zebedee boys ‘scapegoating’ the rest of the apostles.
[Of course, in Matthew’s redaction we again see his wonderful apologetic
hand: it is not the apostles but their mother, their sweet little innocent
mother, who makes a natural request for her good boys (like something out
of The Godfather).]
But notice: This time instead of children
being the models, it is more than likely it was the women present who were
serving the meal who are pointed out as examples of kingdom life. Men, you
have to hear this: the Christian life is not possible when you only think
and live as a male, you are also called to enter the world of a child and
that of a woman. These are Jesus’ examples and they are anti-hierarchical.
And there’s another shot across the bow of the principalities and powers
that depend upon differentiation in order to create hierarchy. Another mimetic
phenomenon is challenged.
Regarding verse 45: Way too much has
been made of the metaphor of ‘ransom’, that is, “Who got
paid what for what?” It is far more important to note that ransom is
a form of exchange. Jesus participates at the core of the victimage mechanism,
but in so doing he transforms ‘exchange’ forever, marking it by
his cross. No more shall ‘exchange’ be the exclusive domain of
the principalities and powers. When we are free to value others more highly
than ourselves, we view them as God views us in the Lord Jesus. When we serve
others, we are giving value to life, the life of the other. The mimetic mechanism
does not bring life it brings death. Only God is about life. Only God brings
life. And he does this in what has been called ‘the wonderful exchange.’
(Perhaps the best exponent of this in the twentieth century was Karl Barth.
Barth succeeded in a non-sacrificial approach to the atonement, particularly
in the intimate connection he makes between incarnation and atonement in Church
Dogmatics IV/1 [which is a corollary to creation and covenant in Church Dogmatics
III/1].)
Robert Hamerton-Kelly has profoundly
stated it this way (thanks Bob): “How shall we interpret the reference
to ransom in 10:45 (lutron anti pollon)? The literal pole of the metaphor
of ransom is the buying back of hostages. In this particular application,
a person rather than money is given in exchange for the hostages – Jesus
goes into captivity instead of us. A sacrificial interpretation would have
Jesus giving his life instead of ours to appease the wrath of a vengeful God,
which does not fit the metaphor, because captivity does not entail the wrath
of the captor and ransom is not the same as appeasement. A careful decoding
of the metaphor has one person going into captivity instead of the many, and
that makes good sense in terms of our theory.
According to our theory and in terms
of the metaphor, Jesus went into captivity to the Generative Mimetic Scapegoating
Mechanism (GMSM) in order that we might be released from it. He gave his life
as a ransom to the powers of mimetic rivalry, and because the mimetic rivalry
is ours, strictly speaking he gave himself to us. By dying he unveiled the
mechanism of our mimetic rivalry and thus enables us to turn away from it.
He also gives us the Holy Spirit to help us in that turning. The traditional
idea that Christ died as a substitute for us retains its validity, therefore,
in terms of a non-sacrificial interpretation of the metaphor of ransom. He
makes himself the victim of our violence instead of us.” (The
Gospel and the Sacred)
C.F.D. Moule also notes 1) that ‘lutron’
outside the New Testament (it is a virtual hapax legomenon) is ‘used
of ransom of a prisoner of war or a slave (as does Hamerton-Kelly), and 2)
that ‘lutron’ ought probably not be traced back to the Hebrew
‘kippur’ but is more than likely to be understood “as ‘aslam’
(= guilt offering: see Lev. 5:14-6:7, 8: 1-7, Num. 5:5-8).” He then
goes on to point out the more probable background of Isaiah 53:10 and the
background of the Servant. Moule is thus able to trace a hermeneutic bit of
thinking back to Jesus. (The
Gospel According to St Mark)
Finally, while it is important to note ‘the reversal of roles’
that occurs in our text, it is also crucial to see that this reversal is not
the normal revolutionary model (“meet the new boss, same as the old
boss”). This reversal all depends on the positive mimetic approach of
service, service understood within a theology of the cross.
There is an honor/shame aspect to our narrative
so a social reading of the text is invited and important. Honor and Shame are
binary differentials in the mimetic system. Like money, honor is a ‘social
commodity’ with only so much to go around. And of course, now, as then,
lack of money = shame.
The Christology that has so far been
presented in Mark is a clear-cut theology of the cross. Especially when viewed
through the lens of mimetic theory, this Christology also is framed as a coherent
spirituality. This coherence in the portrait of Jesus may well have come from
the imagination of the early Christian community but it is also just as possible
that the story of Jesus is actually being told. We prefer the latter, although
the former is possible, we admit. For this reason (among others) we tend to
see verse 45 as an authentic Son of Man saying that belongs here even if Mark
(or the tradition) redacted it here.
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: (Hover your mouse over to pause cycling)
Jb 38:1-7,(34-41) or * Is 53:4-12
Ps 104:1-9,24,35c * Ps 91:9-16
Heb 5:1-10
Mk 10:35-45
(Job 38:1-7)
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: "Who is this that darkens
counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will
question you, and you shall declare to me. "Where were you when I laid
the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined
its measurements-- surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On
what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars
sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?
(Job 38:34-41)
"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters
may cover you? Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go and say
to you, 'Here we are'? Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding
to the mind? Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the
waterskins of the heavens, when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cling
together? "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite
of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their
covert? Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God,
and wander about for lack of food?
* (Isaiah 53:4-12)
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted
him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that
made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the
iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not
open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep
that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion
of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was
cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my
people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although
he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was
the will of the LORD to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering
for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him
thewill of the LORD shall prosper. Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant,
shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I
will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with
the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with
the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for
the transgressors.
(Hebrews 5:1-10)
Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining
to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able
to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject
to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins
as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this
honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ
did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the
one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you";
as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, according
to the order of Melchizedek." In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered
up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was
able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and
having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all
who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the
order of Melchizedek.
(Mark 10:35-45)
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. " And
he said to them, "What is it you want me to do for you?" And they
said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your
left, in your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what
you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized
with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They replied, "We are
able." Then Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink;
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to
sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those
for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this, they began to
be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, "You
know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord
it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so
among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son
of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for
many."
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
Rene Girard and the Recovery of Early Christian Perspectives (Brethren Life and Thought)
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
