So What?
In his book The Power of Intention, Wayne
Dyer speaks of intentionality as the key to living a renewed lifestyle. His
comments dovetail quite nicely with what we have been discussing about Agape.
Love is the ‘single most powerful energy.’ He observes that intention
is loving, we would say that Love is intentional. Unlike the ‘randomness’
of scapegoating, Love is directed purposefully toward the other.
What is Love? It is described as intention
in I Corinthians 13, where ‘Jesus’ could just as easily be substituted
for ‘agape.’ It is directed action, concrete action in our relationships.
Does the world not recognize us as Jesus’
followers precisely because we do not love as Jesus loved, as God loved? Have
we so confused Agape with Eros that the world rightfully criticizes the Church
as an irrelevant institution? What is ‘new’ about the way Christians
relate to one another and their enemies? Or have we succumbed to the belief
that we can chose those whom we will love and how much we will love them?
Is our love the qualified Eros of the victimage religion or the unqualified
love of the Gospel? Who are we today?
Anthropological Reading
As we have journeyed through the Gospels
we have become aware that there are two different worlds, that created by
humanity (the ‘kosmos’) and that created by God in Christ (the
‘kaine ktisis’). The world we have created, that is, human culture
in all of its aspects is grounded in violence. The world of God has its origins
and end in love.
Christianity has long proclaimed the
love of God and rightly so. But if we look at typical theological paradigms,
it is apparent that God’s love is limited or restricted to those whom
he has either chosen or called or to those who have ‘accepted Christ.’
In other words, typical theological models begin with a premise that God’s
love is neither universal nor whole. We have demonstrated (ad nauseum we fear)
that modern Christianity in far too many of its forms has not followed the
lines laid down in the New Testament regarding God’s love but has conformed
its perceptions of the being and character of God to that of the mimetic religions.
Love is misunderstood today. It is qualified.
Biblical love or God’s love is quite different. In the 1960’s
we experienced a social revolution partially grounded in a new examination
and appropriation of love. It was called ‘free love.’ Unfortunately,
it was neither free nor was it love. The love we spoke of in the 1960’s
drew part of it’s impetus from the gospels and the rediscovery of Jesus
(the Jesus Movement), but it quickly degenerated into ‘eros’ where
free love became free sex. Many today long wistfully for those days when we
felt free to love anyone indiscriminately. We do so because indeed, indiscriminate
love is the way God loves, God is ‘no respecter of persons.’ We
fail because we have equated love (agape) with feeling (eros) or mutuality
(philos). Agape transforms both eros and philos.
Today’s text brings to the fore
the reality of agape. But is also exposes the character of mimetic violence
which is ‘false love.’ What do we mean? In conversation with Girard,
Jean Michel Oughourlian in Things Hidden from the Foundation of the World
has said, "Love is the true demystifying power because it gives the victims
back their humanity.” Victimage as we have seen mythologizes or demonizes
the victim, blames the victims for societal conflict. Jesus was also demonized
by his cultural opponents; he was accused of acting under the power of the
devil, he was accused of being possessed by the devil.
Girard points out “As Anders Nygren
clearly saw, there is a radical opposition between love in the Christian sense
and the Greek concept of Eros – even if the term agape is not always
used to express the Christian concept in the New Testament. But love is certainly
not a renunciation of any form of rationality or an abandonment to the forces
of ignorance. Love is at one and the same time the divine being and basis
of any real knowledge. The New Testament contains what amounts to a genuine
epistemology of love, the principle of which is clearly formulated in the
first Epistle of John: ‘ He who loves his brother abides in the light,
and in it there is no cause for stumbling. But he who hates his brother is
in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going,
because the darkness has blinded his eyes.’
Love is the only true revelatory power
because it escapes from, and strictly limits, the spirit of revenge and recrimination
that still characterizes the revelation in our own world, a world in which
we can turn that spirit into a weapon against our own doubles, as Nietzsche
also showed. Only Christ’s perfect love can achieve without violence
the perfect revelation toward which we have been progressing – in spite
of everything – by way of the dissensions and divisions that were predicted
in the Gospels.” (Things Hidden)
Love fundamentally reconciles, that is
it’s character. But so does violence. God’s love and violence
have the same goal: reconciliation and the unity of relationships. But they
are of an entirely different character and essence. Love is actively forgiving,
it is non-retaliatory. Girard says, “This non-violence, which seems
so inconsequential when attributed to a God who transcends human affairs,
changes its character radically if we transpose it to this world – if
mankind takes it as a model for interpersonal conduct. If the Father is as
the Son describes him, the Word of the Son is indeed the Word of the Father.
It is not a gratuitous representation; it describes the very being of the
Father. It invites us to become like the Father, by behaving as he behaves.
The Word of the Father, which is identical with the Father, consists in telling
mankind what the Father is, so that people may be able to imitate him: ‘Love
your enemies, pray for your persecutors; so you shall be children of your
Father.”
If we are honest, we will admit that
there is very little of the Father’s love being shown in Christianity
today, for the Father’s love is enemy love. This can be seen clearly
in the parable of the Good Samaritan, whose love knows no ethnic or religious
boundaries but is extended even to the enemy. There is a lot of talk these
days about ‘aiding and abetting the enemy’ but this is precisely
what the Samaritan does. The Samaritan would no doubt have been considered
a traitor, one who committed treason by virtue of his care for the enemy victim.
But such is Gospel love. Do we not proclaim this with regard to ourselves
when we say that ‘while we were yet sinners, when we had considered
God our enemy, God demonstrated his love for us by sending Jesus to experience
death at our hands?’ And furthermore, that God forgives us when we demonize
and butcher his only Son?
Our text today, if heard aright, does
encourage us to have mushy feelings for one another, although that may be
a result of our loving action. It commands us to extend to one another the
kind of love that the Father extended to us in Jesus. There are no ifs, ands
or buts. There are no conditions or qualifiers. This command is ‘new’
because it is not qualified or discriminate. It is ‘new’ because
it has no limits or boundaries. Anything short of this is not ‘Agape’
but a subtle form of Eros.
Historical/Cultural
(Regrettably we do not have access to
Ceslaus Spicq’s Agape In the New Testament Vol 3 where he deals with
agape in the Johannine Literature but if you can find it, it will contain
valuable information.)
With reference to the Good Samaritan
Joachim Jeremias says, “Jesus means to say that the selfless help which
the crossbreed shows the helpless demonstrates that the commandment to love
knows no limits.” Furthermore, “the breadth of the commandment
to love is without parallel in the history of the time, and to this extent
the Fourth Gospel is quite correct in making Jesus describe the commandment
to love as a new commandment (John 13:34). Whereas Jewish morality made a
man’s personal enemy an exception to the commandment to love (‘You
shall show love to your compatriot [Lev 19:18], but you are not obliged to
do this to your adversary [Matt 5:43]) and indeed prohibited the giving of
bread to sinners (citing Tobit 4:17 and b. Sanh. 92a), Jesus requires his
disciples to love even those who do them wrong and persecute them.”
Theology of the New Testament
Raymond Brown (Commentary)
connects the ‘newness’ of the commandment with the covenental
character of the last meal. “The very idea that love is a commandment
is interesting. In the OT the Ten Commandments have a setting in the covenant
between God and Israel at Sinai; traditionally they were the stipulations
that Israel had to observe if it was to be God’s chosen people. In speaking
of love as the new commandment for those whom Jesus had chosen as his own
(13.1, 15.16) and as mark by which they could be distinguished from others
(vs 35), the evangelist shows implicitly that he is thinking of this Last
Supper scene in covenant terms.” And “Love is more than a commandment,
it is a gift and like the other gifts of the Christian dispensation it comes
from the father through Jesus to those who believe in him…The love that
Jesus has for his followers is not only affective but also effective; it brings
about their salvation…The mark that distinguishes God’s Love expressed
in the covenant from even the noblest forms of human love is that it is spontaneous
and unmotivated, directed to men who are sinners and unworthy of love –
a theme beautifully expounded in Anders Nygren’s classic Agape and Eros…Thus
as long as Christian love is in the world, the world is still encountering
Jesus; and so we can see that the commandment to love in vvs 34-35 is a response
to the problem raised by Jesus’ physical departure in vs 33.”
Peter F Ellis (The
Genius of John) also sees a covenantal connection: “The new commandment
is not only new in content – it is love unto death, whereas the old
love command of Lev 19:18 apparently never demanded so extreme a love –
but new as the commandment of the new covenant foretold by Jeremiah (Jer 31:31ff).
Schnackenburg (Commentary)
avers that the Love Commandment “cannot be explained simply as an antithesis
to the Old Testament commandment to love one’s neighbor (Lev 19:18)
and the interpretation of that commandment in Judaism. There is no support
for this. On the contrary it comes from the understanding that the Johannine
school had of Jesus’ person and work. For the members of that school,
the commandment to love one another was new in that it was given a distinctive
emphasis by Jesus, his service of others (cf. his washing of the disciples
feet) and his giving himself in death (Jn 15:13, I John 3:16).” On the
other hand he says, “The love that has been given to us in anticipation
by God opens up for us a new living space in which we can and should love
our brothers (sic) in an entirely new way…In the light of these texts
taken from I John, this ‘new commandment’ is not presented simply
as a moral demand. It is rather expressed above all as a new possibility which
calls imperiously and insistently for realization.”
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)
We need your help! Michael's
been invited to speak on "The Violent God" at the International School
of Theology in The Netherlands. We're trying to raise the money to make that
possible. Please click
here to read more about it.
Acts 9:36-43
Ps 23
Rv 7:9-17
Jn 10:22-30
Acts 11:1-18
Ps 148
Rv 21:1-6
Jn 13:31-35
(Acts 11:1-18)
Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles
had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the
circumcised believers criticized him, saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised
men and eat with them?" Then Peter began to explain it to them, step
by step, saying, "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance
I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven,
being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at
it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds
of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'
But I replied, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever
entered my mouth.' But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What
God has made clean, you must not call profane.' This happened three times;
then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men,
sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told
me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These
six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. He told
us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa
and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which
you and your entire household will be saved.'And as I began to speak, the
Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I
remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water,
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If then God gave them the
same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was
I that I could hinder God?" When they heard this, they were silenced.
And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles
the repentance that leads to life."
(Revelation 21:1-6)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first
earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the
new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See,
the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they
will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every
tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain
will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one
who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new."
Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning
and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of
the water
of life.
(John 13:31-35)
When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified,
and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will
also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children,
I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to
the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I am going, you cannot come.' I give
you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you,
you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are
my disciples, if you have love for one another."
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
