So What?
Preaching Peace does not mean defeating
evil, or death, or violence. Jesus declares his victory in the midst of the
violence visited upon him. The thief enters into that victory in the midst
of the same violence.
Lest we be accused of escapism, or quietism,
let me be clear. Our victory over the violence in this world does not call
us to remain silent, or to do nothing. It does, however, affect the manner
of our response.
Do we preach as those already victorious?
Do we encourage our congregations to minister from the awareness of their
victory?
Preaching is not about directing the
actions of our congregations. It is about setting their feet on a foundation
so firm and immovable that they can act out of confidence, not fear. Without
that confidence, they will inevitably be deceived by the violence that surrounds
them into believing that the violence is winning. They will be drawn into
the despair that says, “There’s nothing left to do but return
violence for violence.”
Preaching peace means preaching the victory
of Christ. Preaching peace means declaring that we are invited to join Jesus
in paradise now, today, and we are called to drag the rest of the world along
with us.
Anthropological Reading
Christ the King Sunday. Here we are,
singing, "All Hail the Power of Jesus Name!" at the top of our lungs,
and then we get this really, really depressing Gospel reading. Jesus, hanging
on the cross, comforting some poor slob who feels bad about what he's done,
and about what's happening to Jesus. We could've gotten somethng more fun.
We could've listened to the crowds shout "Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord!" as Jesus rides into Jerusalem. We could've
listened in on Pilate asking Jesus, "So, are you a king?" But no.
We have Jesus in his least kingly moment. Or so it would seem.
In the whole of the Passion Narrative,
there is only one human being who realizes what’s really happening prior
to the events of the resurrection. There is only one person, looking at Jesus
on the cross, who does not see disaster. Tradition calls him Dimas. Luke calls
him a thief.
We would have no mimetic theory were
it not for the events of this day. It is because God has exposed the Powers
and Principalities of this world for what they are through the events on Calvary
that we now have enough distance (barely) from the violence that we turn on
the scapegoat to name it. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross,
you and I will dwell with him in paradise today, too.
Did you notice?
Jesus didn’t say they’d dwell
together in paradise, “but, Dimas, you’ll have to wait three days,
till my father raises me from the dead.” He said, “today.”
Joining Jesus in paradise had nothing
to do with dying. It had nothing to do with being raised from the dead. It
had everything to do with seeing beyond the appearances to the truth, that
God is victorious in the cross. It has everything to do with the thief’s
realization that his own condemnation on the cross bore no relationship to
his standing before God. In that moment, he became free. In that moment, he
joined Jesus in paradise.
We are called to make that same paradise
a reality in this present moment, as Jesus did for Dimas. We are called to
point to the reality of Jesus’ kingship in the here and now, not to
point to it as some oft-promised reward for our perseverance. We can see beyond
the lies of this world to the one beyond because we see the meaning of the
cross.
Historical/Cultural
We have mentioned several times the work
of David Moessner on the travel narrative, “The Lord of the Banquet.”
In it, Moessner points out the importance of the hospitality Jesus is offered
as he makes his way toward Jerusalem, and, most interestingly in our consideration
of this pericope, the way that Jesus assumes time and again the role of host
in the houses that he visits. It is not difficult to see Jesus transcending
the setting here, and becoming the host, saying that he will have the thief
as his guest again that day.
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)
Proper 29, Year C (Reign Of Christ/Christ
The King)
Jer 23:1-6 or * Jer 23:1-6
Lk 1:68-79 (resp) * Ps 46
Col 1:11-20
Lk 23:33-43
(Jeremiah 23:1-6)
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says
the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the
shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and
have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend
to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. Then I myself will gather the
remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will
bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I
will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not
fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD.
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David
a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall
execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called:
"The LORD is our righteousness."
* (Jeremiah 23:1-6)
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says
the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the
shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and
have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend
to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. Then I myself will gather the
remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will
bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I
will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not
fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD.
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David
a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall
execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called:
"The LORD is our righteousness."
(Colossians 1:11-20)
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious
power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully
giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance
of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and
transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers--all
things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all
things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the
church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might
come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God
was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself
all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood
of his cross.
(Luke 23:33-43)
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus
there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus
said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."
And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching;
but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save
himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also
mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you
are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription
over him, "This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals who
were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah?
Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you
not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we
indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for
our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus,
remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly
I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
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
