So What?
Can the church any longer afford to preach
a God of compromising grace? How does it do so? By beginning with the premise
that God is just, holy and retributive. A dualistic God has been created within
Christian doctrine and it is time the Church began the journey away from this
god (who is no different from the other gods of the victimage mechanism) to
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we discern that Jesus’
abba is like the abba in the parable we must renounce retribution in all of
its forms and ground our faith in the sheer forgiveness of our heavenly abba.
The challenge to clergy everywhere is
to examine all aspects of their theology to find out where God is not like
the abba of the parable and…to repent. If we are going to take seriously
the person and work of Jesus, it is high time we recognized that way too much
of the current preaching and teaching that is occurring is highly negatively
mimetic in character (which also explains why there is so little positive
mimesis).
We are called see that ‘violence
is no attribute of God’ (the Epistle to Diognetus) and that “no
one, for any reason, can kill in the name of God” (Pope John Paul II).
Christians have made plenty of enemies, but these enemies are not enemies
of Jesus, but of Christianity with its violent and retributive God (who in
the end is more merciless than even Judge Judy!). If the Church were to announce
and live the forgiveness of the gospel to all those we have made enemies how
much different would the world be today? Will we, like Jesus’ hearers,
be astonished to find such a remarkable, humble, loving, forgiving abba? Will
we, encountering such a Father, be transformed into his children? Will we
be parabled?
Sermon thoughts:
I’m taken by Michael’s suggestion
that our task as preachers is to help our congregations break out of the habit
of seeing ourselves as the “penitent” son, (whose penitence seems
more like self-interest to me) and find ourselves elsewhere in the parable.
It reminds me of one of the most difficult books I ever read, Henry Nouwen’s
“The Prodigal Son.” In it, he shares with us his struggles with
the famous painting of the moment of re-union by Rembrandt.
What made the book so troubling was Nouwen’s
insistence that it isn’t enough to find ourselves in the elder brother.
Ultimately, he told me that I am called to find myself in the father.
I think this is Michael’s point,
in some ways. The non-retributive father is indeed not only our Abba, but
our model. We are called to imitate him. There really is positive mimesis.
It’s awfully frightening to suggest that we are called to enflesh that
amazing kind of love ourselves, but if we aren’t, what’s the point
of the church?
Anthropological Reading
The parables of Jesus have been a field
where bounteous harvesting has occurred in the twentieth century. The first
two thirds of the last century focused on the historical-critical interpretation
of the parables, the last third has focused on literary and redactional interpretation.
A third method, that of Kenneth Bailey,
which he calls historical-cultural, has been sidelined but offers certain
controls that cannot be found in either of the two dominant strains of parable
interpretation. Contexting the parables in the light of native social systems
allows Bailey to discern certain elements of the parables that would seem
out of place or extraordinary to Jesus’ hearers. Today’s parable
has been given just such an interpretation by Bailey. His insights are congruent
with the interpretation of Jesus’ theology that has been proposed on
PreachingPeace.org in the light of mimetic theory.
Bailey suggests that at the beginning
of the parable, Jesus’ hearers would have been surprised that the elder
brother did not defend the honor of the father in the light of the younger
son’s ‘desire to see him dead.’ The silence of the elder
son indicates that he too shares the desire of his younger brother. Later
in the parable (if we have to do with one parable and not a combination of
two parables or Lukan redaction) the elder son displays his perception of
his relationship to his father full of anger, self-pity and pride.
The elder brother was ‘working’
for his father’s inheritance. This should not surprise us. We have met
plenty of people who are good to their parents so they can remain in their
parent’s will (legally speaking). The elder brother was out to ‘prove
his worth,’ he felt he deserved everything that was coming to him. The
father, not surprisingly, calls attention to the fact that the inheritance
had been split long ago (“everything I have is yours”).
The elder brothers desire for his ‘deferred’
inheritance which can be seen in his ‘it rightfully belongs to me’
attitude has a parallel in the younger son’s scheme to get back in the
father’s good graces (“I will set out and go back to my father
and say to him, ‘make me like one of your hired men’”).
Neither son has a clue as to the graciousness of their father. They do not
know his character.
The behavior of the Father causes two
reactions: in the younger son it produces humility, in the elder son it produces
anger. When the father ‘ran to his [younger] son” Bailey observes
that this action would have been humiliating. Old men do not run. Second,
old men who have been scorned by their children do not run; they act more
like the elder brother. This old man, this father, does the completely unexpected.
It is so unexpected that the younger son no longer has any scheme to get back
in his father’s good graces; it is so surprising that the elder son
who previously has been in a mimetic model/obstacle relationship with his
younger brother now turns against his own father.
What has occurred? We would suggest that
the father is a failed scapegoat. In the beginning of the parable, both sons,
one verbal, one silent, wish their father dead. But the father who takes this
insult and grants this request is as humble and forgiving in the beginning
of the parable as he is in the middle when he runs to the younger son and
at the end when he addresses the elder brother. The brothers are not reconciled
in their rejection of the father. A father who loves unconditionally and forgives
each son in the same way can never be sacralized. BUT a father who is unconditionally
gracious and forgiving can form the basis for a new family, by calling all
to forgiveness.
Some have seen the Jewish people represented
in the elder brother and the Gentiles in the younger son. If we are going
to read the parable this way in the twenty first century maybe we ought to
consider seeing the church in the elder son and ‘the world’ in
the younger son. This would make a more appropriate reading. As long as the
church identifies with the younger son (with ad nauseum sermons on repentance)
then it will not be able to hear Jesus as he speaks about the character of
his abba.
Finally, some have noted that it appears
that reconciliation occurs here without atonement and this has been a bother
for some. Actually, it is the point, there is no need to ‘repay’
God; God neither demands it nor requires it. Atonement is about reconciliation
not transaction.
Historical/Cultural
The works that we have found most helpful
include Kenneth Bailey Poet and Peasant, Joachim Jeremias The Parables of
Jesus, C.H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom and Robert Capon The Parables
of Grace. There are literally hundreds of studies on the parables that are
useful in many ways but these elucidate the mimetic conflicts in the parable
the best.
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) |
Jos 5:9-12
Ps 32
2 Cor 5:16-21
Lk 15:1-3,11b-32
(Joshua 5:9-12)
The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace
of Egypt." And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the
Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on
the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after
the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened
cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce
of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of
the land of Canaan that year.
(2 Corinthians 5:16-21)
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even
though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer
in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything
old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God,
who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry
of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,
not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of
reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making
his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to
God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God.
(Luke 15:1-3)
Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.
And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow
welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable:
(Luke 15:11b-32)
"There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father,
'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he
divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered
all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his
property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine
took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went
and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him
to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the
pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he
came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough
and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father,
and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before
you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your
hired hands."' So he set off and went to his father. But while he was
still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and
put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, 'Father,
I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called
your son.' But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly, bring out a robe--
the best one--and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his
feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for
this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And
they began to celebrate. "Now his elder son was in the field; and when
he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one
of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, 'Your brother has come,
and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe
and sound.' Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out
and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Listen! For all
these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed
your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might
celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured
your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!' Then
the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine
is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours
was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'"
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
