So What?
Apocalyptic, as an “anthropological
category” served one function up until the time of Jesus. In every other
manifestation of apocalyptic, the violence experienced by the community demands
a violent response, but the community transfers their violence onto God. It
is a step toward non-violence, as it moves violence a step away from us, but
it is inadequate. As we can see in the Qumran scroll “The War of the
Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness,” as soon as we allow God
to bear our violence for us, we have a God who sanctifies our own, we make
ourselves warrior reflections of our own projected violence. We make up holy
armies to fight the wars of our created God.
Jesus does not deny the reality of the
dissolution of human culture that apocalyptic predicts. He does, however,
separate it from God as a source, or a violent solution. He offers himself
as sacrifice to the victimage mechanisms that will also produce the violent
climax, thereby stripping them of their hiddenness and showing us how to avoid
becoming entangled in them.
We preach a Gospel that offers a better
hope than the one where God saves us from our violence by becoming violent
for us. We preach a Gospel wherein God defeats violence by suffering our violence,
defeats death by suffering our death, defeats Sin by becoming Sin for us.
There is no longer any need to respond to terror with terror, because there
is nothing of which to be terrified. We no longer need to return violence
for violence, because violence no longer has the power to bring its faux peace.
We preach a Gospel that is more confident
in God’s solution because it is not just a larger version of ours.
Luke 21:5-19
Anthropological Reading
Today’s reading is less in the
way of exegesis or hermeneutics but more of a personal reflection.
Let’s talk terror today. There
was a time when the United States knew about terrorism as a non-domestic phenomenon.
There was a time we were afraid of nuclear missiles screaming down upon our
heads but bombings and attempts to stop economies happened elsewhere. But
not here.
Until 9/11.
Since then, we too have been caught in
the fear that now grips the entire planet, there is not a country that is
not exposed to terror. We hear that it is not a matter of “if”
but “when.” And we spend incredible sums of money to try and figure
out when. We call that intelligence. The disciples were no different, they
wanted to know when too. They knew about the birth pangs of the Messiah, it
was a stock piece of the program of apocalyptic. They wanted to know when
so they could have a chance to escape. Jesus gives them a ‘talk.’
In mimetic theory ‘Apocalyptic
is an anthropological category’ (Tony Bartlett). That is, apocalyptic
is a description of the human condition under the sway of the victimage mechanism.
Apocalyptic describes the end results of our corporate human bondage to the
evil of violent mimesis. Apocalyptic is about the judgement of our systems,
our institutions, our structures. Apocalyptic, at least in the teaching of
Jesus, is the triumph of the Love of God over all evil.
So what is Jesus talking about? He is
talking about the last five minutes of the movie. He’s describing a
time of both globalization and planetary anomalies. And he could very well
be describing the present. If you read the papers you know that the great
nuclear race is back on again. There is trouble afoot. And whether you accept
the science behind global warming or not, you can’t help but be aware
of the vast changes we humans have made to the earth’s ecosystems these
past two hundred years, especially this past fifty. Its ‘The Day After
Tomorrow’ meets ‘The Sum of All Fears.’
Nowhere but nowhere is God the source
of any of this. It all stems from the human. It is the time of the self-immolation
of the human. It is the time of our self-destruction. Ask the climatologists
what their projections are for the next twenty years. Read the Pentagon report
on the environment where climate change is viewed as a threat to national
security (in Fortune magazine Jan. 2004). How much can countries withstand
before they fall apart? How close are the “Powers and Principalities
of his age” to reaching their goals and how desperate will they become
before the end?
To be sure, it is easy to read this discourse
in the light of the events in Jerusalem in the late 60’s C.E. It’s
just as easy to wonder if there isn’t some consonance with what is reported
on the news. The collapse of sacrificial systems, the failure of the principles
that prop up the victimage mechanism (prohibition, ritual, myth), and the
exponential ratcheting up of the consequences are all signs of what can only
be described in apocalyptic terms.
Perhaps people will survive all this
all over the world. But if they do, try and imagine what '‘the world'’
will be like for them. Imagine ‘Mad Max’ meets ‘Dawn of
the Dead.’ It’s just not pretty. But neither is our text for today.
There is coming a time when a generation of humanity will carry the burden
of our corporate sins. Who is to say we will not be the ones? Or our children
or grandchildren?
Finally, there will be no rapture because
there is no such thing as a rapture. The followers of Jesus will go through
hell during this time, along with everyone else on the planet. Not very comforting
but then who said the facts about the war in Iraq, nuclear ambitions in the
Mid-East and Asia, the growing phenomenon of terror, increasing social conflicts
and violence, increasing poverty, genocide in the Sudan, bombings all over
the place, or AIDS are comforting? Today we are called to confront the lifestyles
we lead that produce such realities. And wait for the coming Son of Man.
Apocalyptic is a perspective we can take
on our world. It is a category that seems to encompass all known terrors happening
at once. Apocalyptic is honest literature. It doesn’t paint a rosy picture
of the end. The gross amount of violence and violation that takes place in
apocalyptic literature is stunning. Whatever occurs after the end, usually
a last judgement, would be good, but the end itself? Well you would not want
to be of that generation.
Year C begins and ends in apocalyptic,
Year A will open with it. If apocalyptic is used poorly, it will manifest
the need for scapegoats, thus revealing itself as Christian myth. The Left
Behind series is a prime example of such thinking, this is a literature full
of ‘good violence’ and ultimate scapegoats (people who end up
in the hands of a retributive god). Their misrepresentation of the end should
not keep us from reading the signs of the times. We might acknowledge that
the time may be short but somebody had better tell rapture believers that
when the final breakdown of human culture occurs and we humans set ourselves
on a one way path to annihilation that the ABBA of Jesus will be with us all
to the end.
The myth of human progress has taken
many forms. Communist, utopian, Socialist, Democratic, capitalist. There are
many dreams, there are many dreamers. The early Christians were not such dreamers.
The early Christians experienced being charged with atheism. Why? Because
they denied the powers of the gods of the state, it was as though the gods
didn’t exist for the early Christians and everybody everywhere believed
in gods. Who were these people for whom there appeared to be no earthly or
heavenly authority? And who was this common criminal they were following,
a Jew at that?
Apocalyptic as an anthropological category
means that we can ‘read ourselves’ from the text. It plays to
the ‘text reading us’ side of the hermeneutic. Every generation
ought to wonder if they are in the last act. Hate and death and war won’t
last forever but it will go out with a big bang! Are we ready?
Historical/Cultural
Luke’s version of ‘the little
apocalypse’ was surely meant to be interpreted in the light of what
had only recently occurred in Jerusalem. The destruction of the Temple was
to the ancient Jews and Christians what 9/11 is for us today. It was an apocalyptic
event. It meant something. If Theissen is correct and the little apocalypse
took shape in the Jerusalem church in the 40’s it is understandable
that it would be incorporated as a piece of fulfilled prophecy in the gospel
narrative post 70 C.E.
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 28, Year C
Is 65:17-25 or * Mal 4:1-2a
Is 12(resp) * Ps 98
2 Thes 3:6-13
Lk 21:5-19
(Isaiah 65:17-25)
For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall
not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what
I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people
as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more
shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. No more
shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person
who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will
be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered
accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards
and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall
not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my
people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall
not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring
blessed by the LORD-- and their descendants as well. Before they call I will
answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall
feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent--its
food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain,
says the LORD.
(Isaiah 12:1-6)
You will say in that day: I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you
were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me. Surely God
is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is
my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw
water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day: Give thanks
to the LORD, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim
that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal
Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
* (Malachi 4:1-2a)
See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all
evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the
LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for
you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in
its wings.
(2 Thessalonians 3:6-13)
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep
away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition
that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate
us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone's bread
without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so
that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that
right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were
with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.
For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies,
not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus
Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and
sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
(Luke 21:5-19)
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful
stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, "As for these things that
you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another;
all will be thrown down." They asked him, "Teacher, when will this
be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" And
he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my
name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them. "When
you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things
must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Then
he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and
plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you;
they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought
before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity
to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance;
for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be
able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and
brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will
perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
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
