Though we are approaching Christmas, the Passion and the movement of the crowd is more the focus here today - again from Rene Girard. The Passion's violent unanimity results from a massive transference of scandals - a snowballing that becomes inescapable. When this happens the guilt of the victim becomes an absolute certainty to the participants and the expulsion and destruction of that victim is experienced by each one as a destruction of his or her own scandal - a personal liberation. When this happens peace immediately returns and the mob is no more. In the Passion - when Pilate submits to the crowd - agitation subsides. Unanimous violence produces peace that is rooted in Mimetic consensus. In the cross, it is not unanimous - the disciples eventually break away from it. In so many ways I think it is good that the disciples are shown to be - at best - cowards and common folk who cannot understand Jesus way as the Christ of God. The appear to be slow - inept. And yet, it will be these folks who will see the truth that comes forth from the Passion. They do not continue to go along with the crowd - they break away and begin to see and hear and experience the way of Jesus after the resurrection. The victim becomes the way rather than the way of the crowd that must make victim of others. Therefore, the Church becomes a power on the side with victims - with the left out - with the dirty ones - with the powerless. It does not rally them all to take over the powerful and the rich and the owners of societies precious ways. Rather, the followers of Jesus will be the presence of non-violent living that will always cause the 'powers' to get ruffled and want to put an end to anything that is not going along with the patterns of culturally accepted ways of keeping the order of things in place (I suppose we could read - keeping Satan in charge.). The violence of the world is not to be the way of the followers of Jesus. And yet, it is hard to see that we are indeed a part of the cultural patterns of violence. Connection: I just drove by a church that had a message on their sign board: Keep Christ in Christmas. It goes along with a trend among many Christians who try to make it look as though they are being persecuted - victims in a secular culture. And yet, the message I hear is one that tries to rally folks (the crowd) against anyone who is no thinking like these "Christians." The language used to set up a group of -often - unnamed, threatening people to blame for what is seen as an attack on Christmas has all the signs of the violence that has been around from the beginning of time. A violence - remember - into which Jesus did not and would not step. These 'Christians' may not be the violent 'crusaders' of the past, but their violence leaks out and infects the culture and the church with nothing more than the ways of the Father of Lies. As you walk with us, O God, save us from hiding behind a name. Make the followers of your Son, Jesus, a people who walk in his image even as we are tempted to merely speak his name in order to have our world as we would make it for ourselves. Amen. |
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