Luke 4.16 // Matt 11 -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

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Date Posted: 14:13:04 02/25/08 Mon
Author: Betsy Peters
Subject: Luke 4.16 // Matt 11

At church on Sunday morning, we read Matt 11. When the passaged opened
"Go and tell John the things which you hear and see. The blind see the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Blessed is he who is not skandelitzoed because of me."

As this passage was followed by a description of John the Baptist, my first thought was, this passage has nothing to do with the breaking down of mimetic violence and rivalry. But I was surprised by the way in which the passage ended

"Assuredly I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. For all the proets and the law prophesied until John. If you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come."

Notice, the skandelon comes and mimetic rivalry ends in this eternal state of the best as the lowest member--an eternal deference like the Pearl poet. The kingdom of heaven used to suffer violence, but under John in the wilderness, the rivalry is over. I have this nagging suspicion that Girard actually walked us through this passage, or one just like the Luke 4.16 passage we looked at in class today.

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