Interim Contributing Theologian

I am Paul Nuechterlein, a parish pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Portage, MI (Kalamazoo). For those who don't know me, I've been active with the larger Girardian community -- the Colloquium on Violence and Religion (COV&R) -- for more than 20 years, and with Theology & Peace since the beginning. In the late 90's I began developing lectionary pages around Girard's anthropology, which in 2001 became the website "Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary."

I was elected to the Theology & Peace Board in 2012, and last Fall was appointed by the Board to serve as Interim Contributing Theologian (succeeding Tony Bartlett until the Board finds a permanent replacement). One of my duties is to make regular contributions to this blog. Tony graced us with wonderful essays. I'm going to approach it a bit differently. Since I already write on a regular basis for my website, I will occasionally share brief portions from my website along with a link to the longer reflections.

It is an honor to serve you as Contributing Theologian. Grace and peace to all as we begin 2014!

Breaking Bread with the Christ Child

Since Christmas is so close, I will start with noting my most recent blog post Unwrapping the Future which is about the challenge Christmas poses for us. I don't mean to spoil Christmas but to deepen its meaning to strengthen us in a world growing darker and colder.

To take a step back, there is an Advent meditation called Whose Axe, Whose Winnowing Forks? This draws the contrast between John the Baptist along with the prophetic tradition of Israel and Jesus.

I also posted an article I wrote for the Abbey Letter which deals with Mary, a suitable subject for Advent and Christmas called Mary in the Place of Shame and Glory.

I complemented by mini-series on Baptism with a three-part mini-series on the Eucharist which has overlapping themes with the former. The first post is Eucharist: Christ our Passover. You can follow the links in the posts to get to the second and third parts.

Questions of the human self in light of mimetic theory and the Gospel have been a growing preoccupation with me. I have begun exploring this in my post I Me Me Mine which brings in George Harrison, Thomas Merton and others.

I have also compiled a page that lists blog posts by the seasons of the year as an aid for those who wish to look them up in that way.

If you prefer, you can go straight to the main page of my blog Imaginary Visions of True Peace.

A blessed Christmas Tide to all.

Baptism and Resurrected Life

Since my last post on this blog, I have added several more items to my blog. Since resentment is a big problem for all of us, I have posted two articles on the subject: Resentment: the Glue that Keeps us Stuck Together  and Renouncing Resentment.

On a more positive note is Mimetic Laughter which looks at an aspect of positive mimesis which is often overlooked.

Caring for the Dead has some thoughts for All Souls day and how we can continue to relate to the departed in positive and healthful ways. Related to this is Jesus Explodes with Life: His Reply to the Sadducees which opens us up to the explosion of the resurrected life.

The Secret Zoo is a charming but also spiritually challenging set of five novels for young readers as well as older ones that I comment on briefly in Uncovering the Secrets of the Secret Zoo Anyone with children in their lives who might like to read about children riding a polar bear and a rhinoceros should get these books.

I have just completed a series on Baptism: Overwhelmed by Christ's Love This link takes you to the first article. You can navigate to the next two from that.

Or, you can go to the main page of the blog & read down.

Mimetic desire and truth

Truth and mendacity are two important concerns in Girard's mimetic theory, particularly when it comes to the sacrificial mechanism that in ancient times only worked when the truth of the victim was not known. I have completed a five-part series called "Mimetic Desire and Truth" that explores some of the basic ways that mimetic desire can be constructive and help us discern the truth, not as individuals but as a society but also ways that rivalrous desire obscures the truth. You can get a page with links to each post on the above link or you can go to the first post and continue on from there.

Among other posts is a look at the Salem Witch Trials, a Girardian scenario if there ever was one, through the point of view of a judge who repented of his judgments in Bewitched, Bothered, and Repentant.

The Communal Good Shepherd looks at the Parable of the Good Shepherd and the Lost Sheep. The Good Shepherd in the Desert looks back to the desert journey of the Israelites with the help of a Christological take.

Cast out by the Outcasts looks at the dynamics of the Ten Lepers who were healed by Jesus and what helps and what hinders gratitude.

Mary & Mimetic Desire

Those of you who attended the first T&P meeting in Chicago might remember that I presented a paper called Living by the Breath of God. This was and is something of a manifesto for developing Christian spirituality with an in the truth of mimetic desire. I decided to post this paper on my blog for those who wish to review it or read it for the first time. In retrospect, I see that it has set the direction for my continuing thoughts over the past years.

The Feast of St. Mary the Virgin was on August 15 and I posted my reflections on Our Lady and the tradition of the Assumption in Mary's Blessedness, Everybody's Blessedness.  In this article, I refer to Drasko Dizdar's magnificent book Sheer Grace which I strongly recommend for a deep Girardian exploration of the Eucharist and the Church Year.

Two days later, I got to preach on Jesus' hard saying about bringing a sword (or Division) instead of Peace. This from the Prince of Peace of all people" This raises the question whose sword he was talking about  which I discuss in Human Swords, God's Peace.

Since I have now posted quite a few articles on mimetic desire, and since the concept is unfamiliar to many, I have had to constantly add cross-references, I have put all these articles together on a page called Mimetic Desire and Mimetic Rivalry that will expand with new entries. This will be handy for a review or to help any newbie get oriented as to what this is all about.

Speaking of mimetic desire, I have just started what I expect to be a series of posts called Mimetic Desire and Truth. The first post in the series is available here. Stay tuned for more!

The main page of the blog for those who wish to go there is here.

The more I explore mimetic desire and the more implications I see for its applicability for the Christian life and the human life in this time that continues to become more turbulent, the more important I think it is to spread the word about it through our own reflections and making the reflections of our friends and colleagues known to others. I know that time is finite for all of us, but telling people we know when we have a chance, sharing links on Facebook & sending tweets and retweets on Twitter can all help spread the word.

Transfigured Mirror Neurons

I start with Mary & Martha who were featured in the Gospel reading a couple of weeks ago. My reflections are posted in Mary and Martha at the Feet of Jesus.

 Then I finally got around to writing a post briefly introducing mirror neurons for those who haven't heard the rumors from the scientific world about them in Mirroring Desires.

Some follow-up reflections exploring a few more ramifications of mimetic desire are posted in Connecting our Desires.

With the Feast of the Transfiguration coming up Tuesday August 6, I posted these thoughts in Transfiguration of the Material World.

If you want, you can go straight to the main page of Imaginary Visions of True Peace.

Ever wanted to have Christmas in July? Well, here is a chance. Thanks to a friend of the abbey, we have just posted an eBook version of my collection of Christmas stories called Born in the Darkest Time of Year. Kindle & Nook formats are available for $4.00 per copy. (my publisher hasn't bothered to do these formats.) You can order paperback hard copy of any of my books from the Abbey's website. PayPal is accepted. If you don't have an account with PayPal & don't want to make one, you can check out just using a credit card.

Mimetic Desert Monastics, Apostles, & Other Creatures

Tomorrow, I start out for this year's COV&R Conference at Cedar Falls, IA. For those who are going, and I hope there are many of you, be sure to be there in time for the panel discussion of Wolfgang Palaver's new book René Girard's Mimetic Theory as it will be discussed by a MOST distinguished panel.

It has been a while since I gave you an update on my blog Imaginary Visions of True Peace so I have some updating to do.

Dispossessing a Town Possessed is based on a sermon on this most Girardian of NT texts.

I didn't preach for Saints Peter & Paul but I re-worked an earlier article on the feast called Peter & Paul: The Church's Quest for Mimetic Unity

Being a native-born US citizen, I thought I would share a few thoughts on our national holiday called On Being Interdependent on Independence Day.

This brings me back to the COV&R conference coming up. I will be presenting a paper Desert Monastics as Hidden Models. Those of you who are coming can hear it live & discuss it. For those who aren't coming or  are going to one of many other good presentations can read it on my blog.

St. Benedict's day is coming up. I will miss being at the abbey, but it turns out that James Alison is celebrating the anniversary of his ordination on the day & I will be preaching. My sermon is An Extraordinarily Ordinary Saint.

On a sadder note, I will pass on the news for those who may not have heard: Bob Hammerton-Kelly suffered a severe stroke last week. Yesterday, when it became clear he wasn't coming back, the family took him off to life support and played a Mozart aria while he passed on.

Hope to see you in Iowa.