alternatives

Two Sundays ago our gospel reading was from Matthew 22.1-14, which is the parable of a King who throws a wedding banquet for his son. The "traditional" interpretation of this parable is an allegorical one with God as the tyrannical King, the King's absentee son as Jesus, etc. However, there is an alternative interpretation that I stumbled upon during my research. I found it on the Girardian lectionary website. Rene Girard, pictured right, is a philosopher (among other things) who has made quite a contribution to the doctrine of atonement in his scapegoat and mimetic desire theories. It's all heady stuff, but quite helpful to those of us who are working with congregations and Biblical texts. The Girardian lectionary interprets Biblical texts in light of Girard's theories and the interpretation for our gospel lesson above is wonderfully unique! Click here to get to the site. To read the full text of the essay on the gospel reading written by Marty Aiken, click on The Kingdom of Heaven Suffers Violence:
Discerning the Suffering Servant in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet.