Be Careful Who You Copy
A Reflection on Romans 1:1-7 for Advent 4A
WHEN DESIRES CLASH
When I decided to explore the epistle readings in the Advent Lectionary, I didn’t take the time to see what they are. I just knew that my writing had focused on the Gospels for so long that I needed to expand into new territory. For the first three weeks, it was fun to experience the Advent season in this different way, but then I got to Advent 4A. As I read and re-read Paul’s greeting at the beginning of his letter to the Romans, and tried to find anything to inspire me in the commentaries, I began to think I’d made a mistake. The words in this short, dry passage seemed so far removed from Advent that I wasn’t sure I could keep my commitment to the epistles. But then one sentence struck me, and I saw what I had been missing.1 But before we get to that, I need to make a quick detour through the thoughts of René Girard as discussed by James Alison, Brian McLaren, and Cameron Trimble.
Philosopher René Girard developed what is known as the mimetic theory of human desire.2 Essentially, he claimed that human beings learn to desire mimetically—i.e. through imitation. Whether it is related to identity, social norms, or material needs, our desires do not arise spontaneously or as the result of instinct, but through copying those around us. Predictably, when we all learn to want certain things by imitating those who already desire those things, we become rivals, competing—often violently—to achieve the object of our shared desire. This violence leads to social breakdowns, and so human societies have learned to create a safer and more controllable outlet for this violence through the mechanism of scapegoating. This is when a particular person or group is identified as different and therefore dangerous, and is excluded, banished, harmed, or even killed, thereby channelling our violence toward the scapegoat, and creating catharsis and unity in the rest of society. As James Alison puts it, “Potential disintegration has been replaced with unity, a unity that seems supernatural or magical in its power”.3 So effective is this scapegoating that societies tend to ritualise it in some way in order to keep the peace.4
Theologian Cameron Trimble beautifully describes the impact of this “mimetic cycle of violence’ and how Jesus responded to it when she writes:
Theologically, this is the opposite of incarnation. Instead of God-with-us, fear insists on us-against-them. Instead of solidarity, it builds scapegoats. It crucifies what it does not understand.
The Gospels expose that logic by letting it play out. Jesus absorbs the collective fear of his time—religious, political, economic—and refuses to return it. The resurrection is not divine revenge. It’s divine refusal: You can kill love, but you can’t make it hate you back.5
When we shift our need to imitate away from the competitive framework of society and commit ourselves to following—that is, imitating—Jesus, we purify our desires, replace rivalry with friendship and collaboration, and trade hatred and exclusion for love, peace, and welcome. And this is what Paul’s letter to the Romans is all about—which brings us back to his greeting.
PAUL’S JOURNEY
Paul’s letter to the Romans begins with one long sentence6 in which Paul introduces himself and his core message to Christian communities which he had not founded. The Roman church, which was not a single entity but consisted of many groups in the city, was made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers, and it seems that there was significant tension between them.7 There was also the threat of false teachers, similar to the ones Paul confronted in Galatians, who were spreading dissension and a legalistic ’Gospel’.8 In response to these challenges, and as an attempt to gain the support of the Roman Christians for his mission to Spain,9 the apostle wrote this letter opposing these false teachers and calling the believers to embrace their freedom in Christ.
The first thing Paul wanted the Romans to know about him was that he was a slave of Christ (1:1). While the Roman Christians may not have known this about him, the apostle had not always been so devoted to Christ, but had rather been much more like the false teachers he now opposed. Nevertheless, at the outset, he made clear that everything he said and did was at his master’s bidding. He was now an imitator of Christ’s message, mission, and desires. As Valérie Nicolet writes:
In the Roman world, a slave was considered good if he or she reflected the will of his or her master and adapted his or her own will to the will of the master. Paul is not speaking out of his own mind, but, as a slave, reflects the will and authority of his master, Christ.10
