To propose a political reading of scripture is immediately to pick an argument with a whole spectrum of exegetical schools...A well-established rival is the tradition of theological hermeneutics, both scholastic and pietist. This tradition has exposited the Gospels in a way analogous to mining for precious metals: the "gold" of timeless and universal theological principle or churchly dogma is carefully extracted from the "ore" of historical or social particularities, which are sluiced away. Wrested away from history and practice, the kerygma thus becomes the domain of abstract thought or "spiritual" reflection--that is, the domain of the theologians! This "theological ideology which is ever-already at work in bourgeois exegesis" reads the text from the "idealistic site of interiority" rather than the "bodily site of exteriority" (Belo, 1981:259). Such a suppression of the fully human, concretely socio-historical character of the Gospel is nothing less than a perpetuation of the docetic heresy.
Ched Myers has a definite chip on his shoulder throughout his exegetical opus Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus. Simply, he argues most Christians, especially American ones, are rooted in the structures of "empire" and hence unable or unwilling to embrace the political discipleship program Mark's gospel narrative advocates. Armed with Marxist critical theory and inspired by liberation theologists, Myers conducts a careful, close analysis of the narrative structure of the gospel, viewing everything within a political, sociological perspective. Sounds downright dull, right?
Actually, despite Myers' sententious prosody--I mean, the man has to say "itinerate" rather than travel or walk--, Myers' commentary unveils and reveals a lot of the internal structure and symbolics (another favorite Myers word) at work within Mark's narrative. At many points during his commentary I was surprised to find alternative readings for passages whose relevance and meaning I once thought was clear, incontrovertible: The elderly widow placing a penny in the church fund, Nicodemus requesting the body of Jesus be entombed prior to the sabbath. The standard take, given how Mark organizes his material, may not be what we believe. The elderly widow demonstrates how the temple is bleeding people dry and is not a case of selfless, pious generosity. Nicodemus wants the body of Jesus off the cross quickly to avoid uprisings; he does not provide the body of Jesus with a decent funeral--that's why the ladies show up with the necessary materials the next day.
This book is difficult to read and digest, but, trust me, perseverance pays off. While I don't always agree with Myers, his method yields unique insights into Mark's gospel which warrant reflection. Myers is cognizant of alternative critical systems and is vigilant in maintaining that his critical methodology is superior. When he's talking critical theory, we can tune him out. But when he's talking about Mark, we should listen. He sticks close to the text, close to careful readings which demonstrate that Myers is definitely onto something here. I may not always agree, but I cannot deny his methodology unveils new, viable ways of understanding a story we all thought we already understood.
To read and reread Mark takes us ever deeper into the ongoing struggle to promote the practice repentance and resistance in the locus imperium. Philip Berrigan has likened this struggle to the biblical parable of Jonah. Like the beleaguered prophet, we have been, most of us, in full flight from out vocation to "cry against the great city" (Jon 1:1). It is only when we have abandoned--or are thrown overboard from--the metropolitan "ship-of-state," so to speak, that we are able to awaken to imperial reality in the "belly of the beast." Only there do Christians realize that "those who pay allegiance to vain idols forsake their true loyalty" (Jon 2:8). Our task, in the well-known words of the nineteenth-century Cuban anti-imperialist writer Jose Marti, is to live "inside the monster and know its entrails."