Philippians 3:17-4:1
President Calvin Coolidge invited some people from his hometown to dinner at the White House. Since they did not know how to behave at such an occasion, they thought the best policy would be just to do what the President did. The time came for serving coffee. The President poured his coffee into a saucer. As soon as the home folk saw it, they did the same. The next step for the President was to pour some milk and add a little sugar to the coffee in the saucer. The home folks did the same. They thought for sure that the next step would be for the President to take the saucer with the coffee and begin sipping it. But the President didn’t do so. He leaned over, placed the saucer on the floor and called the cat. (Author unknown)
Following another’s lead can be humorous, eye opening, even challenging. Paul is writing to the church in Philippi asking them to be imitators of him. Several other times Paul expresses this thought, “I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me” (1 Cor. 4:16). In 1 Corinthians he connects all the dots. Paul writes, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). READ
Sewing uses patterns, dancing employs steps, yoga poses.
Painting, writing, golfing all use some form of imitation to learn.
Cooking uses a recipe to get the proportions right.
Fashion is imitation with a twist. Try to think of something you do today that when you started out you did not imitate someone or something. I think you would be hard pressed.
Typing, singing, speaking the list goes on and on. Imitating a skill for a while, well we call an apprenticeship, learning through doing, learning through imitation.
Eventually an apprentice become a master in the trade, internalizing what was imitated.
In the Greek, imitate comes from the word “mimesis” which means to imitate or mimic. A parallel is “mime” (Websters). When we follow a pattern, we mimic, when we reflect something without words then it is a mime. Both are imitations. The saying goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery (Charles Caleb Colton). The thought here is that one imitates someone else because one admires that person or values what that person is doing.
I knit this intricate sweater with 6 or 7 different stitches. Now some might then call me a knitter, but I would not. I need someone around to pick up my dropped stitches, to help me start the next pattern, to guide me. I never internalized knitting. Melanie who worked in our office is a very good knitter. She could do it in her sleep. It has become a part of her, that she taught her son and daughter to knit, and whips out baby clothes in a few sittings. She is a knitter. So when we think about what Paul is asking us to do, it is not just imitate the behaviors we think Jesus wants us to do, simply imitate Christ. Paul is asking us to become like Christ to become a Christian just like Melanie became a knitter.
Imitating Christ. As Christians we strive to imitate Christ all the time. Imitate Christ in prayer, communion, servanthood, humility. Paul is gracious enough to help us with a more human example, asking us to imitate him. We imitate Paul, and Paul of course is imitating Christ. That is exactly how faith becomes contagious, when we see the light and love of Christ in others and seek to imitate that. But imitation does not require vulnerability. You just do what someone else does.
In our Old Testament lesson, Abram does something different, something that is counted as righteousness. Abram shares his deepest pain, his thorn, with God. Abram wants an heir, a child to carry on the family name. Remember Abram and his wife are already in their 70s. He has faithfully followed God, left his home, traveled to Egypt and is wanting to have his own flesh and blood be his heir, not his slave. God promises he will have a son, but doesn’t give any specifics. Abram will have to wait, trust. It is Lent so let us get vulnerable for a moment. What is the one thing you pray God will give you? The thorn in your side? You live your life faithfully, but this one thing seems to allude you. For me it is not having a life partner, much like Abram wanted a son. Honestly and vulnerably bringing that prayer to God, Abram got a response. That is our task during Lent. To lay our sticky points of faith at God’s feet through prayer. Baring our souls to God and then trusting, believing God will respond. Abram believed and that is counted as righteousness.
First, imitate Paul who is imitating Christ. Next, be vulnerable with God in our prayers. You can’t just hide in imitating, you must get honest about what is going on inside of you and sharing that with God. Your internal journey of prayer and honesty is how you move from imitator of Christ to a true Christian, from going through the motions to finding deep faith in God.
Adult Education people are sharing their stories of faith, how they have attended church their whole life, but then say at a retreat, they felt the presence of God, transformed by the spirit. Worship, soaking up scripture, sharing in communion these are all things we do to imitate Christ. But it is when we are vulnerable, when we share our hearts with God that we experience God in the fullness. The rituals, the imitations lay the groundwork for the Spirit to move or help us to understand after God has touched us with the Holy Spirit. We can’t make the Spirit come, but we can prepare the soil, turn the soil, for the seeds of deep faith to take root.
We are to imitate Christ but there are lots of people who might be worthy of imitation. One commentator asks, “Why not Buddha, or Confucius, why not Mohammad or Gandhi, why not Martin Luther King Jr, or Anne Frank?” (Feasting on the Word, C2, p.62) You might want to add your grandmother or Abraham Lincoln. No matter how good each one of those might be, they are only human. Following them, we would be denying the cross, denying Christ. Jesus is the only one who is the Son of God. The only one who died for your sins. The only one who reigns in glory. That is why we imitate Christ. We might imitate Paul, we might imitate the person who taught us the faith, we might imitate our camp counselor. But all of them are imitating Jesus.
Earlier in Philippians (2:6-8), we have an example from Christ. Jesus emptied himself, no longer equal with God so that he could be the one we imitate, completely human. That is so important. Jesus asks us to imitate him, but not in his divinity, but in his humanity. I don’t know about you but trying new things is hard, imitating others is risky. If I think I am going to fail, I don’t want to try. We could never imitate Christ in his perfect divine. Jesus knew that. So he emptied himself, humbled himself so we have a way to relate to him, to imitate him. This humbled, emptied Jesus was also obedient. He showed us how to pray, he transformed the Passover to our Holy Communion, he taught us every human life intrinsically has dignity, and asked us to care for one another. But his true obedience came when he willingly died on the cross so that you and I might have life. His sacrifice grants us hope and certainty. Sit with that as we journey through lent.
Let us pray. God of vulnerability and truth, we seek to imitate you, to mimic your ways and do what is right in God’s eyes. Now we silently lay bare our souls in this moment, giving our pain, our struggle, our hurt over to you. Hold each one in your perfect care. Confident in your wisdom and mercy, help us to believe you have got us covered, you hear us and respond. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
