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26
th
Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
September 28, 2014

Are we imitators or impersonators?

Mahatma Gandhi said: I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians
are so unlike your Christ. He made this statement in his struggle of justice for a people
in the face of the occupation of his native India.

We are called to be imitators of Jesus so that others can see him in us. But what is an
imitator?

There is a big difference between an imitator and an impersonator. Impersonators go to
great lengths to make people believe that they are who they are not!

On the other hand, imitators strive to live up to the challenge of reflecting in themselves
a person that they look up to. It is very hard to walk in the footsteps of others.
Sometimes younger brothers and sisters are expected be the same as an older sibling,
maybe a good student, well behaved, good mannered and so on. Most times the
standard is set so high that its just impossible to achieve and it becomes a total
frustration for the younger one.

Within our own church we may tend to look up to a very spiritual person and wonder if
we can ever achieve that kind of spirituality or relationship with God as well. Even at
work, there is the over achieving salesperson, or another co-worker who makes us
wonder if we have what it takes to live up to their high standards no matter how hard we
try.

Deep down I think we all realize that we will fall short of a perfect imitation.

Ultimately in the second reading St. Paul is not telling us about impersonating Christ! He
is telling us that we need to adopt Christ-like attitudes in all areas of our life. Be of the
same mind having the same love It is an unrealistic expectation to try to live up to
Gods standards on our own. That is a very tall order and it is not what God wants or
what he expects of us.

So what does it mean for us to be a reflection of Christ? Its not a call to be perfect, but
its an invitation to be honest with ourselves and to understand that God is doing
something unique and special in each one of us. His challenge is for us to live in a
manner that is counter cultural in todays society. St. Francis is credited to having said:
Go out and proclaim the Gospel, and if necessary use words. We are called to be
Christ by the way we live, by our actions and by our service to each other.

Next week is our annual Ministry Sunday, when we will be asked to put our actions and
service to the test and when each one of us will be called to live out the gift of service
that was given to us in baptism.
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Jesus emptied himself and became a slave. His own spirit of service and selflessness
is portrayed by Paul in todays second reading. It speaks of the awesome dignity of
Jesus as the Son of God, yet he didnt emphasize this in his life among us. Instead he
emptied himself and became just like us. He became a slave, a servant to us all, right
to the point of death, death on a cross as a convicted criminal.


If we were filled with the same spirit that Jesus had we would have nothing to fear, and
what a wonderful place our church community and our greater community would be.
They would be places of harmony, unity, love, compassion, mutual support, and of
looking after each others needs. They would be communities of service to each other.

In this spirit of love and service lets go home today and really think about where and
how we can make a difference at St. Anthonys. Maybe its getting involved with St.
Anthonys Pantry or joining the Knights of Columbus or Catholic Womens League.
Maybe its proclaiming the word of God or sharing our voice by joining one of the choirs.
We can evangelize by helping with RCIA and Baptism Prep programs, or by bringing
non catholic friends to Scripture study. Altar servers, extra ordinary ministers of
communion, Pastoral Care workers, ushers, greeters, sacristans, hospitality and youth
ministers are just a few more of the many ways to get involved and serve each other
and our parish. Together lets pray that Jesus will open our ears to hear, our minds to
understand and our hearts to accept his call to this vocation of service to the parish.

In the gospel today the chief priests and the elders were impersonators of God, they
were like the second son in the story. They said yes to obey God but they did not listen
to Jesus, the son of God, or follow his instructions. Jesus tells them that the prostitutes
and tax collectors will get into the kingdom ahead of them. These sinners, these
outcasts of society were like the first son, they didnt obey Gods commands and
committed many sins but later they repented and accepted the teaching of Jesus, they
became his followers and his imitators.

Christian living is a process. Gods timeline for each one of us is unique and only he
knows the final product, so when times get tough, when a word of hope is needed, let
us pray that all people not only see Jesus in each one of us, but that we are Christ-like
toward each other in that time of need, for that is our ultimate calling; to be imitators and
not impersonators of Christ.