Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, have you heard the phrase “Monkey see - monkey do”? It is actually funny to watch monkey imitate their trainer. The trainer rubs his belly, the monkey will rub its belly. The trainer throws a stick, the monkey will throw a stick. People clap their hands, monkeys will clap theirs. Monkeys are good at that.
People are too. We enjoy little children imitate their parents, and that’s very good, because that’s how they learn. And this sort of an activity is not limited to children. Grownups like to imitate others too. There is a man I saw at the Golden Corral, who is trying to look like Elvis - hairdo and all! And for three years you made me impersonate Martin Luther on Reformation Sunday. Yes, you did!
And, if we can’t copy someone’s looks or mannerism, we may try to imitate their manner of speech. Couple of years ago Rich Little came to perform at one of the casinos in Laughlin. He made a career out of imitating the voices of famous people - John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogard, numerous Presidents and other politicians. He entertained us well and made us laugh.
Dennis Swanberg, whose Bible study material we used during our Adult VBS last August, learned to imitate the voice of Billy Graham, and used on somebody in the supermarket! What a scream!
How would we learn the art of imitating someone? We would probably stand in front of a mirror a lot, or listen to a tape recorder until we would get it right. Well, I don’t think we would be as good at it as Rich Little, but today’s Scripture lesson gives us an invitation to try.
St. Paul writes to Christians at Philippi, Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. This echoes what he said in 1 Corinthians 4: 16-17 Therefore, I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending Timothy, … he will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
What did he mean when he said join in imitating me? I don’t think he meant that we copy his hairdo, or imitate the sound of his voice, in order to make people laugh. Rather, he invites us to express our faith by living by the Christ-inspired teaching that he projected. For, just as there are good things to imitate, there are also silly or wrong things that people try to copy.
John writes in his third letter, verse 11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The Apostle Paul also warns us of a contrast to what he said earlier. Please follow the text with me, in your Bibles or on the back of the bulletin. We are in the third chapter of Philippians, the last quarter of the New Testament .. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. You may want to keep a marker there, we will be returning to Philippians several times. Chapter three, verses 18 and 19: For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as the enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction. Their god is their belly (oh boy, if this doesn’t get you think about a diet, I don’t know what will), and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.
We have to be careful not to do things like that. I worry about young people that they would not be tempted to imitate destructive behavior just to appear cool in front of their peers. Don’t let anyone lead you astray. You know the difference between right and wrong. No one looks cool in front of the judge.
We don’t want to imitate the bad guys, we want to imitate the good guys, so let’s look at the life of St. Paul to see what it is in him worth imitating.
I am sure there are numerous qualities to take note of, but I am also aware of one weakness - he was longwinded! One times he preached long enough to put people to sleep. One man fell out the window. By the grace and power of God, their prayer brought him back to life, but it all could have been avoided in the first place. So, in the time that we have, we will just look at seven qualities that we can imitate.
Perhaps the most obvious one is PERSEVERANCE. Once he got on the right track, Paul would not give up. Not hardship, rejection, danger even to his life, would deter him from following the course. He compared the new life in Christ to running a race. This is what he says in verses 13 and 14 just prior to our reading: Forgetting what is behind and striving toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes we too need to put what is behind us away and focus on what is ahead and keep going.
The second quality to mention is FAITH. Paul’s faith was strong. You can see it in the Book of Acts, and in everyone of his letters. But perhaps the most powerful expression of his faith is recorded in the 8th chapter of Romans - For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present not the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, that’s faith!
The third thing to notice is Paul’s COMPASSION. He was tough-minded sometimes, but Paul loved people. In his letters he would say I give thanks to God for you in my prayers. Even when he was correcting errors in churches, his love for the people was evident, even to the point of tears, as we heard earlier.
The first chapter of Philippians sounds more like a love letter: It is right for me to feel this way about you, since I have you in my heart. We too need to radiate such love around us.
We also need to notice that Paul’s compassion is often accompanied by another important quality - COURAGE. He was not afraid to meet his challenges. During a riot in the city of Ephesus, Paul wanted to go into the stadium and face his accusers, but his friends wisely whisked him away. Armed with his strong faith, Paul was not afraid to put his life o the line. Listen to his statement in Philippians 1: 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
There are times in our lives when we too must have courage. When we are facing serious illness, when we loose our job, suffer all kinds of setbacks, when our present day uncertainties bring doubts about our future, we need to be armed with courage. If we adopt a defeatist attitude, half the battle is lost already.
Faith and courage are strongly linked to HOPE. Hope is a valuable quality indeed. Hope that is evident in the pages of the Bible is not wishful thinking, but a reality that is not yet seen. Hope comes from strong faith and courage that stands upon God’s faithful promises.
This is what Paul proclaims in Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I shared with you before and would like to do it again: For as long as there is hope, every cloud has a silver lining.
The Apostle mentions peace and joy. His JOY is something we can all imitate. This letter to the Philippians has been called The Epistle of Joy. It is a short letter, yet the word “Joy” and its variants occur sixteen times here. You would think that Paul’s joy came from everything going great for him when he wrote it. Quite the contrary! He wrote this letter in prison cell. He even refers to his chains, but that does not stop him from expressing his joy and from encouraging others to acquire the same attitude.
This is what this man behind bars writes in chapter 4: Rejoice in the Lord; again I say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
That leads us to the final quality we will mention today, and something that is universally desired - CONTENTMENT. Perseverance, faith, courage, compassion, hope, joy in the Lord, all lead to contentment. Knowing who we are and whose we are, appreciating all good things around us, and making the best out of every situation. Contentment is a very special gift and an attitude to be imitated.
And again I will point to what the Apostle Paul writes in Philippians chapter four. Those of you who have your Bibles open, turn with me to the second half of verse eleven and follow: I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
So, this is the man we are to imitate. Saul of Tarsus, former persecutor of the Church, after his conversion becoming Paul - a great instrument in the hands of the Lord. So, let us join in imitating him in all the qualities we mentioned today. Why? Because St. Paul possessed these qualities because he himself was an imitator of God.
And, as I look around, I also see imitators of God. People who stand out as examples of perseverance, faith, courage, compassion, hope, joy, and contentment. So, let us imitate each other in these fine qualities, for this is how we strengthen and encourage the whole Body of Christ as we walk in this journey together. Because God placed us here together for that purpose.
And if you can bear with me, let us look at one more quote from Philippians 4, and let us take it to heart. In verse 9 Paul says, Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Amen.
