Imitators of Christ (30th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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This week’s reading continues the previous week’s reading, where St. Paul speaks of how the power of the Holy Spirit came upon the Thessalonian Christians to bring them to faith. In so doing, the Spirit also brought about their Sanctification. Believers were and are continually being conformed to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).

But how does one conform to Christ’s image? Paul gives himself as the example for believers to follow, praising the Thessalonians for being imitators of him (v. 6). Elsewhere, he gives the injunction, “imitate me as I imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). In turn, the Thessalonians become role models for others to imitate (v. 7), thus continuing the cycle encouraging others to become more like Christ.

From this, we learn two principles. The first is that we have been given the saints as role models to imitate. The saints have been put forward as role models because they lived such lives of holiness that we can learn from them how to be Christlike. We must study their lives and look to them to know how we are to live our own lives.

The second is that we must ourselves become role models for others around us. People are prone to peer pressure, and tend to behave badly when others around them behave badly. Conversely, they will behave well if others around them behave well. We must avoid sin and pursue lives of holiness, not only so that we may go to Heaven, but so that others may follow our example and go to Heaven as well.

In all this, we await the return of Christ, who delivers us from the coming wrath (v. 10). We trust continually that, by trusting, serving and imitating Christ, we become righteous, and thus deliver both ourselves and others.

J. Luis Dizon