Join with others in being imitators of me.

Does Paul sound a bit boastful to you in today’s first reading? Instead of asking his readers to imitate him, shouldn’t he ask them to imitate Jesus?

It’s true that we have no better model than Jesus for how we should live and share God’s love. We should always try to imitate him. But Paul provides a different sort of example for us. Where Jesus was pure and sinless and holy, Paul was a sinner like us. Just like us, he had his good moments and his not-so-good moments. He had times of great joy and peace, but he also had times when he lost his temper or gave in to sarcasm and anger (see Galatians 5:10-12; 2 Corinthians 11:16-20).

But for all of his ups and downs, Paul never lost sight of the love that God had for him. He also never lost sight of the mercy that Jesus had on him—a mercy that covered all of his sins and failings.

So it’s one thing to try to imitate Jesus in all of his perfection. But we know we’ll never attain the sinlessness he had from the beginning. And that’s exactly why we have saints like Paul: sinners just like us who, despite their sin, never gave up on following the Lord. It’s their humility that we should imitate. It’s their repentant hearts and their eagerness to reconcile with anyone they may have hurt that we should follow. It’s their determination to love all God’s people—even if they didn’t always succeed at it—that we should take up for ourselves.

Writing to the believers at Ephesus, Paul proclaimed that all of us who believe can have “boldness of speech and confidence of access” to Jesus (3:12). This man, who was keenly aware of his sins and weaknesses, still believed that he could come before the Lord. And, he said, so could we. All because of God’s mercy and love.

So by all means, strive to imitate Jesus. Strive to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). But don’t give up if you fall short. In that case, imitate St. Paul and rest in Jesus’ mercy and grace.

“Jesus, help me to imitate all the saints who have followed you throughout the ages.”

Philippians 3:17-4:1
Psalm 122:1-5
Luke 16:1-8