Christ, our Role Model

 Second Sunday of Lent

13 March 2022

 

First Reading: GN 15:5-12, 17-18

Responsorial Psalm: PS 27:1, 7-8, 8-9, 13-14

Second Reading: PHIL 3:17—4:1

Gospel: LK 9:28b-36

 

Reflection

By: Jose Paulo M. Gonzales

 

In my life, I could count in hand the number of people who for myself make awe-inspiring examples in their own regard: an insightful writer, an incisive essayist, a grounded critical thinker, a very well-rounded person; in pieces I have read on Eastern philosophy, there would be "the sage"—not only in wisdom and experience, but in overall character. Unbeknown to me, it would take some years after college to find a proximal example of the Christian character—at least one I am surprised to make my personal circle. As astounding his achievements in social charity are and as amazing the conversations on morality we have had, imagine how much better our ultimate Example is in Heaven.

Jesus transcended expectations in His [human] time and now in ours. His character and teachings go beyond divisions in time and are continuously relevant today. From His unassuming birth and overall lifestyle, His "madness" according to the Pharisees. His preference for the poor, the weak, and the downtrodden, to His salvific model of death and resurrection, Jesus was far from normative expectations. It is precisely this divergence from the norm that revolutionizes Jesus' Character. If Jesus is the Example to behold in Christianity, and if He was anything but worldly in His conduct of Self, we are more strongly acquainted with the message: we must not be of this world.

It is not exactly the departure from the norm that is moral, for that can come equally from being bullheaded; instead, it is the departure from what the norm represents. The conventions that make up the world from then to this day are built more on convenience that favors the privileged, the learned, and the illustrious and famous. While not bad in themselves, these "good things" are not confirmation of good origins, mediums, or purpose; not even are they confirmation of good hosts. Jesus' message was to seek precisely what is good and what is good for transcends what the world exalts. Gold would make no effective receptacle of the good God produces in love and goodwill for good exceeds its people-receptacles and pours into other vessels at reparable or even welcome expense. Effort, time, and money can be exhausted in the work of of good, but the product more than makes up for what has been expended. Riches, on the other hand, can only do so to an extent. Its multiplication, if ill-founded, could be deleterious to people, and the people themselves can be its unfortunate casualty. Pride is another that can come undetected for it can conflate with positive self-identifications such as achievement, leadership, recognition, and many others. These are not bad and can be used for good; what the Bible advises us against is forming unhealthy fixations on surface enticements lest we commit sin and escalate to greater works of evil. Riches and other things of equal import are only objects though they can be unwitting temptations, and it is the choice to source them from or use them for a nefarious purpose that constitutes sin.

The challenge to conform with the Image of Christ concerns us not only with the good qualities of Christ in case we fall for the appearance of these qualities in some who go by Christ's example at a superficial level or even deceitful. The challenge calls us not just to keep out of wrong examples in things and people's attitudes but also to know when to retract from bad invitations to the soul.

For Jesus' good qualities, the Bible is teeming. He is our "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6), "Advocate with the Father" (1 John 2:1), and the "Friend Who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24). His qualities converge with the characteristics of love in the well-known verse, 1 Corinthians 13, so we know that in our following of Christ, we are in good hands, for we are in the keeping of One who loves us truly; but before we become pristine masterpieces as the Lord transfigured into a Figure of dazzling white, we are called to an arduous journey of spiritual refinement. The process is long and taxing, but "at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). Further, it is not like we have no good examples to emulate, as Paul expressed in the Second Reading for today (Philippians 3:17—4:1), for we will likely meet good examples along the way as God's Hand is present in our lives, and we will always have the best example in Christ. If there is still wonder within us if anything good can come up from a start so simple, we should find our answer in Christ, for Christ has showed that a humble beginning is no deterrent to the making of a salvation story. Until we are eternally with Christ, we are called to be in this world not to be engulfed by it, but to be its salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), that in each attempt at doing good, we conform more closely with His Image, and make possible the same to others with our interactions.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for being a good Father and for all the graces You give us. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us become the best imitators of Christ that with our mere presence, more so with our actions, we lead each other to You. In times when we know not what to do—and in times when we know what we should do but refuse it anyway—please let us not lead others astray and forgive us our sins. In everything, please lead us to You. These we ask in Jesus' Most Holy Name, Amen.