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“Why are you proud, O man? God became low for you. You would perhaps be ashamed to imitate a lowly man; then at least imitate the lowly God.” -St. Augustine, Confessions (Book 7)

Imitating Christ is a spiritual discipline that goes back to the early Church.  Much has been written and practiced, from the withdrawal & interior life of Thomas à Kempis to the humility and compassion of Bernard of Clairvaux.  My own adopted tradition- Anabaptism- is deeply formed by the commitment to follow the example and teachings of Jesus, especially in the Sermon on the Mount.   However, I’ve been most inspired by the example of St. Francis of Assisi’s living embrace of Jesus’s example.

As the examples above reflect, both the motivation and expression of imitation of Christ varies a great deal.  Many Protestants dismissed the Franciscan commitment because they feared a works based emphasis on faith, as though by sheer force of will these friar sought to be as good as Jesus.  While there might have been some who would be guilty of such a suspicion, the heart of Franciscan imitation of Christ was far from what these critics dismissed it as.

Francis and his brother took a very literal approach to obeying Christ’s teachings, sometimes to a fault.  Yet, his motivation was something rather extraordinary.  Despite what some critics assumed, Francis did not imitate Christ out of any expectation that he could earn salvation or even righteousness in the effort.  In fact, such a suggestion would have mortified him, so unworthy did he consider himself.

St. Francis did not imitate Christ in order to be like Him, as such an result is beyond human effort.  Instead, Francis imitated Jesus so that he might encounter Him.  Do not miss the critical difference: The uniqueness of St. Francis’ devotion to imitate Christ lies in  the fact that he did not embrace imitation so that he could be like Christ, he embraced it so that he might encounter Christ. And it was through those encounter that he became like Christ.

What does such a shift in motivation mean for us?  How might this change how and why we seek to imitate Christ?