A Good Imitation

A Reflection on the Second Reading for November 17th, 2019:
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Thessalonians 3.7-12

Brothers and sisters, you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labour we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you.

This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.”

For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

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“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” I often heard this as a child whenever I would complain to my mom that someone was trying to imitate me (and I felt offended). She would often repeat this quote to me. I was supposed to feel good, but I didn’t!


I did not understand it then, but when we imitate someone, it actually shows our admiration or approval for what that person did that we would like to do ourselves. So we have our mentors and others we admire who serve as our guides to achieve our goals and our dreams.


Paul was asking the Thessalonians to imitate what he and his men did as they were setting good examples for the people of Thessalonica to follow. Paul was addressing those who were idle and were being ‘busybodies’ — those who were up to no good. He was especially admonishing them to work quietly, that is, without meddling in other people’s affairs, and to earn their living on their own. Jesus, during His ministry on earth, was working hard and quietly too, something which the apostles were imitating and which they were passing on to the communities that they formed.


Today, we can take part in a connect group, a discipleship group, or other kinds of prayer groups either in our churches, homes, or (in my case) the workplace. These groups we belong to give us the opportunity to practice respect for one another, to be giving and generous to one another, and to move out of our comfort zones to help each other out. We also have a lot of fun doing these things together. These are little communities of faith and this is how we practice being missionary disciples. We are trying to live our lives just like the first Christian communities lived, being co-imitators of Christ just as the apostles were.


And guess what? The members of our groups may form their own groups later on and they too will imitate what we have done and pass this way of life on to others as they too become missionary disciples — and it goes on and on. It is our hope that these little faith communities will bring about the transformation that is needed in our world today.


Jesus Christ is with us as we try to spread the good news of our salvation by being witnesses to the unconditional love of the Father and by being living examples of a people beloved by Him. We are able to do things which we ordinarily wouldn’t be able to do. Suddenly we are bold enough to proclaim Jesus’ love for us, we are able to share our experiences with others — something we never thought we could do before. We realize that we are no longer ‘private’ but ‘open’. We often ask ourselves how we were able to do that? That is the power of Jesus! It is no longer that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” but that “imitation is the sincerest form of love.”


​Liz Venezuela

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