The Revised Common Lectionary for this week contains portions of Hebrews 13. This chapter contains many exhortations pertaining to living a life in Christ. If we look back to the previous chapter, we find, “Pursue peace with everyone and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12.14; NRSVUE). In this same vein, Hebrews 13 begins with “Let mutual affection (love) continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Vss. 1-2). Other exhortations include remembering those in prison and honoring marriage. Then we read, “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’” (Vss. 5-6).

The author then exhorts us to “Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings…” (Vss. 7-9a). Immediately after “consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith,” we read “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” We tend to forget the context of this statement. This is an exhortation to consider the leader’s (pastor’s, priest’s) way of life in light of Jesus Christ’s way of life. To what extent does the leader’s way of life reflect the actions of Jesus Christ. Does your leader want his own private plane or a mansion? Does your leader want more power and prestige? Is your leader highly judgmental? Does your leader withhold love until such time as your beliefs conform to the leader’s expectations? If so, it is time to find a different leader – one who conforms more fully to the image of Jesus Christ.

I shared lunch with a fellow pastor this week. In our conversation, we grieved the fact that so much of the church is condemning and judgmental, that it desires to carry us away with all kinds of strange teachings, e.g., Christian nationalism which would have us combine patriotic zeal with the Christian faith. We tend to forget Jesus’ words, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” Jesus’ actions were loving and accepting; Jesus invited people into a new and better way of life. As anthropologists tell us, our actions are highly imitative; much of what we learn is learned through imitation.

When I was a college professor, I perceived that many of my students looked upon me as a role model. Similarly, pastors are often looked upon as role models. I used to tell my students, and now I tell my parishioners, “If you see something in me which reflects the actions of Jesus Christ, feel free to adopt it; leave all else behind!” We will imitate, but we need to carefully choose who and what we imitate.