" Grant to us, O God, that we may be changed into the likeness of Jesus ……;"

I was intrigued by the possibility that we all prayed for in our Collect this morning! Perhaps it was the same for you. The possibility we prayed for was this: "Grant to us, O God, that we might be changed into the likeness of Jesus;"

In reflecting on this astounding thought a number of questions came into my mind. Perhaps you thought of similar or additional questions. My questions were these. Is it possible that each of us could be changed into the likeness of Christ? If this were so, how would we go about achieving such a result? If we were able to accomplish this transformation, what do you think it would mean to each of our lives? What do you think it would mean to our community? What do you think this would mean to our Country? What do you think this would mean to our world?

In addressing these questions, I reflected first on whether I believe it is possible to be changed into the likeness of Jesus. I perceive that the vast majority of those in the world today would say that this is not possible after seeing all of the terrible acts done by people to hurt and harm those around them. I suspect that most would say that they would have to far to go to become like Jesus. I perceive that most people, upon examining themselves closely, would conclude that they could never be changed into the likeness of Jesus. And yet Jesus himself said that this is possible. Jesus told his disciples that they would be able to do things greater than he. Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to them and make this possible. In fact, Jesus called upon his disciples to do the same things that he did in his life, and even more. And finally Jesus said that God his Father, if asked, would support them in doing Christ-like things to make the world a better place in which to live.

After considering these things, I next thought about my own life to see if I have seen Christ-like changes take place in me as I matured as a person. I thought about my childhood when I was mostly interested in having fun playing with my friends. I thought about my school years when I was mostly concerned about getting the best education possible so that I could improve my lot in life. I thought about my working years when I worked very hard to support my family as best I could.

It was not until my midlife that I began to think about, be concerned about, and began to act upon the same kind of things that Christ was concerned about and acted upon. At this point it dawned on me that Christ did not begin his ministry until he had matured as a person. Also he did not begin his ministry until he received the Holy Spirit to guide him and empower him in his ministry. This beginning occurred for Jesus after he was baptized by John. Based upon this comparison of my life to the life of Christ, I then saw the similarity of our beginnings as well as the possibility of my growth into the likeness of Christ. Perhaps you see such similarities in your own life or the lives of those around you.

A second question then is how would we proceed if we wished to become more like Christ? I perceive that we can do this only in the same way that Christ did so to develop into his fullness as a person. And that way for Christ was to make strong use of the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit within him and around him. It seems to me that Christ listened intently to that still small voice of the Spirit before he acted upon or before he spoke about important issues. I perceive that this same approach will work for us in reaching our full potential as human beings, just as it was for Jesus. And for me this is a big part of the meaning of life-and that is to reach our full potential as human beings.

I would like to share with you now a tool that I have found to be very useful in aiding my growth as a person. It is my hope that the use of this tool will continue to help me to grow into a person more like Christ. This tool is a mantra or prayer shared with many others and with me by our own Bishop Spong. This prayer asks God to guide us and empower us each day, "to live fully, to love wastefully, to become all that we can be, and to help others become all that they can be". It seems to me that this mantra summarizes very well the way that Christ lived his life as well as the way Bishop Spong is living his life.

By living fully we would be alert for and welcome the opportunities, presented to us each day, both large and small. And then we would act on these opportunities to live more fully for our own benefit and the benefit of others. These would be opportunities to make our own lives and the lives of those around us more productive, more joyful, and more in harmony with each other and with the environment. By loving wastefully we would welcome and show our friendship towards each person we encounter each day. We would provide help and assistance to those in need as best we could with no expectation of any payment in return. By becoming all that we can be, we would listen to that voice of the Spirit within us and around us for direction in our lives. After receiving that direction we would then act in response to that guidance after asking that we be empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out that action. By helping others become all that they can be we would be open to opportunities to help others in their growth to their fullest potential as persons. And we would assist them in achieving that growth to the extent that we are able to do so.

In reflecting further on the prospect of growing into the likeness of Jesus, I thought about the difficulty of this task. It seems to me that many believe they can become more Christ-like by doing more good deeds and by doing more work for the benefit of others. Many believe also that they can win God's favor in this way. Some seem to work so hard in doing such things that they wear themselves out and thereby miss much of the joy that can come from living fully. Jesus challenged this approach, however, when he said, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light".

And Christ also said, "I have come so that your joy may be complete". And surely much joy can be derived from exercising the unique talents each of us were given by God for the benefit of others, just as Jesus did. But I also believe Jesus when he said we are here to have much joy. Many of the things that bring me my greatest joys have nothing to do with work. I enjoy giving and receiving love from my family and my friends. I enjoy snuggling with our pet dog, Charlie, when I am watching a good television show. I enjoy seeing a good movie or reading a good book. I enjoy immensely my time spent playing tennis. I enjoy watching the beautiful ocean sunrises and sunsets that we see when vacationing in Mexico each year. And when I look closely at the life of Christ, I see that he also enjoyed doing similar things. He enjoyed eating and drinking with his friends as well as with strangers. He enjoyed parties.

In fact, Jesus has been described by some as a wine bibber and a glutton. My whole point here is that we can utilize our time in ways that bring us joy in both our work and in our play, just as Jesus did. I examine closely those things going on in my life that bring me no joy. I take action when at all possible to eliminate or modify doing those things that bring me no joy. Perhaps you have acted in this way as well.

In conclusion, I reflected on what it would mean to us as individuals, as a community, as a nation, and to our world if each person became more like Christ. In essence I see that all would be rewarded generously by gifts from the Holy Spirit. As individuals I perceive that we would experience more love, more peace, more joy, and more friendship in our lives. As a community I perceive that we would experience more tolerance, more understanding, more forgiveness and more compassion from and towards others. As a nation I perceive that we would experience more unity, more reconciliation, and more generosity towards those in great need. As a world I see that we would experience more harmony with all others and with our environment. In all of this I see that we might come close to realizing a heaven here on earth. Perhaps Christ had a vision of such a world when he said, "The kingdom of heaven is near at hand."

Finally, it seems to me that each of our journeys in life, if directed towards the goal of becoming more like Christ, is more important than actually achieving the full likeness of Christ. But the possibility is still very intriguing to me as we prayed earlier. "Grant to us, O God, that we might be changed into the likeness of Jesus;…" Perhaps that possibility intrigues you as well.

Amen.