The Mind of Christ

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 2:5

I inherited a beautiful little devotional book from my grandmother, Of the Imitation of Christ. On the fly-leaf is written, in my great-grandfather’s hand: “Amy Kathleen … from her father; in memory of her confirmation, 15th August 1913; and of her first communion, 7th September 1913.” After the Bible, De Imitatione Christi, first written in Latin, is arguably the most widely read spiritual book in the world. Since it was penned, in the first quarter of the fifteenth century, by the German-Dutch monk, Thomas A’Kempis, there have been 545 Latin editions, 900 French editions, and more than 2,000 editions in total.

Thomas Hemerken was born in the Rhineland, at Kempen (after which he later became known as A’Kempis) and he followed his brother Johann to the Netherlands to study at a renowned Latin school. The brothers both became monks at the Monastery of Mount St Agnes in Zwolle, and in 1429 Thomas was made sub-prior of the monastery. In this role he was responsible for instructing the novices, and in between working as a copyist (he copied the Bible no less than four times) he wrote four tracts for the young monks in his care: “Admonitions Useful for the Spiritual Life” “Admonitions Concerning Internal Things” “Of Internal Consolation” and the fourth “Concerning the Holy Communion” which he said should be received with great reverence and as often as possible.

In time, these four tracts were bound together and named after the opening chapter: “Of the Imitation of Christ.” The chapter opens: “‘[The one] that followeth me, walketh not in darkness,’ sayeth the Lord. These are the words of Christ, which teach us to imitate his life and manners, if we would be truly enlightened, and delivered from all blindness of heart. Let therefore our chief endeavour is to meditate upon the life of Jesus Christ.”

These words of Thomas A’Kempis echo the lives and teachings of the great saints, from St Clare and St Francis of Assisi, to St Augustine and St Monica, and ultimately to St Paul and his teaching in Philippians that we hear in today’s Epistle: “If there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, then make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind … Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”

There is a delightful story told about the great French artist and Post-Impressionist painter Cézanne (Anthony de Mello, Prayer of the Frog, vol. 1, p. 148):

For thirty-five years Paul Cézanne lived in obscurity producing masterpieces that he gave away to unsuspecting neighbours. So great was his love for his work that he never gave a thought to achieving recognition, nor did he suspect that some day he would be looked upon as the father of modern painting.

 He owes his fame to a Paris dealer who chanced upon some of his paintings, put them together, and presented the world of art with the first Cézanne exhibition. The world was astonished to discover the presence of a master.

 The master was just as astonished. He arrived at the art gallery, leaning on the arm of his son, and could not contain his amazement when he saw his paintings on display. Turning to his son he said, “Look, they have framed them!”

Putting on the mind of Christ, for St Paul, was the lived attitude of humility and integrity that he saw in his Lord. The Greek word St Paul used is kenosis or “self-emptying”:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

As good religious people, good Christians, good Anglo-Catholics, this is a lesson we must return to again and again. As faithful churchgoers (albeit virtually at the present time) we run the same spiritual risk that the Pharisees fell into in today’s gospel: “Jesus said to [the Pharisees], ‘Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.’”

It does us great spiritual harm if we fall into the trap of seeing ourselves as better than others; more truly Anglo-Catholic; much better at social service and caring for the poor; far wiser and more intelligent than this person or that group.

The antidote is simple really; it is the humble reality therapy of the Saints and of the Scriptures. As the Psalmist sings (Ps 103:15-17): “As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.”

 Thanks be to God.