Thomas a Kempis’ Imitation of
Christ in its very title points to what is the most important in
Christianity, including mystical Christianity – the person of the Son of
Man/Son of God is to be imitated by the Christian. One may be trying to do just
that by one’s sheer willpower, others may rely more on God’s grace. But even
those who would say that imitatio Christi
is only possible by virtue of God’s grace and no effort on the part of man is
able to effect anything in this respect, would admit that desire is at work here, a desire to attain to the state of
perfection of that imitation, or – in mystical Christianity – to a state of union with Christ. For Rene
Girard this desire is obviously mimetic, whether one focuses exclusively on
imitating Christ himself, or is also imitating others treading that path, namely
saints or even one’s fellow Church members.
This desire is good, and this mimesis can also be good – if only one is
really reaching for God alone, that “abundance
beyond compare,” which reaching obviates the need to compete, for none is
really one’s rival. Then one’s brothers and sisters are actually companions on
the way to God helping attain to the goal, whether it be the perfection or the
union. Problems might arise if and when one loses one’s grip on this goal and
instead is clinging to the desire itself. Then detaching oneself from that
desire – obtaining a broader perspective of that desire – is in order.
In classical Buddhism the monk is to renounce desire itself, any desire whatsoever. Desire leads to
suffering; doing away with suffering entails eradication of desire. Since the
life of the householder is unavoidably rife with desire, he cannot avoid
suffering. Moreover, lack of desire has salvific consequences. Desiring leads
to rebirth, the antithesis of salvation (nirvana). The best a desiring
householder can do is to accumulate merit assuring him a better karma and consequently
a better rebirth. Thus suffering is a sure sign of desire, and, in a roundabout
fashion, as a self-fulfilling prophecy, a sign of an upcoming return to the
world of suffering.
According to Christianity suffering is part and parcel of human living,
as testified to by Jesus’ life. Certainly wrongly oriented desire leads to
additional suffering involving one in mimetic rivalries and violence done to
one’s neighbor or received at his hands. If one is not in a desire-quelling
business, there certainly will be in one’s life instances of yielding to such
desire and rivalry. But suffering is not to be overcome by eradicating desire –
mimetic desire to be Christ-like is good – but by doing away with fear of
suffering, in “perfect love [that] casts
out fear.” This might involve heeding a call to martyrdom, but, as opposed
to the Buddhist martyrdom of sacrificing one’s life day in, day out and
unswervingly, one is tasked with living an abundant life of love that might require
one day a consummation consisting in sacrificing one’s life for the sake of
one’s brethren – out of love, out of His love overflowing one’s heart, overflowing
one’s life itself. This mode of living and pursuing union with God is also
incumbent upon the Christian mystic; in fact that is what distinguishes
Christian mysticism from any spiritual path bent on eradication of desire, and
not just on detachment from any desire that is not motivated by His love.
Of course in a Christian monastic setting renunciation of most forms of
desire is many a time required and practiced. But for the modern layman
aspiring to the perfection and/or the union, this aspiration by necessity must be
accompanied or take the form of non-attachment to the fruits of one’s actions. The
contemplative and the active man alike are obviously expected to renounce evil
action, but also any action that is not motivated by love, and – moreover –
detach oneself also from the good fruits of one’s cherished good action. Here spiritual
discrimination is absolutely necessary. But it is discernment of the true nature of one’s motivation that is actually
much more difficult and requires one’s keenest power of spiritual discrimination.
It is crucial because it bears on the decisions which actions to undertake and
which to refrain from, as not motivated by love – if one is mindful enough and
free in one’s heart to know where one is coming from.
Then there are spiritual issues that are inherently confusing; in fact such
is any issue concerning truth when its exposition meets with resistance, which
might not even be violent in the beginning. But there is always danger of it quickly
becoming such. In a way the onset of violent resistance might actually be a
blessing in disguise, clearly indicating that there is a grave risk also for the
initially peaceful adversary of being embroiled in the melee, where a
charitable attitude will be impossible to maintain. Blaise Pascal remarked in
one of his Provincial Letters: “All the lights of truth cannot arrest
violence, and only serve to exasperate it.” Including in the heart of the
one propagating it. Especially there actually, since such a one is apt not to see
violence there at all. That is why Jesus Christ renounced violence – to the
point of, notwithstanding His being God, submitting Himself to a violent death
in order that His self-sacrifice might put an end to all violence. Renunciation
of violence, both within our hearts and without, is His bequest for us, our
task that we must be trying to carry out while awaiting His Second Coming. And
that can be accomplished only through love. Love that does not shy away from
martyrdom if need be.
The unadulterated reception of His message is unfortunately very slow in
coming. We are still learning the implications, including enlarging the scope
of what is to be considered violence. We must acknowledge now that lack of love
is the flip side of violence. Violence of psychological and spiritual nature,
depriving people of their dignity, must be considered violence as much as the
physical kind. We are all slowly but surely learning that violence cannot be
gotten rid of through the use of violence. But does that mean that we must
refrain from fighting for justice, whose lack is tantamount to pervasive
violence, and thus should be regarded as lack of love, too? How can we not be
driven to one extreme without being drawn into the vortex of the other extreme?
To escape violence to the point of positively renouncing it, without self-complacently
landing in the lap of egotism and love of self, when love of one another is
Jesus’ commandment? Certainly not, and Jesus,
being truth personified, showed us also the way, so that we might participate in His Abundant Life. All we have to do is to try to imitate Him, it
is as simple and as difficult as that. Caring about justice just as He did,
striving for it to the best of our abilities but also in line with our
spiritual calling and makeup. And since “truth cannot arrest violence,” the way
to proceed must perforce be non-violent, again preeminently exemplified by
Jesus Himself. The only way to have abundant life of love, to live in agreement
with His commandment,
“that you love one another, just as I have loved you,” is to be ready for
martyrdom: “Greater love has no one than this, that
one lay down his life for his friends.”
Thus truly radical
Christianity, the true imitation of Christ, must be viewed as consisting in the
total renunciation of violence, even in the cause of striving for justice and
even when testifying to Christian truth. To testify to Christian truth is to
testify to Jesus Christ, who is truth personified. That truth is love, love par excellence. Thus the one and
foremost desire – to imitate Christ, love personified – is not to be renounced
at all, but actually acknowledged as God’s grace. And Christ’s imitation, that
most exalted desire, must be pursued with all one’s heart, soul, mind and
strength. However, that desire must only be pursued in a non-violent way. Otherwise
one will be transgressing His new commandment, to love one another as He has
loved us, and to be ready to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Spiritual
discernment in the service of imitating Christ will let us intuit – if not
experience outright in contemplation – that every human being is our friend,
that we are all one in Christ Jesus,
in and through His love, that we share a common essential identity. Thus
imitating Christ we are in fact called to identify with one another. This is
our way of perfection and Christ is beckoning. And while pursuing the way of
contemplation, we must not forget that it is the crucified Christ who is
calling, that we must not try to escape suffering and/or martyrdom on this path
either. That we might be called beyond the renunciation of self with a view to
experiencing a peaceful loving union with Him. Whatever is going to be our lot,
whether we unite with Him in a union of blood or in a union of peace, we will
have done our part in averting the impending apocalypse, in sustaining hope, in
keeping the bloodstream of love flowing. We will then have identified with Him
to the point of unity, and shall be one with Him both here on earth and in the
hereafter.
But is Christian
perfection, that is a true and real imitation of Christ, possible outside
having experience of His presence? Loving one another as He has loved us –
which is much more than loving one’s brother as oneself – can only mean
encountering Christ in that brother of ours, in the Other, as some philosophers
put it. Then we will be able to avoid seeing him as one’s model/rival. But that
can only be accomplished in seeing him through Christ’s eyes, which enables us
thus to identify with one another in His love.
Yet this seeing many a time will be through His tears and sweat of His
brow, including and preeminently so from the vantage point of His Cross, which
perspective we must adopt if and when we are called to do so by Him. But we can
do that and have the capacity to see through His eyes only if and when we experience His presence in our hearts, in the inmost
deep of our being. We will then have access to that “abundance beyond compare,”
each and every one of us, imitating Christ seen in one another as well as
experienced within. We will then have become Christian mystics par excellence. That
will be our unitive way that does not exclude anybody but actually embraces in
Christ all as our brethren as every one of us navigates through one’s life
guided by His grace.
