"Your Face Sounds Familiar"

The Imitator

The Model

One of the few TV shows I have watched and found entertaining is "Your Face Sounds Familiar," especially the Kids version. It features contestants who try to imitate well-known singers on stage. After much preparation and practice of a song -- voice, body movements and all with the help of mentors, make up artists take over, making the contestant look like the singer -- face, hair, dress and all.

After this long and tedious process, the contestant has undergone an incredible transformation of his or her appearance into a close look-alike of the singer to be imitated and the contestant is now ready to sing the song the way the model does.

Each contestant's performance never fails to amaze the audience and the judges. The winner is the one whose appearance, singing and bodily movements come closest to those of the singer being imitated such that by seeing the contestant perform, the audience "sees" and "hears" the person being imitated.

In our own individual lives, we consciously or subconsciously imitate, or wish to imitate, someone who possess qualities that we would like to possess ourselves.

Saint Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, wrote: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.' (1 Cor.11:1)

As followers or disciples of Christ, we would like to absorb the training of the teacher, and eventually be like him. (Luke 6:40)

How do we become like Christ? St. Paul answers this: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)

Our Lord has said: "For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." (John 13:15)

When we have come closer to the likeness of Christ, people will see that Christ-likeness in us. Our face may not be like Christ's, but the goodness we have from imitating Christ will be reflected in our words and the way we treat others.

Then people would say: "I see the face of Christ in you."

May we constantly endeavor to follow and imitate Christ in our lives. #