"Thy will be done." These words are probably as familiar to us as our own names. For most of us, we began reciting these four simple words as soon as we learned to speak. The problem with familiarity, however, is that over time the words fade our tongues mechanically, we lose sight of what they truly mean. “Thy will be done,” speaks to our need to surrender to our will, to surrender our desires to the will of God. This is a difficult concept to understand, because we are programmed to do exactly the opposite. Our American culture celebrates the independent spirit. We are the product of the nineteenth century doctrine of manifest destiny, a philosophy that fueled America's expansion “from sea to sea.” We believe we can accomplish almost anything if we set a virtuous goal and, with unwavering determination, work hard to achieve that goal. In the language of today's motivational speakers, we simply need "grit" to carry us through plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay While being strong-willed and fiercely independent are traits that can be useful in this world, they do not serve us well with God. In this morning's reading from Philippians, St. Paul tells the Philippians, "Let each of you look to your own interests , but to those of others". As I read these words from Paul, in the back of my mind I hear the sports coach reminding his players “There is no me in the team.” This is not far from what Paul is trying to convey to his readers: he is telling us that there is no self in God. Later in his Epistle, Paul reaffirms this when he writes: “Have in yourselves the same mind that was in Christ. Jesus, who, despite being in the condition of God, did not consider equality with God an exploitation, but emptied himself, assuming the condition of a slave, being born in human likeness." we live our lives as imitators of Christ, as if like Christ we share one mind with God. Although the church teaches that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine, I believe that what made Jesus fully divine was his choice to sublimate his will to that of God. Despite having the free will to choose between total obedience to God's will or the satisfaction of his own will, Jesus chose the path congruent with "Thy will be done". He succeeded despite his internal struggle, even when it led to his death itself. This was not the easy path to take On the night of Jesus' arrest, Matthew gives us a glimpse of Jesus' struggle when he records Jesus' prayer in the book Garden of Gethsemane, "'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me , but not what I want, but what you want." This is what we mean when we pray, “Thy will be done.” It is as if we were willing to join Jesus in the garden and fully offer ourselves, our soul and our body to the will of God. What is asked of us is the impossible. Living in full obedience to God requires us to be fully perfect like Jesus Fortunately, Paul gives us a way out. He does not call us to BE Christ, but to IMITATE the love of Christ, he asks us to let go of our selfish desires to let go of our pride; somehow better than us; to realize that everything we have been given comes from the grace of God. It takes a lifetime to become a good imitator of Christ. This is the process of what Lamartine Luther often calls the only way there is to literally “fake it, until we make it.” Because it's only through trial and error, pushing ourselves.”