St. Paul in his letter to the Philippines uses what was probably a hymn to contrast the example of Jesus with that of Adam. Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself. Adam, of course, grasped after that apple because the tempter told him “he would be like God.” Jesus emptied himself into his humanity to show us that we don’t need to grasp after being “like God” by insisting on our own plans. We imitate Jesus when we surrender to the will of God even when it involves sickness or hardship or grief. Taking up our cross means praying with Jesus: “Not my will but thine be done.”
