We all likely have our idea of what true friendship is, don’t we? There is a list of characteristics that are at the ready, such as dependability, responsibility, trustworthiness, accountability, amongst other things. We count them as a shoulder that is good to cry on, another soul to bounce ideas off of, and perhaps someone who shares our interests. Fundamentally, though, we consider them to be someone that we find to be good to be around. They enrich our lives in some way, and keep us on the straight and narrow.
Now, with all of these qualities of friendship, it gives us a moment to stop and apply them in a particular way: on our relationship with God, and with His Son. Do we consider Jesus Christ a good friend of ours? Or is this relationship something that is forced upon you- something you didn’t choose, and never felt like you had any say in? Have you actively chosen this relationship, and want to continue to foster and grow this relationship? Either way we see it, do we understand what love that God is pouring into this relationship- we can also ask the next question: have we accounted for what He does for us in His friendship with us? If we take a glance at the readings for this weekend, we should have a better sense of God’s relationship and friendship with us, and what these will look like.
In particular, we can look at the Gospel from two points of view for this weekend.
The first perspective: If we see the Gospel only framed in the light of an imperative statement given to us by God, it seems that we miss out on a fundamental point of what Jesus is saying. We would likely fixate on the commandments and what Jesus has told us to do. We may tend to look at this as a mandate, or as something that is imposed onto us with no tangible benefit.
The second perspective: Jesus invites us into friendship with Him- in a personal way. If we understand this correctly, this isn’t simply a God that is “out there” somewhere, but one that wants to get personal with you and I! If we think on our relationships with our friends, notice- we don’t likely think of them as tyrants, or one sided relationships. Even when they invite us to change in a certain way or challenge us on a certain point- we trust them to act for our good in these things. Sure, there is still give and take in both directions, yet, there is fundamentally great amount of benefit that comes out of a good friendship! It is much the same in our relationship with Jesus. This friendship isn’t just a hollow title, nor is it one that we can simply kick back and enjoy. It is something that we ourselves have to put energy and to put effort into. Christ reminds us that we are friends, however, not slaves. Slaves have no choice in the transaction, and likely get little benefit. We, if we hold fast, on the other hand, gain a great amount of benefit in following the Lord in gaining the kingdom of heaven- but also in our day to day lives. This is a big deal- that God Himself wants to treat us, not as subordinates, but as sons and daughters- as His friends!
The practical applications of this are plentiful. If we view our relationship with God out of friendship, and not out of servitude, it may change our attitudes and approaches to many things. For example: when we attend Mass, are we doing so because we “have to?” Or are we responding as a friend of God would and seeing it as an opportunity to draw close to Him- especially in the Eucharist as His physical presence? Are we courageous enough to approach confession as someone who wants to remove every sin and obstacle that holds back our relationship with Christ? Are the Ten Commandments inconvenient, or do we trust Jesus and His friendship with us enough to understand they are for our good? Do we take time to pray every day because we have no other option, or do we embrace prayer because we need that quality time with our Lord, each and every day?
The reality is, our relationship with Christ is vital to our very lives. It flows into our every relationship, but it also allows us to see Jesus and His immense love for us (as the Cross shows us so well), and also gives us an invitation to respond to that friendship- to remain in that love!
So, the question for each of us to ponder this week- do we see Jesus and His friendship with us for what a tremendous gift it is? Are we allowing that friendship to define the way we live our life and our faith today?
