Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Before we dive in, I invite you to engage in the following exercise. Close your eyes. Identify someone you consider a friend; someone who has a special, close, personal relationship with you. Think about this person for a moment. How did you meet? What do you do together? What feelings do you have? What is it about your friendship that is special? What words come to mind when you think of this friend? In our Gospel today, Jesus calls us his friends. What is friendship? Part of it is this mysterious intangible experience. It is not something that we can hold in our hand. But it is something that we live by our being and with our hearts; our feelings. We live it freely and we experience it as a gift. Friendship is an opportunity to freely choose to love someone else and care for who they are. True friendship is typically grounded in a concern on the part of each person for the best of the other, for the other’s sake. It is an embodiment of the commandment we receive today: “love one another” (Jn 15:17).
I have had many different friendships throughout my life, some more fulfilling than others. I can provide an extensive list of people who have impacted my life in big and small ways. However, it took me a long time to recognize God’s role in my relationships--“love one another as I love you”. Our relationship with God is reflected in the friendships we have with one another. The world gets very loud and we get very busy. Yet, God is always there waiting for us to turn back to him. Jobs, schedules, ball games, TV, social media, one activity and one distraction to the next. All are empty without God. Growing up I learned all of the Catholic prayers I was supposed to know; we went to church every Sunday; I participated in religious education classes and our church youth group. However, I didn’t really start to understand what it meant to have a relationship with God until I actually paid attention and just spent time in the presence of God. I ignored God pursuing success in sports; desiring to be the smartest kid in class; wanting to make money; wanting to be popular. With God, we all have a door to our heart. There is one handle and it is located on the inside. God is standing on the other side of that door knocking, but we get to choose whether or not we open it. If you participated in the activity that I suggested, think back to the words you reflected on about friendship. Can you apply these to your relationship with God?
God is madly in love with us. God has been pursuing our hearts from the very beginning. All of this comes to fulfillment in Jesus; God truly becomes present to us and shows us how to live, how to love, and how to be friends with each other. The message is simple - we are loved by God. Jesus invites us into a relationship, dare I say to be friends with God. However, friendship with God is a gift; it is grace. Grace is gift, freely given--there is no payment or reciprocal action required to give or do in return. It is offered with no strings attached. We are free to choose what we do with this invitation. Just like the stories throughout time and in the stories of our lives, we can choose to accept it. “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain...this I command you: love one another.” (Jn 15:16-17)
Blessings,
Brandon Meyer