Most of us grew up on a healthy diet of preaching and hymns. One of those songs I like best of all is: What a friend we have in Jesus. We notice as we read the gospels that Jesus had a lot of friends. One of them, Lazarus, Jesus rose from the dead. We also noticed that a good many of his friends were those most despised in the general population. Many shouted out: “He eats with sinners and the hated tax collectors.” Well, most of us also are not too fond of the IRS.” On one occasion, when he was speaking to these sorts of folks, he told them that they were not just ordinary folks for him; they were his friends. Mary and Martha were his friends, even though these two women were very different in personalities. Real friendship can sometimes be even stronger than our attachment to members of our own family. Now, let’s face it. To be a friend of Jesus means we have to try to give up our stubborn ideas, our bad habits, our prejudices against others, whether because they look different from us or speak a different language. Nevertheless, Jesus asks us for that friendship, even while gently demanding that we begin the process of ridding ourselves of those obstacles to a close friendship with Jesus. Now, it certainly must please Jesus if we have a close friendship with him. After all, the reason he came on earth in the first place was so that he could bond with us and bring us to the heavenly kingdom, living the life of God, with God. One of the consequences of bonding with Jesus causes us to love our fellow man. They go together like a horse and carriage. Of course, we will never, in this life, understand the entire impact this will have on our eternal life. As St Paul taught us: “Now we know as through a glass darkly, but then (when we die) face to face.” So, while not understanding all that this means for you, your life, your spirituality, reach out to Jesus and embrace him and his words. Get a new life.
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