One of the greatest gifts in life is a faithful friend.

 

Such a friend is more than an acquaintance, a neighbor, a co-worker, a classmate, colleague, fellow sports fan, or individual with whom we share a common interest.

 

A faithful friend is someone who loves and cares about you, thinks the best of you, encourages your efforts, celebrates your successes, lifts you up when you fail, helps you whenever needed, never forgets important occasions, brings you joy, and stands by your side.

 

As we read in the scriptures, “Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure. Faithful friends are beyond price, no amount can balance their worth” (Sirach 6:14-15).

 

We can think of Jesus as the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Light of the World, the Word made flesh, the Savior, the Redeemer, and the Lord. But we also can think of Jesus as that perfect, faithful friend who always stands by us. He is the friend who even lays down his life so that we might be freed from sin and death and brought into an everlasting relationship with God.

 

But Jesus can also think of us in the same way we think of him, namely, as his friends. We learn that in this Sunday’s Gospel (John 15:9-17).

 

In that Gospel, Jesus says the people who are his friends are those who love others in the same way that he loved. He tells us, “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you…You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

 

Jesus says the people he considers his friends are those to whom he has addressed the words that the God the Father sent him to proclaim. “I have called you friends because I have told you everything that I heard from my Father.”

 

You and I think of ourselves as Christians, as followers of Christ—and we are. We recognize him as our Savior and Lord who speaks to us in the Scriptures and who touches us with his life-giving presence in the Sacraments.

 

But Sunday’s Gospel reminds us that the Lord thinks of us not just as his followers but also as his friends. We are the friends of Jesus Christ, and the Church is the place where his friends come together to grow closer to him and closer to one another.

 

What a friend we have in Jesus, and what friends Jesus has in us!

 

© 2024 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski