WATCHWORD:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34
I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. John 15:15
Meditation:
Friends and Lovers
We sometimes miss in all of our readings and studying of scripture Jesus’ simple and uncomplicated words, ‘I call you friends…’. So, what is a ‘friend’? How do we consider that quality, that title, that word, that honor?
It was a Wednesday evening, I think in October of last year, when I first heard this story in an episode of The West Wing, on Netflix.
“A man walks down the street and falls into a hole. He cries out, ‘Someone help me!’ A doctor walks by, looks into the hole, hears the man’s cry, writes out a prescription and throws it into the hole, then walks on. A priest walks by, hears the man’s cry, looks in the hole. Writes out a prayer, throws it into the hole, and walks on. A friend walks by, hears the man’s cry for help, and jumps into the hole! The man says, Friend, what are you doing? Now we are both here. The friend looks at him and says, ‘Yes, but I’ve been here before, and I know the way out.’ ”
So, again, what is a friend? In this time of Covid fears and political strife, are we learning to rise above it? Isolation and separation were merely geography. Those loved ones and friends – I’m here, while you were there – but, we know we are together. Exclusion is a condition of non-communication, a condition of no contact, no warmth, both a physical and emotional separation, the worst kind. For the most part, that is not what we experienced.
Many of us have gone through the grief of losing a loved one, and we know the power and importance of a friend reaching out, physically but also communicating the fact that they are holding you in their thoughts and prayers. Remember how good that felt, how important it was? Still is.
The similarities between the Pandemic and losing a loved one, are real. We have experienced loss over these months; a loss of freedom, loss of the familiar, often the loss of the touch of a loved one. That feeling of loss is minimized by friends that reach out, friends that call, friends that FaceTime or Zoom, if only to say “how are you doing?”, letting you know that the milk of human love and friendship flows freely.
How do you show love to another as Jesus loves? You could wash your friend’s feet, but you don’t have to! You could lay down your life, but we pray it doesn’t come to that. So, then what? Simple. Be a friend. Make the call. If you are fortunate to be able to be out and about, and you meet others, take the time, chat, gossip, brag, inform, etc., in other words, tell them, with verbal’s and non-verbal’s, that they are important, that they are special, that they are… whatcha call it? Oh, yeah, friends.
My friends might tell you, honestly, that sometimes I am more of a hermit than a social person, and to that I would say, yes and no. This period of isolation was a bear for all of us and we do what we can to stay sane, and to help those close to us stay grounded. I got lost in the fantasy-land of story, of research, of drifting off into silliness of words. But, that really isn’t the whole me, that’s just one side. I do love, and cherish my friends, in-family and out. But, you know, my story is not unique. The nature and character of how you cope is your own, and it is important that you hold on to that, and practice that. Its your story.
We should be very much like the friend that jumps into the hole, and, together, you can figure your way out. We are blessed to be a friend, and we are blessed to have friends. In that we are following the model that Jesus sets for us. Cherish that and we will climb out of this ‘hole’ together. Amen?
Bulletin Board:
With the wonder of the Thanksgiving gatherings fresh in our minds, Nina shares with us this from her mother: “It’s great when guests come! And it’s great when guests leave!” The guests probably feel the same 😉
Closing Prayer:
The Lord’s Prayer, would be a good way to end this, after all, He gave it to us. Our Father which art in Heaven…
May the Lord bless us and keep us,
May the Lord cause His face to shine upon us,
May the Lord grant us His Peace.
Amen.
