Dear Saints,

An extraordinary thing happens in this Sunday’s gospel: Jesus calls us his friends. Can you imagine that? His friends! It only makes sense, then, that we spend a few moments contemplating the nature of friendship, and there’s no better guide in this exercise than C.S. Lewis.

The first hallmark of friendship, according to Lewis, is that friends walk side-by-side in lockstep towards something. True friendship springs from common interest - a joint venture into something greater than self. Let’s ask ourselves: what is the shared passion into which Jesus has invited us, and how will we join him?

A second hallmark of friendship is that, though it is faithful, it is not given out of constraint or necessity. As Lewis says, “Friendship is utterly free from Affection’s need to be needed...¦the mark of perfect friendship is not that help will be given when the pinch comes (of course it will) but that, having been given, it makes no difference at all.” Jesus doesn’t need us. But he wants us all the same.

And a third hallmark of friendship is that it is not jealous, but it is exclusive. In other words, more really is merrier when it comes to true friends: the addition of another makes every bond stronger. At the same time, Lewis says, friendship is something of a countercultural force. Friends hold fast to the ties that bind them. Think about those who share what others might call a quirky passion: the whole world could find them ridiculous, and it doesn’t make a bit of difference to their mutual enjoyment. As friends of Jesus, we’re both constantly on the lookout to bring others into the relationship and utterly unbowed by what others think of our zeal.

As we go forward in friendship with Jesus and each other, let’s remember what it truly means to be his friend. In this way, our lives will bear fruit that lasts forever.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ