HOMILY OF FRIDAY OF THE 5TH WEEK OF EASTER.
Acts 15:22-31, John 15:12-17
THEME: WHO IS A FRIEND?
QUOTE: Making a friend is an adventure.
We learnt from Jesus’ statement in today’s gospel that a friend is whoever we decide to strike a friendship with. He is not a person who has the best of character or the person who will always be there with us. S/he is the person we have accepted to have access to our private life despite her faults. He is the one we have brought closer to our hearts despite the tendency for betrayal or denial. This means that whosoever we make friend with has the capability of building us and equally has the potential to let us down.
Jesus knew the stuff his disciples were made of yet, he chose not to give up on them.
“I shall not call you servants anymore,
because a servant does not know
his master’s business.
I call you friends,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
You did not choose me:
no, I chose you.”
We cannot impose ourselves on people or force them into friendship. It is a choice. Making a friend is an adventure.
Let’s try not to betray whoever has made us friends. We can manage the honour they have bestowed upon us.
As the Lord Jesus has made us his friends, may our life be filled with total submission to his holy will, that we may bear abundant fruits of joy. Amen.
