Six Sundays ago we celebrated Easter. Next Saturday we will
celebrate First Holy Communion in our parish and next Sunday the Ascension of
the Lord. Two weeks from now we will celebrate Pentecost. And in seven months
and nineteen days, we will celebrate Christmas. Time moves quickly: so many
parents and teachers in our community know this. It seems like the first day of
first grade was only a few days ago. And now there is a high school or college
graduation. It seems like the baptism was only a few months ago and next
Saturday is First Communion. Time moves quickly. The images of our memories
move quickly. The images of our relationships move so very quickly through our
memories.
Images are powerful. Images are filled with memory and
emotion. They speak to us. Images tell our story. They tell us our history and
our values. Images tell us about our relationships. I am the Good Shepherd. I
know my sheep and my sheep know me. Images tell us about our unity. I am the
vine and you are the branches. We are precious in the sight of the shepherd and
we draw our life from the vine. We are fed by the shepherd and nourished by the
vine. The images move so quickly. Time moves so quickly.
And maybe that is why, when there was only a little time left
on that Holy Thursday evening, Jesus spoke so directly: I no longer call you
slaves, but my friends. I have called you friends because I have told you
everything I have heard from my Father. Jesus Christ calls each of us his
friend.
A sheep is purchased or born into a flock and a branch
springs forth from the vine; a friend is chosen. A friend shares in the joys. A
friend shares in the meal. A friend shares in the hopes and the dreams, the
tears and the triumphs. A friend shares in the suffering and the grief. A
friend shares in the silence when words are no longer necessary. And Jesus
calls each of us his friend.
Friendship is dangerous. It is easy to get hurt. When Jesus
calls the disciples his friends at the Last Supper, Judas has already left.
Peter, who will deny him only a few hours later, is still reclining at the
table. The other disciples will abandon Jesus so quickly when the guards arrest
him. Jesus calls them friends and soon after they run away. Friendship is
dangerous. It is easy to get hurt. An open heart is easily pierced. And yet,
Jesus Christ calls each of us his friend.
Jesus calls us friends. He chose us to be his friends. Jesus
came to meet us. Simon and Andrew were not looking for Jesus while they were
fishing. Jesus was looking for them. Matthew was not looking for Jesus. Matthew
was sitting at the customs table. Jesus was looking for him. Jesus chose his
disciples and he chooses to call them his friends. Jesus called us to be his
disciples and he chooses to call us his friends. We are friends of Jesus
Christ. He has called each of us his friend.
And that means that we share in the joys and the sufferings
in the heart of Jesus. We share in the agony in the garden. We share in the
scourging at the pillar. We share in the cross . . . and we share in the empty
tomb. We share in the victory over sin and death. We share in the glory of God
which shines on the face of Jesus Christ. Jesus shares everything with us. We
are more than sheep. We are more than branches. We are friends of Jesus Christ.
And now, Jesus Christ invites us to his table. We come
quickly to the banquet where Christ the Savior, the High Priest of our
confession and the Lamb who once was slain but lives forever, calls us his
friends and feeds us for eternal life. Amen.
