A Sacred Friend In Need . . .

“Your friends make known O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom“ ~ Psalm 145

In both today’s First Reading (2 Timothy 4:10-17) and Gospel (Luke 10:1-9) the latter of which was chosen a mere 15 days ago but logically revisited on this the day we celebrate the Feast of Saint Luke, we’re afforded the opportunity to reflect upon this idea of genuine, “all-in” Apostleship.

First Paul lauds Luke’s perseverance in his letter to Timothy, his willingness to stand tall in the face of persecution when many others, Demas and Alexander in this particular instance, abandoned him. In light of dwindling Sunday Mass attendance, a growing disbelief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and many other signs that the militant and weed-infested secular culture is choking out the beauty of Christ’s true bride the Church, it remains clear that the more things change, the more things remain the same.

Our Gospel carries with it a similar message, one in which Jesus himself warns Luke and his fellow Apostolic Evangelists that they should expect to be ignored, scorned, despised even. Luke’s Gospel isn’t merely a collection of fanciful stories. He is proclaiming to us that God, in the person if Jesus, has come into the world to save it. He will come again on the last day.

I chose the Responsorial Psalm from the Daily Mass today to begin today’s reflection, something I rarely do, because the word “friend” in reference to Jesus grabbed my attention. Savior of the World, King of Kings, Redeemer, the Lamb of God; these are but a few of the titles that the faithful have assigned to Jesus over the years. But how often do we contemplate our relationship with Jesus through the prism of friendship?

A question commonly posed by those entering into full communion with the church or perhaps those of a general inquisitive nature is “if God doesn’t need us, why did he create us?” The answer of course is that God created us out of love, and love is diffusive. As such, we too are called to spread this perfect love of Jesus, as imperfect as we are, as far and as wide and as deep as we can during our relatively short time on this earth.

As we reflect upon the life of Jesus’ close friend Luke, it’s tragic to think that many will never hear, or even worse ignore his tireless evangelical crusade, his apostleship, his Gospel message of repentance and joy. His martyrdom. Luke eDolores and poses this very thought in his own synoptic Gospel (Luke 18:8) as he asks “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

If we too are true friends of Jesus, we must take to the streets and proclaim this message with our words, our thoughts, our choices and our actions. Yes, although some may disagree with me, I do believe that Jesus, upon creating us, now needs our friendship so that the millions upon millions of souls that might otherwise be spiraling towards a tragic eternal demise rooted in torment and horror may be saved by his example, he who is the word made flesh.

Jesus is our “friend in need.” Do we seek to answer the call? Do we want to enter into a true friendship with him?

If so, now is the time to prove it.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings of peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation!” ~ Isaiah 52:7