My Faith Thoughts: November 3 sermon

A friend loves at all times but a brother is born for adversity. (Proverbs 17:17, NIV)

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

For whatever reason, I have found myself in recent weeks giving a lot of thought to the concept of friendship. What is friendship? For that matter, what is a friend? It's a very relevant topic for the church; a relevant topic for those who claim faith in Jesus Christ. Friendship is a very biblical concept! But what is it? In a way, the word is hard to define. It's one of those words that's been cheapened a bit in the modern world by the whole concept of “Facebook friendships” - sort-of quasi-relationships that we have with people who we sometimes have never even met face to face, and yet we call them “friends.” Maybe that makes it even harder for us to understand the importance of friendship. I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but “friends” are strange things – not the people, but the concept! There's an old saying that “you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family.” It's probably based on the same principle that Proverbs 17:17 is based upon. And yet I'm not even really sure that's true. Do we always get to “choose” our friends, or do they sometimes just appear in our lives as if they're a part of some sort of plan to help us through a little bit of life and its challenges? It seems to me that perhaps the best friendships are often the ones that surprise us: when the most unexpected people enter our lives in the most unexpected ways, and touch us very deeply. Maybe from time to time we even find ourselves having unexpected “best friends” - those same unexpected people who come in unexpected ways who we find ourselves with an immediate connection to, and who we end up unburdening our souls to, always safe and secure in the knowledge that whatever we tell them won't go any farther. And, let's face it – we all have some unburdening of the soul to do every now and then in our lives, don't we, and when there's someone in our life we can do that with? Well, it's a very precious thing indeed. And sometimes those unexpected friends go away. They touch us, they help us, maybe they even change us – and then they leave for one reason or another, but they always leave something behind for us to cherish don't they, because they've touched our lives and our hearts and our souls in precious ways.

In John 15, Jesus said to His disciples “I have called you friends.” Think about that for a moment. Jesus – saying to His disciples (including us): “I have called you friends.” We call Him Lord, Saviour, Messiah. He calls us “friends” - and implicitly invites us to call Him a “friend” in return.

Think about what I just said about friendship. Think about how Jesus entered the lives of those first disciples. Maybe think about how Jesus entered your life. Or mine. Unexpectedly. Suddenly. Perhaps without warning, maybe without us realizing that He was even there. Maybe without us realizing that we even needed such a friend. Someone to Whom we can unburden our souls, sure in the knowledge that what we say is safe and protected – and also forgiven, because in addition to being our friend, Jesus is, as Scripture declares, the grace of God that entered the world so long ago – the grace that assures us that nothing in our lives can change one very simple and important fact: God loves us with an unshakeable love that can never be changed. And that's a part of friendship too, isn't it? Sometimes friends come in and out of our lives, but even when they feel out of our lives (and there are times when Jesus seems rather distant to me to be perfectly honest) we know that they're still there. Jesus told His disciples “I have called you friends.” And then He was arrested, and crucified and killed and buried. And then His disciples were stunned, shaken, confused, fearful, lost and alone – but never quite without hope, because Jesus had also said, “I'll be killed, but three days later I will rise again.” And then comes the glory of Easter – strange perhaps to mention on the first Sunday of what some people consider to be the bleakest and grayest month of the year – but are we not an Easter people all year round? A people who believe in the presence of Jesus? A people who believe that the friendship He gives to us can never really be taken away? I hope you believe that. I know that I do!

Proverbs 17:17 says “a friend loves at all times.” Not just some of the time. Not just in the good times. Not just when you're on your best behaviour. Not just when you have something to offer them. Not at all. “A friend loves at all times.” We've probably all had people in our lives we think of that way. But we also have Jesus. “I have called you friends.” He loves us “at all times” - and probably often in spite of ourselves. I started thinking about the love of Jesus when we sang one of our hymns last Sunday. It was the one based on the Beatitudes. A couple of people talked to me afterward and expressed how beautiful they thought it was and said they hoped we'd sing it again. We're going to. In just a minute. When you think about the Beatitudes, you're thinking about friendship. Those who have almost nothing to offer in return, being the most blessed people of all – because they are Jesus' friends. And I thought about this line: “Blest are they who suffer hate, all because of Me,” which is a fair paraphrase of the Gospel. That's a statement of friendship. I had never thought of Jesus apologizing before, but isn't that in a way Jesus saying to us, His friends, “I'm so sorry for what you sometimes have to go through because of Me.” That's love. That's friendship. Straight from Jesus: “I have called you friends.”

What is a friend? Look to Jesus. His life, His death, His resurrection. What is a friend? You'll know the answer when you look to Jesus. Let's sing this wonderful version of the Beautitudes, celebrating the friendship of those who have so little with Jesus – Who is All in All!

Blest are they, the poor in spirit, theirs is the Kingdom of God.

Blest are they, full of sorrow, they shall be consoled.