Thought for Today

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.

Proverbs 18:24 Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one's nearest kin.

Matthew 11:19 Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

John 11:11 After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him."  

Yesterday, we talked about the resurrection of Lazarus. For many of us, it is a familiar story about well-known biblical figures, Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Many of us have encountered them in other biblical stories. We have heard sermons on them; we have probably even heard discussions of their personalities and characteristics. Martha is the familiar hard worker, the organizer, caterer, etc. Mary is the more philosophical sister, preferring to sit and listen to Jesus.

What struck me most as I prepared my sermon for yesterday was one word about Lazarus in that verse above from John’s gospel. Jesus referred to Lazarus as “Our friend.” He didn’t refer to him as ‘our fellow believer,’ or ‘our fellow worker.’ Lazarus was a friend of Jesus’ and presumably a friend of the disciples. I believe that implicit in that is that he was, in fact, a fellow believer and a fellow worker. But, Jesus referred to Lazarus as “Our friend.”

We sing that favorite hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. We sing that favorite hymn, Jesus Loves Me. Do we ever stop to think about the fact that Jesus had friends? We know that there were and are others who love Jesus . . . but, just like all of us, Jesus had friends!

Last week, yesterday and still this morning, I thought about friends and friendships, and I continue to do so. Maybe, like me, your mother taught you the adage, “If you want to have friends, you need to be a friend.” The dictionary tells me a friend is, “1a: one attached to another by affection or esteem, b: Acquaintance, 2a: one that is not hostile, b: one that is of the same nation, party, or group, 3:one that favors or promotes something (such as a cause or charity)” (merriam-webster.com/dictionary/friend)

The Greek word translated as friend in those verses above is, “φίλος . . . (1) adjectivally; (a) with a passive sense beloved, dear; (b) with an active sense loving, friendly, devoted.” That sense is included in the name Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.

What does it mean to be a friend? What does it mean to have friends? Is the need for friendship implicit in what it means to be human? Do we all need friends? Maybe even more significantly, do any of us ever stop to think much about friends and friendships?

One of the most daunting aspects of our move from Texas to New England was the idea of leaving a lifetime of friends and going somewhere where the only people we even knew were family members. We had friends from our youth, friends from the raising of our children, neighbors and friends from the church we helped to charter. We moved to a place where we knew only our children and grandchildren.

Thankfully, FDR was correct. The only thing we had to fear was the fear itself. Here we have made friends among our neighbors and certainly within our family of faith. Some are friends because of esteem, some through commonality of “nation, party, or group,” and many because we commonly promote our faith.

I am especially blessed because from my earliest memories, I have known that hymn about Jesus as a friend. I sang it in the Children’s Choir, in the Youth Choir and as an adult worshiper (not in any church’s primary Choir!). Jesus has been my lifelong best friend. Thankfully, my friend Jesus led me to my other best friend. For half my teen years and all my adult years, Greta has been my other best friend.

We all need friends. We all need those with whom we can share our lives, our joys, cares and concerns. We need those with whom we share commonality of thought, belief and concern. We need each other. Even the Son of God needed and had friends.

Stay safe, treasure your friends, trust God,

Pastor Ray