Is Jesus Your Best Friend?
“People, let me tell you ’bout my best friend
He’s a warm hearted person who’ll love me till the end”
~ Harry Nilsson
There was an old television sitcom that I used to love watching, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. It was a story of a widower and his young son. His son believed that his father should be married again and would often try to match him up with other women, all to great hilarity. Even though there were a lot of laughs, it was a good-natured show and was often very touching.
One of the reasons that I liked the show was because of the theme song by Harry Nilsson. People, let me tell you ’bout my best friend was a quick, witty song that was also what could be called a “feel good” song. It always got me in the mood to watch the episode. After all, who doesn’t want to hear about a parent and child loving one another and facing the world together?
I think about that as we consider today’s feast, that of St. John, Apostle and evangelist. I could imagine John singing, “People, let me tell you ’bout my best friend. He’s a warm-hearted person who’ll love me till the end.” He “sang” that quite regularly in his gospel passages. He spoke about the love of God quite poetically and as a person who knew the Lord and had not only great admiration but great affection for Him.
John was often referred to in the gospels as the Apostle that Jesus loved best. At the end of His life, as He hung on the cross, Jesus entrusted the care of His Mother, Mary, to John. In the Christian tradition, John was said to have moved Mary to Ephesus in order to care for her. He was not only one of the people who wrote about Jesus’ ministry, he was also the one Jesus trusted enough to ask him to care for Mary.
Friendship means much to all of us. We do all that we can to make friends beginning at a very early age. Our friends encourage us and embolden us. When friendships break apart, they affect us deeply and we grieve as much as we would for the death of a loved one. True friendships are quite rare. They say that if we make two or three extremely close friends in life we are quite fortunate. True friends are with us through thick and thin, in good times and bad times, always ready to come to our aid.
John told us about his best friend, Jesus, that warm hearted person who’ll love us to the end. As we continue the celebration of Jesus’ birth, let us thank Him for being our best friend and ask Him for all the graces that we need to remain His best friends throughout our lives here on earth so that we may live with Him forever in heaven.
FAITH ACTION: Spend some quality time with Jesus today whether it be in prayer or in service. Also, let those whom you consider to be good friends know what they mean to you.