God’s Gift of Friendship

The Gospel of Mark (2:1-12) tells a story about a time when Jesus was teaching in a house that was so crowded, there was no room even in the doorway. Outside the house stood a group of men with a friend who was paralyzed. They desperately wanted Jesus to see him and heal him. So these friends climb up on the house, dig through the roof, and lower him down. Amazed by the friends and their faith, Jesus heals the paralyzed man.

Good friends are priceless! 

Some time ago, there was an article on friendship in Christian Century magazine by Paul Wadell, a professor of Religious studies at St. Norbert College. Wadell wrote:

“Friendships are narratives of hope, but they can be sustained only by a generosity of heart and spirit that enables the friends to work through the struggles… that mark any real relationship.”

No doubt, friendships take work. They take deep understanding, patience, and forgiveness. They take time to cultivate, and they require us to stick with them through thick and thin. But they are essential to a healthy and faithful life.

The article goes on to quote Saint Augustine: 

“Friends are God’s gifts to us and God loves us through them.” But friendships are also, “Schools of love.” Through them, we learn to faithfully seek the good of another…

I pray today that God would bless you with a generosity of heart and spirit, and through that blessing may you cultivate good friends to walk with you on this journey of life. 

Let us pray: God of grace, what a gift friends are to us… Thank you for the people with whom we have found a sense of connection and companionship. Thank you for the deep love and grace that we feel through them. We lift up our friends to your care today. We also pray today for those who are lonely, and for others who are most often forgotten. Grant us your grace, your patience, your forgiveness, and your love – that we might be better friends to those we love – and better able to reach out to those who may need us most. Amen.