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Gospel: John 15: 9-11
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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This Gospel passage is a tiny excerpt from the final words that Jesus speaks to his disciples before his betrayal and arrest. He tells them many things about where he’s from and where he’s going.
Then he concludes with the words, “I no longer call you slaves, but friends.”
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In Christ’s time, there was an elaborate social hierarchy.
At the bottom, there were slaves and commoners. Above them were merchants, soldiers, generals, and advisors of the king.
At the very top, there was a select group of people known as, “friends of the emperor.”
These “friends” had unlimited access to the king. They could approach him at anytime, even in his bedchamber. Meaning, they interacted with him while he was vulnerable; unarmed; arrestingly human.
They had access to the king’s heart.
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The disciples have become that type of friend to Jesus. Over the last three years, they’ve seen him weep; watched him pray; listened to him as he poured out his heart.
In Jesus, the disciples have access to the heart of God.
We can have that same intimacy with him. Jesus will speak to us, console us, and reveal himself to us.
To be his “friend,” he asks only one thing: “Keep my commandments,” of loving God and our neighbor as ourselves.
What does that mean for me today?
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Image credits: (1) Walking With Purpose (2) A Ransomed Soul, WordPress (3) Fresh Heart Ministries, Paul Waterman