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Gospel: John 15: 9-17
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 may be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When was the last time you saw Jesus? Or felt comforted by his embrace?
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It’s an odd question if you’re looking for his flesh and bones, or a loud trumpet sounding from the heavens.
Christ reveals himself to us constantly, but in much humbler ways. So humble that if you’re not attuned to looking for him, then you won’t notice when he passes by.
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When the Lord first appeared here on earth, he didn’t tear the heavens open by arriving in a blazing chariot of fire. Rather, he came as a helpless baby.
He connected himself to a family, and over the next thirty years, he taught them how to live and love as he did. When the appointed time for his public ministry came, he chose twelve Apostles, forming them in his school of mercy.
In a word, Jesus spent his life building friendships that slowly turned people into living examples of his love.
This is how we still see and feel Lord’s presence today, through ordinary people like us who have learned how to love as Christ has commanded us.
“This is my commandment,” he says in today’s Gospel, “love one another as I love you… You are my friends… I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.”
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So, what does a friend of Jesus look like? What kind of fruit does he expect us to bear?
Consider what he does for the Apostles during the Last Supper, his final night on earth; the moment when he first calls them, “friends.”
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Jesus reveals his affection for them in two ways.
First, he kneels down and washes their feet.
On the surface, the Lord is removing all of the dirt that’s accumulated around their ankles and toes that day, allowing them to enter into their host’s home for the evening to celebrate the Last Supper.
But in a deeper way, Jesus is bathing his friends in forgiveness, washing away all of the muck that’s accumulated in their hearts since he first called them three years ago.
Jesus is washing away the doubt and fear that once clouded Peter’s heart when he sank into the stormy Sea of Galilee. He’s washing away Peter’s selfishness after attempting to stop Christ from entering Jerusalem to suffer and die.
He’s washing away James and John’s pride after requesting to be the “greatest” in his kingdom by sitting at the Lord’s left and right. He’s washing away the lack of faith in the hearts of the others, who tried but failed to cast out demons in his name.
Jesus washes them clean – the first act of friendship.
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Then, while seated at table, he feeds them with his very Self, a gift which the Church will later refer to as, “food for the journey.”
In the Eucharist, Christ leaves them with his abiding presence, assuring the Apostles that he will be with them throughout their journeys here on earth, journeys which will include both suffering and joy; failure and success.
“Take this, all of you, and eat of it, this is my Body … this is my Blood, which will be given up for you. Do this in memory of me.”
Jesus gives them all he has left – his very Self – as food for the journey: a second act of friendship.
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“And you … You are my friends,” he says, “if you do what I command you.”
Meaning, bathe other people in forgiveness; wash their wounds clean.
Then feed them with your very self; not in a literal way as he did, but by offering your time, your treasure, your talent, your energy, your prayers… lend your ears, your hearts, the warmth of your hugs to those in need.
Then we will be his friends, recognizing that these often tiny sacrifices lead others closer to God, the Source of all that is good.
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So, when was the last time you saw Jesus? Or felt comforted by his embrace?
Hopefully, you can turn to your neighbor and say: The last time I saw you.
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Image credits: (1) LinkedIn (2) Jesus Washes the Feet of his Disciples, Ford Madox Brown (3) Pinterest