YOU ARE MY FRIENDS IF...

I have been a member of the Facebook social networking site for almost two years now. My list of “friends” has steadily increased since the day I joined, without me really trying very hard at it. Somehow, its algorithms do the task of searching for friends, and potential friends and friends of friends simply find it very easy to suggest other friends for addition. Soon, they hog your profile page, and everything that they do, once posted in their status feed, and anything they post becomes broadcast to a certain “group” of mutual friends for all to see. That is, if those “friends” keep on visiting your profile and posting messages and status reports on their wall — or yours. Facebook friendship is very iffy, to say the least. You are my friend if you accept me as one, or if I accept you as such. You are my friend if you keep on peeking on my wall or checking on my profile. This friendship is dependent on a number of “ifs” and works on the basis of tit-for-tat. You remain in my network only if you access my profile and do something to make my wall “come to life” on your screen. Is the Lord’s offer of friendship also an “iffy” thing? “You are my friends if…” What could this possibly mean? Does it mean that God’s friendship with us can be deleted at will, like people delete friends’ addresses in their digital address books? This is not my reading of the Gospel passage of today. I do not see an if-so syllogism in the Lord’s words. I see rather a description of what it means to be in a relationship of intimacy with God. The passage tells us what it concretely means to be intimate with Christ. He tells us what it entails, what it ought to show in our behavior. And like we said yesterday, it has to do with listening, learning and obeying. Being friends with Christ is not just a matter of pushing the “confirm” button. It means rolling up one’s sleeves and getting to work. It means “going and bearing fruit that will remain.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB   Reflection Question: Is my relationship with God dependent on a lot of ifs?   Lord, I know that even though the whole world turns against me, You will never forsake me.   St. Just, pray for us.