Friday of the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time
“Keep away from your enemies; be on your guard with your friends.” (Sir 6) How are we to square this scripture with what we heard from our Lord earlier in the week: “imitate the Father who is merciful towards the wicked and ungrateful; and realize that those who are not against you are for you.”(?) Maybe what we need to realize that in both cases we are to let the Lord be our main focus and relationship, and guard against letting His influence upon us become less than the influence that our neighbors have upon us. As the Psalmist prays, “Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commmands.” (Ps 119:35)
We are called to be united to the wisdom of the Lord. “What God has joined together, no human being must separate.” By letting the Lord be the most powerful influence in our life, we will find that we are not thus disconnected from our neighbors. Rather, we will see the wisdom which unites us more than any simply human wisdom or affection or advantage ever could. We see the bonds we forge with our neighbors as forged by the Lord, and thus not to be treated as trivially created, nor trivially neglected, but to be cherished, fostered, and upheld. We are challenged to see what kind of friends we are to those the Lord places in our life: fair weather friends, back-biting friends, only-when-I-feel-like-it friends, or the kind of friend whom misfortune cannot keep away, who wants to console our neighbor in times of sorrow, who wants stick with others in their trials and distress?
Do we truly fear the Lord and imitate His faithfulness? Or, has another influence defined friendship for us, in our minds or in our actions? Do I see how Christ loves me with true human friendship, with the affections of a fully human heart? Do I see that His heart loves me even in my distress and sorrow? Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine!