Homily for July 7, 2019 - Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for July 7, 2019

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Christian Friendship

            Why did Jesus send out His disciples two-by-two? Doesn’t He know that He could cover twice as much ground, and preach to twice as many people if He just sent them out one-by-one? Yet the Lord realizes that we desperately need Christian friends if we are to become saints! There will be perils on this journey – Jesus Himself tells His disciples that they will be rejected, which would tempt them to lose faith if they did not have the support of their friend!

            Almost all saints became holy with the help of friends. Would we have a St. Clare if there wasn’t a Saint Francis? It was through the example and witness of his friend St. Ignatius that St. Francis Xavier converted and became a great missionary. St. Paul had his St. Barnabas, St. Augustine had his St. Ambrose. Saints often become saints with the help of devout friends!

            When I was a teen, one of my best friends was a fellow named Steven, who was a couple years younger than me. One day we were talking and I told him about how I just got my driver’s license. He was so excited for me and he said, “That’s great, Joe! Now you can get to daily Mass!” At the time I was not nearly as devout, so I probably looked at him strangely, but his response always stuck with me – he was concerned about my own growth in holiness, more than I was even concerned about it!

            And this is the value of Christian friendship – and why we all need good Christian friends. The spiritual life is a challenging endeavor – we are faced with temptations, discouragement, frustration – and we need brothers and sisters in the Lord who can encourage us and spur us onward. Scripture says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” – meaning that friendship can help to form us in holiness. A real friend will challenge us to grow, support us when we are weak, inspire us to greater virtue. Listen to these words from the Book of Ecclesiastes: “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Friendship is so necessary for the Christian life!

            Have you ever watched those nature documentaries about life on the African savannah? The ones with the British guy narrating: “And here comes the lion, stalking his prey, moving in to take out the solitary wildebeest…” How do lions and tigers take down their prey? They have to isolate it. A herd of zebras is frightening to a lion, but if a lion is able to get one separated from the pack, then it becomes an easy lunch. Likewise, one of Satan’s biggest tactic is to isolate us. If we are cut off from Christian friendship, we become sitting ducks for the Evil One!

Unfortunately, genuine friendship is in short supply in today’s world. We have a thousand “Facebook friends” or Instagram followers, but not too many real friends with whom we can share our desire for holiness. So how do we develop and foster genuine Christian friendships? Three thoughts:

First, we must eliminate harmful friendships in our lives. Last fall a freshman at Trinity came into my office and plopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh. I asked him what was wrong and he just moaned, “Father Joseph, I’ve got to find new friends!” He recognized that his friends were not the kind of people that would not help him become the best version of himself! If our friends just want to party and get drunk and lead us into sin, we need to separate ourselves from them. In a very real way, we become like our friends. It says in the Book of Proverbs, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

Second, we must be intentional about finding Christian friendships. They don’t just happen! We must be willing to come to the Holy Name group for men or Walking with Purpose for women. If you’re a young adult, come to the young adult group here. We’ll be starting a youth group in the fall, so if you’re in middle school or high school you can find Christian friends there. Notice if a friend at work is wearing a cross, and ask them about it. Introduce yourself to the people sitting near you in church, who you see every week but have never spoken with! This past week someone was telling me that they love the 7:30am Mass because they can get in and out without ever having to talk to someone – what a shame! They are missing out on a great opportunity to develop Christian friendships! We must be intentional in seeking out Christian friendships – they don’t just happen!

Third, we must foster Christian friendships. Everyone in today’s world is so busy (or at least they like to think they are), and often friendships fall by the wayside. But what is more important – binge-watching the latest series on Netflix, or taking the time to pursue a relationship with others? The book of Sirach speaks about the value of friends: “A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he that has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence. A faithful friend is an elixir of life; and those who fear the Lord will find him.” We must take the time to cultivate and foster holy friendships. It takes sacrifice, but it is well-worth it.

My friends, Jesus purposely chose to send His disciples out two-by-two because He knew that we are not meant to make this Christian journey alone. Even Jesus had friends – Martha and Mary and Lazarus were among His closest companions, and at the Last Supper He said to His disciples, “I call you friends.” We desperately need Christian friendship in order to grow in holiness and to become the saints we are called to be!