I Call You My Friends (John 15:12-16)
These four verses, like a strand of Christ’s DNA, contain all that is needed to become a Disciple of Christ. He is preparing The Twelve for his leaving, and in each sentence his Word is like a seed: waiting to explode with Truth; to replicate the Father’s Love; to Reproduce his Son, Jesus.
First, Jesus clarifies his Mission: ‘…love one another, as I have loved you.’ He calls to mind how he walked what he talked: ‘A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.’ His Mission and his Life were One Reflection of his Father’s Love.
‘…I shall not call you servants anymore, because a servant does not know his master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.’ Though we cannot escape the position, Servant of God, Jesus reveals how his Heart perceives us –as Friends. A friend, to Jesus, is someone who brings Delight; whose presence is enjoyed as an equal among the Triune of Equals; who shares his Mission, who has been Co-Missioned into the same Yoke; who bears the same Burdens; who longs with the same Desire –to bring his Needy Ones into the Love of his Father.
‘You did not choose me, no, I chose you’ Jesus reveals the urgency, the exigency, the existential imperative, of our existence to the Kingdom of God. While we were yet Nothing, God, in his Omnipotence, conceived a desirous need –one, that only our insufficient nature could fulfill. God’s Perfect Love needed our imperfection. In choosing to Love, God Almighty took on a state of deprivation; he became a Beggar of Love. He “needed” us to receive and give his Love. He needed our yes for his Plan to be complete.
‘…and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last…’ our Call To Love -our Universal Vocation intrinsic to our purpose- is of Eternal Consequence. In administering the Gift of God’s Love, we participate in the salvation of Souls –in the Eternal Destiny of his Creation.
‘…and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.’ If our Divine Calling, is as such, of Eternal Consequence, then our All Just God must equip us with whatever is required to fulfill our God Given Mission. If we are to love in the Name of God, to love with Jesus’ Love, then it is with the Certainty of Faith, that we must expect to receive the Gift of his Spirit -the Power to Love.
As Friends, Jesus does not expect us to grovel for a portion of his Holy Spirit. Rather, he gives it without ration. He delights in Lavishing his Spirit upon us, for, we are Co-Missioned with him. If we have given our “Yes” to his plan for our life, then, as his Ambassador, we can walk in the confidence of his Power and his Authority, as we are doing so in the Name of God. St. Paul echoes this in Gal 5:6 when he writes, “since in Christ Jesus …what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love.”
Lord Jesus, I want what you want for me. I am too small to grasp the Goodness of your Plan for my life. My sins and fears taunt me to take back my “Yes”. But my weakness only impels the impartation of your Holy Spirit. I joyfully accept your friendship, Jesus. Immerse me in your Power and Love, as in a new Pentecost, that I might be a Faithful son, that I might be a brother in your likeness, that I might accomplish your purpose for my life.
