Word to the Wise
Friday, February 24, 2017 - Friday in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
[Sir 6:5-17 and Mark 10:1-12]A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; for he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself. [Sirach]
These words of wisdom from the Book of Sirach have been influential in my own life because they have described my own experience. One of the saddest pastoral moments that I encounter is a session in which someone admits that they have no friends to speak of. In some cases not even a spouse is a friend! My own experience has been that friendship is like food and oxygen. It is hard to understand how someone can live a healthy life without friends. Yet the individualism that is built into our American culture militates against committed relationships that endure for years.
St. Thomas Aquinas uses the model of human friendship as the best analogy for a relationship with God! When we look at this relationship from that point of view, God is always there and always wants the best for us. God is always forgiving and knows our virtues and vices inside and out. Is there a human person in your life whom you would describe in that way? This is the reality of love that permeates a real friendship. Marriage is often difficult for those who do not become close friends before deciding to marry. Sexual attraction and statements like, "All the people we knew were getting married, so we figured we might as well get married, too" are not very good foundations!
Read the words from Sirach and ask if you know someone(s) like that? I have been and continue to be blessed in that way and wish that everyone can say, "Yes!" to the question. I surely hope God will be on the list! AMEN
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