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| The place where it is believed Peter was praying before he was called to the house of Cornelius in the first reading |
A few years ago my brother Cathal who
was studying in Canada told me that he had gone to a particular jazz
concert where a world famous trumpeter by the name of Winton Marsalis
was playing. My brother studied music and is a big jazz fan.
After the concert he went to a local jazz bar only to find Winton
Marsalis had also gone there and played for the rest of the night.
At the end of the session Cathal went up to say hello to this guy.
He couldn’t believe that he even had the chance meet Winton.
When he went up Winton was talking to another man. After a
minute he realised that my brother was waiting to meet him and he
just turned around and put his arm around him and said, ‘Hey, how
are you?’ My brother Cathal said he felt so chuffed that this
famous musician would be so kind as to recognise him and greet him in
this way.
I remember also hearing a story of Pope
John Paul II visiting some place in Poland. And whatever
building he had been brought to, all the staff were lined up to meet
him. When he came into the room he recognised one woman he knew
from years before and straight away he said, ‘Mary, what are you
doing here?’ and he gave her a big hug. She was so
overcome to be singled out by the Pope in this way that she just
burst into tears. For whatever reason we love to feel that we
are remembered, or recognised; that we’re not just nobody.
In the Gospel today there is a simple
phrase which you could easily miss. Jesus says, “I call you
friends,” because he says he has taught us everything about
himself and about the Father. Can you imagine if the Lord
appeared in the sky and we were all watching and he singled you out
and said, “Oh this is a friend of mine.” How bizarre, and
yet what a wonderful privilege. Jesus tells us that we are not
his servants, but his friends and even children. We say that
often, but I think we forget what it means. Our friends are the
ones who look out for us, do favours for us and stick with us. It
also says that in one of the Psalms, ‘It is the Lord who grants
favours to those whom he loves’ (Ps 4:3). Real friends won’t
let us off the hook either, even if we are out of line. They
are the ones who will challenge us, because they love us. Jesus
is telling us the same thing. He treats us as friends, which is
a sign of his love and respect for us. A servant can be let go
at any time if they are not up to standard, but you don’t let go of
a friend, even if they are not up to standard. Jesus is telling
us that this is the regard he has for us. I find that very
comforting.
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| 'I have called you friends' |
My best friends are the ones who have
stood by me through thick and thin and as you know well, you will
know who your true friends are when times are hard. They are
the ones who will stand by you. That is what the Lord Jesus is
saying to us. He is with us and He will stand by us
regardless.
There is another line in the first
reading today that I also want to mention, where Peter says: “The
truth I have come to realise is that God has no favourites; but that
anyone of any nationality who fears God and does what is right, is
acceptable to him” (Acts 10:35). And then as though to prove
the point, just after he said this, the Spirit of God came down on
all who were present and empowered them and these people weren’t
even baptised. They were pagans. God was showing them
something wonderful: All people who try and do the right thing,
are acceptable to God.
I’m sure there are many of you here
who are worrying about your children or loved ones, perhaps because
they don’t seem to be practicing, or living their faith in the way
that we think they should. Well remember this line:
‘The truth I have come to realise is that anyone of any nationality
who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to God.’
Most people I know, whether they practice or not, do fear God and try
to do what is right. I think this should give us and the people
we love great hope. So what are we called to do? We are called to
love them, support and encourage them. We preach the teachings of
Jesus more by the way we love people than any other way.
‘Love
one another as I have loved you.’
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