Jesus: the Perfect Friend

(Plain Text Version)

Jesus: The Perfect Friend
When things go wrong, we can tell how good a friendship is.  It is easy to be a friend to someone who always treats us fairly.  When betrayal happens, we usually see the end of a friendship.
Jesus had an intense friendship with the twelve men chosen to be His Apostles.  They were not perfect.  In the Gospels, we see stubborn refusal to believe that Christ would die and rise from the dead, attempts to gain the highest places, and other faults.  In addition to these defects, Judas Iscariot collected donations and embezzled them.  Jesus was able to foresee all of these problems, but He chose these particular men anyway.
By looking at Jesus’ love for Judas, we see perfect friendship.  Jesus knew that Judas had made a pact with His enemies, but did not respond in kind.  He didn’t denounce Judas or expel him from the company of the Apostles. 
It was with sorrow that Jesus announced that one of His Apostles would betray Him (Matthew 26: 21).  It was with sorrow that He said that His betrayer would be better off if he had never been born (Matthew 26: 24).  Just before Judas left to finish the deed, Jesus handed him “the morsel of bread”, a gesture of special favor (see John 13: 26).
When Judas handed Jesus over to the soldiers, Jesus still spoke to him kindly, saying “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22: 48).
We are in awe of our Savior for maintaining His friendship after such provocation.  Even though Judas was determined to go through with his evil plan, Jesus was ready to forgive him and restore him. 
From the sad story of Judas Iscariot, we see what perfect friendship is.  Jesus has no desire except what is good for us.  It doesn’t matter what we have done.  Jesus is already our friend.  We only need to admit our wrong and do our part in making things right.

Celebrations For the Conclusion of Lent
This week ends with liturgical celebrations of the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood (Holy Thursday), Jesus’ suffering and death on the Cross (Good Friday) and the Resurrection (Easter Sunday).  If it isn’t possible to come to church, the liturgies can be watched on the internet (Ewtn.com is one good source).

Have a blessed Holy Week and Easter Sunday!