January 9

Beloved of Good Shepherd Church,

Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!

One of the most Christian things you can do is make friends. A friend is one who is curious about the life of another and asks sincere and heartfelt questions in order to get to know the other and make that person into a friend. Jesus had lots of friends, and he encouraged his friends to make friends. That’s what “fishing for men” means - making friends. There is a wonderful line in Thomas Merton’s book New Seeds of Contemplation about God and friendship. “God said: I do not laugh at my enemies, because I wish to make it impossible for anyone to be my enemy.” God’s deep desire is to turn all of us into His and each other’s friends. It is possible to be friends with anyone because God dwells within everyone. Therefore, at the very least, the Divine indwelling me can befriend the Divine indwelling you. Thus a basic, everyday Christian activity is to look for a friend in your neighbor. Look deeply, there is a friend in there somewhere. The trick to finding a friend is the sacred practice of curiosity. Ask sincere questions, then listen intently to the answers your soon-to-be friends give with the goal of making it impossible for anyone to be your enemy. Peace is not as big and daunting a project as we sometimes make it. Don’t look to agree with everyone or have your way be the way, just make friends.

My prayer is that at Good Shepherd we are cultivating an environment in which it is safe and easy to make friends. At the most basic level a Christian is one who is a friend to whoever is standing right in front of him or her. What a grand and joyful adventure this life is!

Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!

Love is all,

Hendree+