Holy Friendships
In the Gospel today (Mark 4:1-20), Jesus tells the story of a sower as a parable about evangelism and how the message of salvation is received. But I have been meditating on it for a couple of years now as a discussion of friendship. “Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.”
You know relationships like this. There are some people you like and they like you, but when things are difficult, they leave or you leave. There were no roots. You know people with whom the seed fell on the path and no relationship ever started. You have people in your life who are closer and there are roots, but thorns can come up and choke the relationship to damage it or kill it altogether. I think a lot of people in the world are very lonely. I think many people are longing for a relationship which has fertile soil, deep roots and bears fruit 30-, 60-, 100-fold. That relationship may be spousal or not, among relatives or not. If you examined your relationships, how many would you say are deeply rooted and bearing fruit. How many are shallow? Many are blessed to have deep friendships. And very many others are lonely, maybe with no one around and maybe surrounded by people they don’t actually trust. Today, I am praying for relationships, that the Lord will lead us to holy friendships that yield richly even for those around them. Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Sirach 6: 14-16 A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter: he that has found one has found a treasure. There is nothing so precious as a faithful friend, and no scales can measure his excellence. A faithful friend is an elixir of life; and those who fear the Lord will find him.