The last couple of days I spent time with both my upper and lower household. In fact for 48hrs the only people I saw were my household. On Thursday some of us went to Wonderland to celebrate the birthdays of two brothers. One of those brother’s was Vince, who was our Full Time Pastoral Worker (FTPW), and Thursday was his last full day with us here in GTA. If it’s one thing that really stood out amongst all the business and excitement of the day was friendship.
It was truly an honour to seriously be able to call each and everyone I was with a friend. We were hanging out because we wanted to be with each other. It wasn’t out of obligation or because of an event, we were just chilling. I say this not out of bitterness or to throw any shade, but it was something that stood out because I have been in households before where the friendship doesn’t go beyond the meetings and service events. My personal household journey and experience has not always been an easygoing one. I’ve experienced the m.i.a., gone inactive household heads. The only call or text you last-minute when there’s an event household heads. And the awkward small talk, obligated to say hi and bye at an event, household heads. I’ve also had the pleasure of having household heads who were accountable for me. The ones that randomly check up on you. The household heads who are genuine friends and you can be real with about every and anything. In terms of myself being a household head, I’m sure there have been times where I fail. Times where I’ve been a bit of all the aforementioned types, but hopefully I’ve also been able to be accountable to others and to be a friend.
It’s not only about household heads, but the entire household. To be friends with the people you serve with makes a huge difference. Much like when you have a job, it could be the most annoying job in the world but if you have a strong team of co-workers you genuine like and can get along with it makes all the difference!
So after the long day on Thursday, some of us saw Vince off at the airport early Friday morning. I was able to beat the rush hour traffic and make it to morning mass. Not going to lie, I was extremely tired. Wednesday night I had about 3hrs of sleep, and again on Thursday night only another 3hrs. The temptation to skip mass was real as I arrived to the church at 8am and had to wait half an hour. Interestingly enough, in my half-dazed state, what really woke me up was the responsorial psalm where the response was, “Your friends make known Your glorious kinsmanship, O Lord.”
At first I thought I misheard it because it seemed so out of place to me. In a sense it seemed too casual. So I paid closer attention and again the congregation echoed, “Your friends make known Your glorious kinsmanship, O Lord.”
I broke it down into two parts. First, I thought about the Apostles and their journey with Christ. I was up really late Wednesday night talking to a friend in a difference province, I didn’t even feel tired at the time because the conversation was life giving to me. One of the things we talked about was humanizing the saints and thinking about what they were like when they were on earth. For example when they went out on mission together, imagine if they couldn’t sleep because one of the apostles were snoring too loud. It would have been inevitable that they did things to get on each others nerves, but they probably had moments where they trolled each other for fun too. In their journey together they became friends, and not just with each other, but truly friends with Jesus in flesh.
After Jesus’s time on earth they didn’t just stop being friends or forget about Jesus. Rather they accepted the mission that was bestowed upon them and kept going. They had a personal stake in the mission, not just because of fear of the Lord or fear of the loss of heaven, but also because Jesus was their friend! Talk about your original ride or die homies. I found the wording in the responsorial psalm to be very deliberate. It didn’t say “Your followers”, “Your people”, or “Your servants”, but rather it said “Your friends”.
The second part was about the Lord’s glorious kinsmanship. One definition I found for kinsmanship is, “a bond shared between two or more individuals. Its more than friendship…. There is a closeness, a sense of fierce loyalty to someone not of blood relation.” This is the definition I had in my mind when I was at mass. And to be honest I found it profoundly flattering and just unfathomable that the Lord would want to be my friend. The Apostles’ job wasn’t to brag about their friendship with God, but rather invite you and to show God’s great love and how He wants to be in friendship with you! Everything about Christ is rooted in love and in relationships. “God Himself is an eternal exchange of love – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and He has destined for us to share in that exchange.” – CCC 221
And so the Apostles were entrusted to share all that love and all that Jesus had taught them to others. That mission carries on today still through us. Once you’ve received the love of Christ and truly get to know Jesus, you become His friend! And like the responsorial psalm both reminds and instructs us, “Your friends make known your glorious kinsmanship, O Lord.” It is our duty, what we should be doing; let the glorious genuinely deep friendship and love the Lord has for each and everyone for us known to every single person on earth.
I was happy that I was able to experience even a small fraction of this through the Christ centered friendships in my households. I pray that we are able to bring Christ centered love to all our friendships that we have now and in the future.
In Christ,
Meagan Webb