Not As Slaves But As Friends

𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐒, 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐀𝐜 𝟏:𝟏𝟓-𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎-𝟐𝟔

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟏𝟑:𝟏-𝟖 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏𝟓:𝟗-𝟏𝟕

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” (𝒗.12) 

         When we have the time to look into our journey of faith, we will see that many of us have always viewed our relationship with God in terms of a master-servant relationship and this is so because this is what the Church taught us from childhood that God is sovereign king and master and thus must be feared and obeyed.

         In some cases, some people grew up looking at God as a punishing God such that disobedience will always merit a corresponding penalty. There is nothing wrong with this scenario as such may have been passed on from generations to generations since the time of the ancient Jews when God was pictured as someone to be feared.

         But in today’s Gospel, Jesus presents us with two models of relationship with God. One was merely a recollection of how the Jews related to God, a relationship that was premised on God being the master and the people as slaves.

         And Jesus in this Gospel gave his disciples a new paradigm in that they will no longer be regarded as his servants but as his friends: “𝑰 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” (𝒗.15)        

         Wow! Isn’t that amazing that Jesus who is the Son of God but who did not deem equality with God as something to be grasped has set aside any reference to his disciples as servants and who from here on shall be called his friends.

         Hence, as disciples Jesus is also addressing this to us and what a marvelous opportunity indeed that through the Scriptures, Jesus is making known to us everything that is in his heart that he learned from the Father and which he is making known to us now.

         This Gospel challenges us to rethink the kind of relationship we have with Christ because if we are aware of where we stand in terms of our religiosity, we will come to realize that relationship with Christ go through different stages. It may start within the purview of a master-servant relationship especially when we are new to the faith, but this relationship with Christ will deepen depending on the level of our commitment and it changes into a less formal friend-friend type of relationship.

         While some may prefer to remain in that master-servant stage of relationship, the Gospel passage today reminds us that Christ is giving us the opportunity to move beyond this master-servant mindset into a relationship with Him as a friend.

         This relationship that is rooted on friendship should bring about a dramatic change in the way we live and pray for in this kind of friendly relations we can ask Our Lord Jesus Christ whatever we wish and it will be given to us (𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟓:𝟕) for as long as what we ask would bring us good.

         We may at some point balk at this idea of Jesus as someone to whom we can relate to in a more familiar circumstance just as we related to our friends with whom we have become familiar. But Jesus provides us the inspiration that we have been chosen from among the people in the crowd “𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” (𝒗.16)              

         As such, Jesus knew what he was getting into. He knows that we are unworthy and that it would probably have been much better for us to remain as servants, but He also knew the kind of potential that we have, and He commands us “𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 – 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕.” (𝒗.16).       

         This I believe is the key to a fruitful relationship with Christ for it is only when we bear fruit that God will give us whatever we ask in the Name of Jesus. This means that God will not give us what we pray for unless we bear fruit (𝐆𝐚𝐥 𝟓:𝟐𝟐) – fruit that is nurtured by our love for one another because love is the key that will help us unlock the gates of heaven.

         Such love which has no equal we find in mothers whom we honored last Sunday, a celebration that started in the United States since May 9, 1914 when then President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to legislate and declare the second Sunday of May as Mother’s Day. But in England, this was already being celebrated as far back as in the 1600’s and was called “Mothering Sunday.”

         Let me end with a beautiful anecdote about Dr. Anthony Campolo, a highly-respected speaker, author, sociologist, pastor, social activist, and passionate follower of Jesus who spent his time traveling the world speaking about Jesus.

         One time, his wife Peggy, chose to stay home and give herself and all that she has to rear their two children, Bart and Lisa. But on those rare occasions when Peggy does travel with Dr. Capolo, she finds herself engaged in conversations with some of the most accomplished, impressive, influential, sophisticated people in the world.

         After one such trip, Peggy told Tony that sometimes when she visits with these powerful people… she finds herself feeling intimidated and sometimes even questioning her own self-worth. Tony said to her: "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵.        

         Not long after that, Tony and Peggy Campolo were at a party… when a woman said to Peggy in a rather condescending tone, "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰?" Tony Campolo heard his wife say: "𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘦𝘰-𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘢 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦."

        The other woman said: “𝘖, 𝘮𝘺, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳.” This should remind us that what mothers do is as important as some of the important jobs in the world today.

         And today what everyone should keep etched in their hearts are the words of Jesus in 𝒗.16 “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝑰 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆.”

        This my friends is what I believe to be the key to living a fulfilled life to produce that lasting fruit in our lives which is a requisite for all the answers that we seek from God. Because to love puts us right into the presence of the One from whom love flows. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘔𝘢𝘺 14, 2025)