Friendship with God

Homily for Saturday of the Second Week in Advent

This morning’s reading from the Book of Sirach comes to us from the section which contains several eulogies for the important characters of the Hebrew Scriptures. Our reading ends with an important beatitude: “Blessed is he who shall have seen you and who falls asleep in your friendship.” Our understanding of beatitudes is colored by the so-called eight Beatitudes from the Gospel of St. Matthew. In reality, this is a wisdom statement or macarism, a word that is taken from the Greek “makar,” which means “happy.” It is a statement of praise for a person’s relationship to others, oftentimes a relationship with God. In this particular instance, the word “friendship” immediately stands out. The word “friend” or “friendship” is not used frequently in the Scriptures. In point of fact, Abraham is the only character from the Hebrew Scriptures who is called God’s friend. In the Christian Scriptures, Jesus makes a point of telling his apostles that he calls them friends. So, the beatitude which appears in Elijah’s eulogy is an important testament to the importance of this prophet.

Elijah is one of the two people in the Hebrew Scriptures who does not experience death. In his case, he is taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot. Consequently, the children of Israel thought of him as one who was still alive, and it was customary for them to set a place at their tables for him at important feasts. In the Gospel reading for today, the apostles speak of the tradition that has grown among the Jewish people regarding Elijah who was expected to precede the appearance of the Messiah. For the followers of Jesus, we immediately think of John the Baptist.

What Jesus says of the apostles, he also says of us. We can claim friendship with Jesus. Our relationship with Jesus is special. We can honestly say that we fall asleep with him every night as we close each day with prayer. We come to the midway point of Advent today. As we celebrate the Eucharist this morning, let us take time to welcome our friend as we receive his body and blood in this most holy Sacrament. May today be a day in which we remember our friend, Jesus.