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Real Friendship (19 January)

I’m part of a gang…not the type of group that might come to mind when you hear that word, but a friendship group which started over 30 years ago in a church youth group. And it’s a pretty big gang consisting of nine women, husbands and 30 offspring (which now have husbands, fiancés, girlfriends, boyfriends and children in tow!). I’m not sure quite when and why the title ‘The Gang’ came into existence but they’re the kind of friends that you can go months without speaking to, and yet, when we do, we just pick up where we left off. Throughout the years we have laughed, cried and mourned together. We have celebrated, laughed even more and walked alongside one another when life has taken another unexpected turn (which seems to happen even more regularly the older we get) and we’ve all been on holiday together! I’m probably not the only one who would say that they feel more like family.

Friends like that are a gift.  Deep, real, beyond even space and time, they are enduring and inspiring and comforting and altogether wonderful.

Prisca was a contemporary of Paul, one of his dearest friends and a fellow traveller in this journey of faith. She is referenced only a few times in the Bible, however the picture which comes across about her is one of courage, generosity, bravery, passion for Jesus and someone one not adverse to taking risks for the glory of God.   She is warm and loyal. She teaches others about the faith.  She runs a church from her home and in Romans 16, her group is the only one named as a church. Her deeds were well known in the early church and Paul makes sure she is mentioned in his letter as one who is to receive his final greetings.

Maybe you have heard of her as Priscilla, which was probably her more informal name, or nickname. I believe Prisca is someone we should highlight more as a follower of Jesus and in whose example there is much to commend, because, if nothing else, she highlights so much about discipleship and what it means to be a friend.

Discipleship is about taking risks, about opening your heart, about being passionate, about being the church wherever, whenever and however you are.  It is about being generous and sharing the story with others.  It is about being passionate and compassionate. It is about friendship.  It is about being in a warm, loving, honest and real relationship with God, creation and the wider human family.  It is about understanding what we are all called to be as sisters and brothers, even if that comes at a cost (and that cost is sometimes about reminding others of that truth).

This is real friendship; deep and long lasting.  It is the friendship which reconciles and makes all things new.  It is the friendship of the manger, cross and empty tomb, which says ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age’.

God calls us to be friends, especially to the strangers in our midst and to live real lasting friendship, trusting in Christ, our guide and our friend.