I have called you friends
Jesus desires us to be his friends. He reveals to us everything he heard from his Father, making us more the mere servants, but rather, co-conspirators in accomplishing his Father's will. But he asks us to respond to his love for us by loving him in return. This means we can't stop at knowing what is important to the heart of Jesus. We must cooperate to bring it about. And what is this plan with which he expects us to cooperate? Is it finally a matter of arbitrary behaviors and rituals? No, rather: "love one another". But it is not love by any standard whatever. It is specific, "as I love you". What Jesus revealed to his disciples, and what he is inviting us to understand, is the magnitude of his love for us. This love is meant to be the starting place for our own response and effort.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain
We often get things precisely backward. We believe that we ourselves evaluated Jesus and chose to follow him after careful consideration and cost-benefit analysis. Then we assume that we earn his friendship by obeying commandments which we often do not fully understand or accept. After that, we hope that he will explain things and, perhaps, finally begin to love us. But he reveals his love first and only then asks us to respond and cooperate. He explains the plan for our salvation from the beginning so we can work with him to help bring it about. The fact that his friendship is in some way conditional on doing what he commands us is only true after that friendship is established. It is not the reason for the friendship. It is rather a definition of what sort of friendship it is meant to be, the shared interest we must pursue. If we will not pursue it we will be the ones walking away in another direction, not Jesus.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind
The Apostles and presbyters described in Acts were concerned that other people were making things overly complicated for the early disciples. What was meant to be about the love of Jesus and friendship with him was being dragged back into rituals that were now obsolete, having been fulfilled in Jesus himself. So the messengers chosen to clear up the confusion were themselves exemplary friends of Jesus, Barnabas and Paul "who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". They, together with Judas and Silas, explained to the early disciples that the point was not a sort of rules maximalism. Instead they commanded only simple necessities to ensure that all of the friends of Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, could share a common life, directed toward the one common goal of responding to his love.
Is it true that the Church has probably more rules than any other institution on earth, and if so is this not excessive? Yes, but no. The rules of the Church are precisely in response to all of the many ways in which she has been challenged by people going out without mandate from her and saying things that sounded just true enough to disturb the peace of mind of those who listened. Perhaps when we are in the middle of reading some finer point of canon law we don't realize it. But the Church is designed to be the place where friendship with Jesus can flourish and grow, drawn by his Father, and united in his Spirit. It is meant to be a place where all of us can join together with one voice in the psalmist's song of praise.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
CityAlight - He Calls Me Friend
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