Fifth Friday of Easter

“I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.”

We are not slaves, but friends of Christ. What a wonderful thing it is to be friends with the Lord of All Good and no longer slaves to sin! Jesus words in the gospels are a constant reminder to us that he came to free and love us with his whole body, heart, soul, and divinity. He didn’t have to do this, he could have given us a thousand commandments, but instead he gives us just the one to love one another as he loves us. What a wondrous and boundless love it is! We can only hope to love a fraction as well as Jesus did in his life, but with God’s help we can move mountains with our faith and withstand trials and tribulations with our hope. And with love, all things are possible.

What sins are we enslaved to? How can we allow God to free us from them? How often do we thank Jesus for being a friend who is always with us?

O Lord, you have freed us from sin and raised us up as your friends.

Amen.