“Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us. The important thing is not to think much but to love much and so do that which best stirs you to love. Love is not great delight but desire to please God in everything.” ~ Teresa of Avila
One of the things I love about St. Teresa of Avila is that she showed me how to be friends with God. Today’s readings are often used to encourage the Christian virtue of hospitality. I love hospitality, but prayer this week took me beyond it to see these readings as about being friends with God. Some St. Teresa quotes will introduce the friends with God theme in each of our readings.
The Gospel: Luke 10:38-42 Mary and Martha
“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing. Patience obtains all things. He who has God has everything – God alone suffices.” ~ Teresa of Avila
“Let there be no disappointment when obedience keeps you busy in outward tasks. If it sends you to the kitchen, remember that the Lord walks among the pots and pans.” ~ Teresa of Avila
Jesus’ friendship with Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus is recorded multiple times in the Gospels. Jesus stayed at their house at night during the early part of Holy Week. He set things up for his own crucifixion by raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus was friends with the family.
Here we have a snippet of interaction from earlier in the friendship. How they met is not recorded, but they must have asked Jesus to join them for a meal. They lived in Bethany, a pleasant walk from Jerusalem. Likely, others in the village or from Jerusalem came to hear Jesus.
Mary wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. She lived the first quote above, “Let nothing disturb you…” She sat at Jesus’ feet and listened, enraptured and oblivious.
Meanwhile, Martha had a lot of work to do. She felt responsible for hospitality for Jesus and the other guests. She needed Mary to help her. She lived the second quote. She was friends with Jesus in the kitchen.
How close the friendship with Jesus must have been! Martha felt comfortable saying, “Do you not care my sister left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” Jesus felt comfortable saying back, “You are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
Friends. They are honest with each other. It is safe to speak their minds. They value each other’s perspectives. They let themselves be vulnerable. Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Jesus. Friends with God.
Genesis 18:1-10a Abraham and Sarah
“Always think of yourself as everyone’s servant; look for Christ Our Lord in everyone and you will then have respect and reverence for them all.” ~ Teresa of Avila
The Lord appeared to Abraham as he sat in front of his tent—but the Lord looked like three travelers. The Lord in these three travelers was on his way to Sodom to see if it was as wicked as it seemed to be. That story will continue next Sunday. For now, Abraham responds immediately with full hospitality. He has the travelers rest in the shade, brings water for them the wash their feet, as well as milk, curds, bread, and meat. He takes the best of care of them.
The strangers then become prophets. They say of Sarah, “Next year she will have a son.” Interestingly, Mother Church leaves off the last of verse 10: “And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind them.” Verses 11-15 go on to tell more of the story. While not high theology, it is a delightful description of Abraham’s friendship with God. I quote it here:
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her menstrual periods. So Sarah laughed to herself and said, “Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?” But the LORD said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really bear a child, old as I am?’ Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.” Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But he said, “Yes, you did.”
Friendship with God. Sounds a lot like other friendships. Honesty. Humor. Incredulity. Banter. Resolution. Relationship. Yes, friendship with God, seen here as about honest, vulnerable relationship.
Colossians 1:24-28 Friendship in a Different Light
“We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials.” ~ Teresa of Avila
In terms of theology and our Catholic faith, the key sentence in this reading is: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church, of which I am a minister in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me to bring to completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.”
This sentence contains the basis for the doctrine of redemptive suffering. It does not mean that Christ’s suffering was not enough to save each and all of us from sin and permanent death. It means that, as Christ’s friends and followers, we CAN (not must) enter into the power of offering up suffering to continue Jesus’ saving act on the cross into the world today.
This whole concept has always been hard for me. I have found St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, Salvifici Dolores, very helpful. Understanding is still being formed in me of the value of embracing suffering, then walking in friendship with God through it. Yet, I have seen multiple times that embracing suffering in friendship with God creates healing—healing when the cause of suffering is ended AND healing when there is no cure. And, like St. Teresa, it seems to me that Jesus shares the capacity and value of suffering with his friends.
Applications
“Christ has no body now but mine. He prays in me, works in me, looks through my eyes, speaks through my words, works through my hands, walks with my feet and loves with my heart.” ~ Teresa of Avila
I do not believe that friendship with God is only for saints. I believe that friendship with God is open to all. It is open to me. How I express it may be like Martha one day, like Mary another. It may cause me to be honest in blunt, honest conversation like Abraham did one day, while I may doubt God’s work like Sarah the next. I may join God in hospitable feasting—or be with him through long nights in a hospital. In any and all these things, it is the relationship that is important.
Prayer
“Desire to see God, be fearful of losing Him, and find joy in everything that can lead to Him. If you act in this way, you will always live in great peace.” ~ Teresa of Avila
Lord, thank you for the desire to see you, the fears I sometimes have of losing you, and the joys you give me. Lead me, guide me, Lord.
