Are you a friend of Jesus Christ? It is an acceptable time to ask during Holy Week, for love is demanding. For example, God asked Adam in the garden, “Where are you?” It wasn’t that God couldn’t see Adam hiding. The question begged a response, “Where are you with me?” This week, as Jesus approaches His Passion, death and Resurrection, where are you with Him?
In the first reading, Isaiah declares: I gave my back to those who beat me,/ my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;/ My face I did not shield/ from buffets and spitting. It is amazing to consider that the book of Isaiah was written hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth. The passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were meticulously prophesied, intended, and fulfilled. Jesus asks each of us, “In my sufferings, where are you with me?”
Who of us would ever want to be the friend who betrayed Jesus? Not even Judas. “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Judas betrayed Jesus when he asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over?” In all honesty, how many times do we try to stretch the truth, test how far we can go before we sin, before being caught….these are not so different from Judas’ question.
Rather, let us approach this friendship with the humility of the disciples. They were deeply distressed, partly because they knew their own weakness and sinfulness. As humble friends, desiring to love Jesus and not hurt Him, they asked, “Surely it is not I, Lord?”
I encourage you, dear friend of Jesus, to remain with Him. Do not ask ‘how far’ but ‘what more’ can we do to show our love, for love is demanding. Keep Him company in His sorrow, let your presence, your faith, and your friendship be a consolation to His Heart.



