On Friendship

These words come from Rumer Godden's In This House of Brede and are quoted by Elisbeth Elliot in "A Strange Peace" in The Path of Loneliness:

The motto was Pax, but the word was set in a circle of thorns. Peace: but what a strange peace, made of unremitting toil and effort, seldom with a seen result; subject to constant interruptions, unexpected demands, short sleep at night, little comfort, sometimes scant food, beset with disappointments, and usually misunderstood; yet peace all the same, undeviating, filled with joy and gratitude and love. "It is my own peace I give unto you," not notice, the world's peace.

Suffering. Crowns of thorns. Often, when we suffer, we are brought to our knees and to the understanding that Christ wants to draw near to us in our suffering, and so we remember, once again, that what He always means to teach us is how to surrender to Him.

But has it ever occurred to us just how much and for what reason he wants to be near to us in his suffering? Has it ever occurred to us that He wants to be our companion in our suffering because He, too, Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God, has desired a companion during his own times of suffering? In the Gospel of Matthew, we see a powerful image of a vulnerable Savior:

Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be troubled and distressed. Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch."...When he returned he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour?" (the full narrative, Matthew 26: 36-41).

Why did Jesus Christ want his disciples near Him while He prayed? Why didn't He just go up to Gethsemane alone? Why did he take with Him specifically Peter, James, and John? Because Jesus, too, wanted--but did not need--friends to be near to Him in His suffering. He has had the same desires and feelings as any human being. He, too, did not want to be alone in His suffering.

I often think of the exhortation Jesus gives to the disciples when He finds that they are asleep as a scolding from the Father: "Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." But it is Jesus here, in all His humanity and vulnerability and glory, who is speaking. Jesus Christ, who is about to be handed over and betrayed by one of His closest friends, wants His closest friends near to Him in His suffering. Jesus Christ, who is also praying that He may not undergo the test His Father is giving to Him, tells His disciples the encouragement they will need to hear in all their suffering: "Watch and pray, that you may not undergo the test" which the Father is going to give to you. Who can say that Jesus does not fully understand us?

We are often like these disciples, Peter, James, and John. We mean well, we are close friends of Jesus, to be sure, but we often "fall asleep" and become unawares of Him in our midst and the desires of His heart. Not only does He want to draw near to us in our suffering; He wants us to bring our sufferings to Him. Our sufferings are a part of His, and our sufferings often "wake" us up, and we find that we have fallen asleep in the Garden and have lost sight of Him. And Jesus Christ, so attentive to the Father and the Father's Will, even in a time of great suffering, continues to encourage us to turn to the Father, to do His Will.

Truly, there is none who can offer us such selfless friendship as Jesus Christ.