As I remember the past year, of the times of joy, the times of fear and stress, the times of success and confusion, I think of what a wonderful thing it is to have a friend who understands, listens, reaches out, and cares.
In life, we can bear almost anything if we have a friend close at hand. For some reason, having at least one person to listen to us and care makes a difference. It doesn't take away any pain or lessen any sorrow. But in the great scheme of things, just having one person can make the difference between keeping faith and losing it.
As I listen to the many wonderful and beautiful Christmas carols, I think that maybe when Jesus came, he did not so much want us to see him as savior as he wanted us to see him as friend. If we think of him only as Savoir, we keep ourselves at a distance, and look at him as someone superior and above us, as John the Baptist did when he said, "I am not worthy to unloose his sandal strap." But if Jesus wanted us to see him only as Lord and Savior, would he have come this way, a small, helpless child? Who fears a child? Better yet, who feels inferior to a child? Does not a child draw us near, inviting us to view vulnerability in its purest form?
I believe that to be true Christians, we are to imitate Jesus as friend. We are to offer encouragement, to be the ear to listen and the heart to receive. I think back to the sermon given on the occasion of the young man lost in a tragic car accident. I had problems not only with the message, but with the voice conveying it, because I could not feel any empathy. The voice told the family how they should feel and how they would receive comfort. But I could not detect compassion.
When you go over your list of gifts, do not forget the best one you already give. Do not forget that for a friend, just the fact that you care, that you listen, that you receive without judgement and listen without giving answers, that is the biggest and best gift. And no material gift can match it.
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