Friends

Matthew 21:3 - And if anyone says anything to you, say to them, "The Lord needs them," and they will send them immediately.

One way to look at this verse is to assume that Jesus, as God, knows the donkey and the colt are there and the owner would be fine with the disciples taking them, because he's God, he knows everything, right? I think that interpretation ignores Jesus' humanity; specifically friendships. Jesus has many followers and his disciples, but the Bible doesn't say much about his friends. If he was fully human, he must have had friends, right? Interpreting this passage as a prearrangement with a friend in the town humanizes Jesus.

One thing about being a minister - or a Rabbi as Jesus was - is that we need others to keep us accountable and to be there for us when we need someone - just like any other person. Even Jesus, as a human being, would have needed such support from his fellow Rabbis and friends. Ministry is not easy! Not everyone who was sympathetic to Jesus followed him everywhere - someone needed to fish and plant and harvest and bake! Those are also ways of supporting ministry. Usually pawned off on women, but that's another topic altogether. It doesn't take anything away from Jesus' divinity to suggest that he needed friends outside of his disciples and followers; especially the way the disciples are represented. It is necessary that Jesus have friends if he is fully human. Otherwise, he missed a big part of the human experience.

In Matthew 11:19 Jesus refers to accusations of his being a friend to "tax collectors and sinners." Abraham is described as God's friend. Sometimes we are encouraged to think of God as a friend - probably to counter the idea that God is just waiting to send us to hell. I'm not sure how God could hug us when we need one other than to send someone over. But friendship with God is problematic in that there is a power difference. What does it mean to be friends with someone who holds power over you? Children of God captures the sense of the relationship better.

Without friends, we become lonely and loneliness is one of the biggest reasons we fall into addictions of all kinds. If we have no one to share our burdens and our joys with, we become despondent, even hopeless. That deep, intimate connection to another person is necessary for us. Having even one person consistently on our side is healing and encouraging. We cannot thrive or flourish without friends - even if they're also family.

Tomorrow we answer the question: why did Jesus arrange to have a donkey and her colt available to him?

What would my life look like without my friends? Have I told my friends lately that they're loved and what they mean to me? How am I a friend to others?