Friday 1 March 2019
Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17. Psalm 118(119):12, 16, 18, 27, 34-35. Mark 10:1-12
Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
‘Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter: whoever finds one has found a treasure.’
Today’s reading from Ecclesiasticus, otherwise known as the Wisdom of Sirach, offers insight into the gift of friendship. Some friends stay for a while, or eat at table with you, before leaving ‘in time of trouble.’ The author counsels us to be on guard with our friends until such time as they prove their fidelity.
On a more hopeful note, faithful friends are ‘a treasure’ beyond worth. They offer ‘life-saving medicine’ and neighbourly consolation. Friendship comes as a gift from the Lord, and we who ‘fear the Lord’ will find friends in our days.
The flipside of all this is what we do to become faithful to the friends we have. Praying for our friends and enemies alike helps us deepen our relationships with all sorts of people. Let us bring these relationships to prayer, so that we may make space for friendship.
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