Our Lenten journey has now reached the Friday before Palm Sunday, only a week before our Lord’s passion. In today’s readings, we see the divisive effects of enmity and the distress that it inflicts upon our Lord. We also see true friendship that stands in stark contrast to relationships wrought from convenience and utility.
Jeremiah’s prophetic words capture the “whisperings” that accompany the hatching of a conspiracy. Vengeance is part of the secretive plot, and shared delight is found in carrying it out. Having a common adversary is a means to bring people together, but this glue is highly soluble. As Aristotle explained in his Nichomachean Ethics, relationships based on utility or friendship are the lowest form of friendship. They readily dissolve when the common interest dissipates. Changes in facts and in our perception of them can cause the relationship to end, often badly.
Aristotle also recognized a higher form of friendship, which extends beyond the benefits of utility or pleasure to the deeper qualities of personhood reflecting virtue. This friendship requires understanding of the other, which takes time to develop. Such friendship is rare and durable. We can only have a few of these friendships in our lives at any given time.
Our Lord himself exemplifies such a friend, who not only possesses virtue but also holds the power to effect justice. Plots formed by wicked alliances neither unfold nor end as they wish. God plays the long game. He remains steadfast with us when confronted with evil plans, even when those plans might seem to be succeeding. We may not know the end of the story, but we can depend upon eternal and enduring promises coming from One who is trustworthy.
As we contemplate today’s Gospel, we see that our Lord experienced hostility from the very people he came to save. This was not unexpected, as the prophets before him were also rejected. Even John the Baptist, who prepared the way for our Lord, was cruelly silenced for speaking the truth. But the truth is not silenced so easily.
Jesus “escaped from their power” and went to the place where John had been baptizing. That place, which some biblical scholars name “Bethabara”, was near the place where the Israelites had entered the promised land. It was also associated with the prophet Elijah, who had been taken up into heaven. It is fitting for our Lord to choose such a place to pray, where he would rely upon his own deep relationship with the Father to sustain him. His knowing that all would end well did not erase his difficulty in the midst of this experience. We should not expect to avoid such difficulties in our own struggles, even when we know that all will end well.
It is notable that others came to visit Jesus in that place because they had come to believe in him. Love overcomes the hostility that emerges from thin friendships of utility. Truth walks hand in hand with that kind of love, leading us toward God and away from the nonsense that can emerge from our own fractured demands for satisfaction. Let us ponder the depth and strength of that bond of love as we move forward toward Holy Week. Thanks be to God.
Edward Morse
Ed Morse is a professor of law who holds the McGrath North Endowed Chair in business law at Creighton. University School of Law. He and his wife Susan are Catholic converts. Together, they operate a family cattle farm in rural Western Iowa.
Writing these reflections over the past fifteen years has helped me to learn and grow in faith. Sometimes it has also chastened me by reminding me of the constant need to practice what we have learned as we live out our faith journey together. I am grateful for feedback and encouragement from my fellow travelers.
