Gospel in Art: You are my friends

 Gospel in Art: You are my friends https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49705

Gospel of 5 May 2024
John 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:

'As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.

Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.

I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete. This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you. A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master's business;

I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.

You did not choose me: no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name. What I command you is to love one another.'

Reflection on the painting

In our gospel reading today Jesus talks about friendship. He said to his disciples, 'I call you friends'. We all need friends. Like all of us, even Jesus needs friends, close friends. The problem in our fast-paced world is finding the time to create and maintain real friendships. Where do we even find good friends? Offline, online? Being able to spend so much time on our phones and computers has certainly made easier to keep in touch with friends, but at the same time, many of our friendships have, perhaps, become more superficial.

Sometimes the smallest of friends can make the biggest impact in our lives. It is often the ones we don't see so often who are there for us when we badly need support. The smallest of friendships matter. This is beautifully illustrated in a short story from Aesop's fables about a lion and a mouse. One day a lion was sleeping in his den. A small mouse was playing nearby. By accident, the little mouse ran over the lion's back, which made the lion wake up. The lion caught the mouse and was ready to kill it. 'Please do not kill me,' said the mouse. 'I am a tiny creature. Please save me.' The lion felt pity for the mouse, smiled and let the mouse go. A few days after the lion was walking in a jungle but found himself caught in a hunter's net. He roared and rolled to get out of the net, but he was trapped. The mouse heard the roar and ran towards the lion and said 'Please don't roar. I'll set you free.' The small mouse cut through the net and set the lion free.

This sweet story about how the smallest of friends matter in our lives is beautiful illustrated in this mid 17th-century painting after Franz Snyders. We see the lion wrestling in the poacher's nets. Soon the little mouse will come to rescue him…

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/