One writer says, “The Lord wants all of us to imitate Mary in our worship, and to imitate Martha in our work—blessed are those who achieve the balance!” Before proceeding, it is important to make an etymological detour and speak briefly about the terminology used for “love” in the Fourth Gospel. The Johannine imagery of “love” and “friendship” spans two word groups: ἀγαπᾶν and φιλεῖν. The verbal form, ἀγαπάω, is used thirty-seven times in John whereas φιλέω occurs twelve times. Most of this usage congregates around the Farewell Discourse (John 13:31–17:26), where “love” and “friendship” are major themes and where, according to the vast majority of Johannine scholars, the two verbs, together with their respective cognate groups, are used interchangeably with no distinction in meaning. So, would Jesus call you His friend? He would if you are loving others, especially those in your home and in the church. He would if you are seeking to obey His commandments. He would if you are growing to understand the truths revealed by the Holy Spirit in God’s Word. And He would if you know that He chose you to bear fruit that remains and you’re seeking to bear that fruit through prayer. And if you wonder, “How do I know if God has chosen me?” the answer is, “Have you believed in Jesus as your Savior and Lord?” If you have, that didn’t come from you! You believed in Him because in love He chose you before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). That way, He gets all the glory! Application Questions

Because love is primarily a commitment and not a feeling, it can be commanded. The Bible does command certain feelings, for example, “Rejoice always” (1 Thess. 5:16). Or, “Be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6). And love should not be devoid of feelings. It is a caring commitment; people should feel our genuine feelings of love for them. But even when we don’t feel especially loving, we need to obey God by sacrificing ourselves for the sake of others. I’m sure that the cross didn’t feel good at the moment, but Jesus endured it because He was focused on the future joy of having us with Him in heaven for all eternity (Heb. 12:2). Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a "gift" who will guide us, lead us, and empower us. Yet many believers don't experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This unique Christian Bible study provides a space in which we can explore what it truly means to "walk in the Spirit" on a daily basis. My Society of Christian Doctrine sent me for three intensive weeks of reading Theology at Notre Dame with Dr Timothy O’Malley (“Introduction to Catechetical Theology”) and Dr Angela Senander (“Renewing Moral Theology with the Call to Holiness”). I arrived in June, fresh from having completed my thesis for the Master of Arts in Theology. Three months later, in September 2016, I successfully defended this same thesis on “‘Love of Friendship’ in the Christian Life” and was awarded the MA in December 2016. Thank God for this Christmas gift, which began with the great privilege of studying theology first at the University of Malta and subsequently at Notre Dame. What twice-blest opportunities these were to share learning and insights through conversation with fellow students, in guided reading with our mentors of the Institute for Church Life and Theology Department, where I experienced collegiality, hospitality, and a spirit of good will. Martha was active and anxious to serve others. Mary was quiet and contemplative. Jesus did not condemn Martha for attempting to provide a good meal for her company—and neither did He praise Mary for her indifference toward the work of helping to prepare the meal. Jesus will not criticize a woman for keeping a neat house, nor will He especially bless a woman who sits around all day at His feet and does nothing else! Jesus gathered his disciples one last time, on the night before his death, to prepare them for the next day and beyond. In the midst of this sacred evening he said, “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). To be called Jesus’s servant is an immeasurable privilege. Yet Jesus confers a greater honor. He brings us even closer. He calls us friends.In Malta, as in America and everywhere else, friendship is not only essential, but the love of friendship is a compelling basis for unity and enduring peace. In the Society of Christian Doctrine itself members try to avoid partisan political discussion. We greet one another with a reminder that our lives are hidden in Christ’s peace: “Peace be with you.” St Paul stated the basis for this reminder in Philippians 4:7; the peace of Christ, indeed, passes all understanding and is not dependent on the outcome of a political election or a constitutional decree. Martha could have prepared a less lavish feast, and Mary could have offered to help Martha—but the point is this: There must be a balance between a place for the busyness of life, and the need for meditation at Jesus’ feet. We must guard against focusing most of our activity on providing physical comfort, and neglecting the provision of food for the inner person. Jesus is saying something like this: “Now Martha, stop and think about life; there are not really many necessary things. You are concerned about a lot of details, but you could live without them if you had to. On the other hand, there is one thing that you just can’t do without—and Mary has found it!”

We are now the friends of Jesus. I am awed by that thought. We can barely get a tour of the White House or a glimpse of the president, yet the sovereign Lord calls us his friends. God knows us, he loves us, and he longs for us to live in an intimate, ongoing relationship with him. There is no greater honor than to be called a friend of God! May we be faithful friends who abide, love sacrificially, and obey the will of God. Brandt also recorded a Christmas version called "Christmas Convoy", which appears on the 2006 holiday album A Gift. In this version, the convoy helps Santa deliver his toys after a bad storm. You can sit around and speculate about whether you would do such heroic deeds if you were thrust into those situations, but the place we all need to apply this is by confronting our selfishness in small, daily matters. Husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her (Eph. 5:25). Do you? You say, “Oh, sure, I’d die to save my wife from an intruder that was trying to kill her.” But do you die to yourself so that you can serve her? Do you turn off the TV or leave the computer and help her clean up the kitchen or get the kids into bed? Do you give up your own pursuits because you delight to be with her? It’s in these small, daily ways that we should be practicing sacrificial love for one another. B. We can only love one another if we abide in Christ’s love. And with what kind of love does Jesus love us? With the love of friendship. ‘Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). So, when Jesus commands us to love one another as he has loved us, he is calling us into friendship, commanding us into it. It’s true that we can only have deep, meaningful friendship with a small number of people and that we are called to love all fellow friends of Jesus in this way, but it is in a few close friendships that we will most deeply and powerfully be able to live out Jesus’s command. Jesus calls us to model our friendships with each other on his friendship with us. He’s raising the stakes on friendship. The marker of being a friend of Jesus is being a good friend to others. Country Singer C.W. McCall of 'Convoy' Fame Dies at 93". Yahoo Sports. April 4, 2022 . Retrieved May 5, 2023.But now, things have changed. Through the work of Christ, God’s people can once again be known as his friends. And Jesus notes that one element of this change is a new openness. Previously, as servants, they didn’t know what their master was doing. A servant has to get on with their tasks regardless of whether they understand them. But now, Jesus says, he will share with his followers all that God the Father reveals to him. As Paul the Apostle will later say, God has now revealed the ‘mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed’ (Ephesians 3:4-5). Friendship is characterised by openness: an honesty and transparency between friends. Cash Box Top 100 1/31/76". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018 . Retrieved October 30, 2017. originales de Mocedades: Amor de hombre". mocedades.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2014 . Retrieved January 27, 2022. Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1976". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018 . Retrieved October 30, 2017. The “one thing needful” was something spiritual and eternal in nature, instead of those things that are merely material, physical, and social. Jesus said to Martha, “There is one thing in life worth being seriously concerned about—and that is the relationship of the human soul with God.”

First, let’s expand our vision of him. Consider how he is the greatest friend to great sinners. He draws near in our suffering, and he remains committed even in our stumbling. He lets us all the way in, and loves us to the very end. He doesn’t just justify us and then nudge us aside; he welcomes us into his deepest heart. John 15:16: “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” Note three things: A. Friends of Jesus are chosen by Him. There’s another way we can see that to be true. Jesus says that we are his friends if we do what he commands (John 15:14). We’ll have more to say on this later, but notice one thing for now. Not many verses earlier, in John 15:10, Jesus has promised ‘If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.’ Keeping Jesus’ commandments means we abide in his love, and it means we’re his friends. Those two things overlap: friendship is a relationship of deep love. That was followed by the scene at the tomb, when Lazarus came forth at the mere word of Jesus. He was bound hand and foot with grave clothes. Jesus said, “Loose him and let him go”—that is, unwrap the grave clothes and let him go free. Surely there was a happy reunion that evening in the home of Mary and Martha at Bethany. Some imply that to preach obedience is to be legalistic. Why is this fallacious? Can obedience become legalistic? How?Or more importantly, what does it mean when He calls us His friends? We have over simplified and sermonized endlessly on the question, skirting all around the issue but never getting to the point. We have reduced the profound concept of becoming His "friends" to the shallow notion of being His "buddies."