By Fr. George Dorbarakis
“If you are my friends, imitate me…” (Matins, Apostichon of the Praises)
Great Thursday: the tradition of the mysteries of the Church, of the Divine Eucharist. And with it: the washing of the disciples’ feet, the preternatural prayer after the Secret Supper, the betrayal of Judas. Shocking events that one watches in silence, with one’s mind collected, with horror before the infinite love of the Lord, with tears in one’s eyes and heart. And those words of the Lord, which He first addressed to His twelve disciples, when He washed their feet, and which have since been valid as an exhortation for every believer of every era: “If you are my friends, imitate me,” sound axiomatic.
Can we first be His friends? How can one be friends with the Almighty and Creator God? Human reason becomes dizzy and trembles, because it feels its own infinite smallness before the infinite greatness of God. But this attitude of reason is the symptom of our world fallen into sin. For God came into the world in the person of our Christ, and showed that we, small and weak people, are the most precious thing there is for Him. So precious that He offered and offers Himself for our sake.
Friends of our God, then. He gave us this opportunity and grace. He told us clearly: “You are my friends. I no longer call you slaves.” Is there a greater honor? The popular proverb confirms this: "Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are." If we are friends with Christ, it means that we are also the same as Him. In our face, in the face of each of our fellow human beings, we can now see His presence. And approaching Him, He immediately pushes us towards our neighbor.
Only this? Without conditions? Such greatness without conditions? Without conditions, yes, except for one. That we too want His friendship. And for this reason, let us follow Him in His way of life. Since I have made you one with Me, He tells us, imitate My way of life. Not with an imitation that is certainly external, but with a willingness to let Him act through us. I am His friend therefore means that I imitate Him: in His sacrificial love, in His holy humility, in absolute obedience to God His Father – this is the possibility given to me.
Great Thursday reminds us of this shocking mystical reality that is constantly perpetuated in the Church: that our lives reveal our friendship with Him. The friends of Christ are the continuers of His own life in the world. How much of a friend are we to Him?
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
