The pleasure of friends

Yesterday I ate lunch in a restaurant for the first time in over a year. The sun was shining as we walked there, the place was full of chatter and laughter with a real buzz about it, the food was delicious, and I felt as though as I were on holiday.

As lockdown has eased, many of us have been revisiting the simple pleasures of life and finding enjoyment in what was ordinary pre COVID. I get excited about going to the hairdresser and have renewed my passion for browsing around charity shops in pursuit of an interesting second-hand book.

The greatest pleasure has been seeing other people once again. I met with a colleague in a local coffee shop, the first time I had seen her face to face in months. My garden has hosted various chats with friends, sometimes wrapped in blankets against the cold. There is something intimate and powerful about meeting people in person instead of seeing them flat-faced over Zoom. It’s easier to chat informally, to take time to pause and breathe, to laugh and to cry.

Jesus enjoyed time with his friends as he spent three years on the road with his disciples, other followers and supporters. Remember the wedding in Cana, the various meals and social occasions he was invited to, the impromptu al fresco suppers in the company of thousands. Jesus was someone who knew all about our need for human connection.

Luke’s Gospel shows Jesus arriving, seemingly unplanned, at the house of Martha and Mary, and the kerfuffle as Martha is left to deal with all the preparations alone. Jesus became close friends with the little household in Bethany, where he stayed often, including the week of the final Passover when Mary anointed his feet with nard. Jesus rebukes those who object, saying, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12: 8). As we return to our normal lives, let us not take meeting with our friends for granted; we now know how easily this freedom can be taken away from us.