He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1Corinthians 1: 8-9)

In his recent book, Jesus of Nazareth, and in many of his sermons Pope Benedict XVI has insisted, "in the end your happiness and mine depend on our intimate friendship with Jesus."

We are invited into fellowship - the Greek is koinonia - with Jesus. This is certainly friendship. But the Greek gives particular emphasis to shared experience and common property. We are called into partnership with Jesus.

This is an engaged, active, vulnerable, ongoing, and self-giving relationship. It is a mutual friendship, each giving to the other. It is a partnership in extending friendship to others, even to all.

Above is Jesus in the home of his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus by JanVermeer.