What would it be like if a great leader I admire - a manager, a government official, even the Pope - called me up personally and said, 'I want you to work with me on my team. I choose you.'

Today Jesus tells us that he does not want us to be in the dark. He wants us to know the loving plan of salvation the Father has for the world. Yet there is more. Jesus invites each one of us to enter into this plan as friends. He chooses us to enter into the intimacy of his relationship with the Father.

We are called to imitate the Son in loving one another. This love is not easy. Jesus describes it as laying down one's life. It involves a dying to selfishness and a giving of self for the sake of the other. It is risky, it can lead to hurt or even rejection. At the same time, it is a sharing in the love of the Son for the Father.

Saying yes to God's plan has real consequences. It affects the decisions I make as a parent, student, teacher, friend or business person.

Amidst this call to vulnerability and self-giving, however, Christ walks with us¡K.because that's what friends do.