If anyone should think that disagreements and differences of opinion are a new thing among Christians, all they have to do is to read Paul’s letter to the Galatians and certain parts of Acts to know otherwise! Galatians is a scorcher of a letter, with Paul castigating the new Gentile Christians for departing from his teaching that inner faith is what matters, not outward practices that conform to Jewish law. Paul wrote that by taking on certain Jewish practices, they were reverting to ‘slavery’, when in fact they had been called to freedom in Christ. The particular issue was whether the new male Gentile believers were required to be circumcised, in order to be acceptable to God. Paul certainly didn’t think much of the men who had brought that legalistic message to the new Christians, and he used some rather graphic and wince-making language to get his points across!

We can pick up the story of Paul’s journeys and his teaching from the book of Acts. Tracing on a map where he went during his three major trips is almost dizzying, with Paul braving all kinds of wind and weather and various depravations and persecutions to bring the Gospel of Christ to the Gentiles who lived along the coasts of what is present day Lebanon and Syria, all the way to Antioch, in Turkey, and, of course, even further afield on to the islands and mainland of Greece.

Paul did not travel alone but took with him at least one or two other trusted friends, men who had also become followers of Christ. Barnabas was one of these men, although, initially, it was Barnabas who sought out Paul, rather than the other way around. Unlike most of the other believers in Jerusalem, Barnabas actually trusted that Paul was a genuine convert and not still the murderous persecutor of Christians that he had been.

Paul and Barnabas became friends. They travelled and taught together. No doubt they spent many hours discussing what it meant to be a Christian, especially what it meant for people who were not Jews. There is much more to say about the joint ministry of Paul and Barnabas and the years they spent teaching and preaching and caring for the people they met and lived among before, sadly, falling out over a difference of opinion and ultimately going their separate ways. Sad, but very familiar, very human, we might say. Things like that happen but at least each of them continued in their ministries.

The Gospel reading from John presents a welcome reminder about what should be our greatest aim and motivation in all that we do. Jesus tells his disciples to love one another, in fact, he commands them to love one another! This passage comes after Jesus has already told them that they must ‘abide’ in him – stay connected to him and trust in him, otherwise they won’t be able to live the way he has shown them they are to live. Jesus also commends that his followers should show their love for him by serving other people. Jesus then tells them that he considers them to be his friends - not servants - but true friends. 

We can contrast what Jesus is saying here with some of the friendships Paul had. Possibly we can identify with the experience of ending a friendship because of irreconcilable differences. 

In Jesus’ words, however, we have the assurance of a Friend who will never let us down, who is always with us and who, no matter what, always loves us. 

The Revd Christina Rees