Who's In Your Circle?
Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources. Luke 8:1-3
After reading this short scripture, my first thought was, “Well there isn’t much here to mediate about.” After contemplating, the thought came to me that maybe it was very important who the people were that Jesus kept in his company as he traveled and preached. He specifically called his Twelve apostles to be in His inner circle. They were the ones He trusted the most and shared the most with. He even entrusted them first with the knowledge that He was the Messiah. He shared with them first that He would be persecuted, killed, and raised from the dead.
I find it interesting that Luke takes the opportunity to name three women who also traveled with Jesus and were a part of His mission. He demonstrates that Jesus had a few other followers that He allowed into His inner circle. He included women as well as men. He included people whom He healed. He invited people who were sinners to change their lives and follow Him. He included people who helped take care of His and the Apostle’s needs. He needed all of them. He needed their companionship, support, and love to fulfill the mission that God the Father sent Him to do.
As I thought about it further, I heard this question in my heart, “Who do you surround yourself with? Who is in your inner circle?” Boom! There was the message that I missed on my first reading. I began to understand that this scripture was telling me that the people I surround myself with are very important.
The old proverb, “Birds of a feather, flock together” seems very relevant to the question I heard. The meaning of the proverb is that beings or animals of similar type, interest, personality, character, or other distinctive attributes tend to mutually associate.
Let’s unpack this.
As a Christian, this is very true for me as well. It matters who the people are who walk with me and help me along the way. Family is important. But also, friends are often big influences in my life. I trust them. I turn to them for support. I ask their opinion when I’m making decisions. If I am striving to get to heaven, then I need to carefully surround myself with others who are also striving to get to heaven. If I surround myself with people who are focused on worldly things and not God, then their opinions may have an influence on me. I may be influenced to take my eyes off heaven and not focus on God.
I heard some surprising statistics the other day. In 2021, 67% of Christian Americans said they seldom or never attended church and 75% of Catholics don’t go to Mass. It’s so easy to get distracted in our world today. There are more and more people not following Jesus.
These statistics impress two things upon me. First, I must choose wisely the people that I surround myself with so that I stay focused on God. Second, I need to be ready to minister and support those people who don’t go to Church and point them to Jesus.
We all know that friends influence friends. Jesus is asking me and you today, “Who do you surround yourself with?” Let us take time today to reflect on this question. Let us ask God to place people in our lives that will help us get to heaven. Let us be the people in others' lives that will support them and point them to Jesus.
