Anam Cara (Soul Friend)

 

“I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.”  (John 15:15)

 

Since returning from my time in Ireland, many have asked what the most meaningful part of the trip was for me.  It is a difficult question to answer.  We stood on wind-blown cliffs watching the crashing sea far below.  We stood among stone walled meadows filled with the sounds of bleating sheep.   We prayed in dreamily lit cathedrals and kept silence on sacred monastic ruins.  Yet, as holy as all of these were, they were not the most meaningful things.  It was the people we met along the way.  The new friends that God placed on the road of our spiritual journey.  

 

There was Naomi, Kim, Gary, and Alana whose humble work week at the East Belfast Methodist Mission reflected the servant love of God.  There was Jamie and Johnny, two runners who became dear friends as we shared the deepest joys and struggles of life and faith with one another on long runs.  There was also David, the retired Methodist pastor who travelled with me to Celtic Christian historical sites, sharing his wisdom and experience.  I will never forget how in the tiny and empty space of Saul’s Chapel, St. Patrick’s first church in Ireland near Downpatrick, he simply said, “Let’s just sit and pray for a while.” All of these I see as more than chance meetings, but friends that God brought into my life, friends that led me to a deeper place in my own soul.  

 

Early Celtic Christians used to talk about people who were an “anam cara”, a “soul friend”.  This is more than an acquaintance, but someone who shares life with you in a deep way, someone who shows you the heart of Jesus, who models both the grace and the honesty of God.  An anam cara both loves and challenges us to become who we are in Christ.   She/he speaks truth and says hard things in a way that builds up rather than tears down.  As Irish author John O’Donohue wrote, the anam cara awakens the eternal in you.  

 

As I look at the Biblical stories, there are many examples of soul friends:  Moses and Jethro, David and Nathan, Ruth and Naomi, Philip and Nathanael.  These are just a few.  In the reading above from the Gospel of John, Jesus reminds us that he is our anam cara, our soul friend.

 

As I reflect, I am grateful for all of the anam caras God has placed in my life along the way, including my new soul friends from Ireland.  Who are those persons who have been such soul friends in your life? Not just acquaintances or people that you simply get along with or have similar interests with, but friends who show you the heart of God and invite you to live ever more into the love of Christ. Take a few moments to stop and make a list of all those soul friends that God has placed along your well-trodden spiritual road.  Give thanks for them all, anam caras old and new, for they ended up on the road of your spiritual journey not by chance, but by grace.