There’s an old joke that says one of the weirdest things about Jesus was that he was a man who managed to maintain 12 friendships as an adult. 

I’d add in the sibling trio of Martha, Mary, and Lazurus, plus Mary Magdalene, and all of a sudden, you’re up to an astonishing 16. (And of course, we could easily add to this list).

Astonishing, then, since the Pew Research Center reported in 2023 that 

A narrow majority of adults (53%) say they have between one and four close friends, while a significant share (38%) say they have five or more. Some 8% say they have no close friends.

That last statistic and a related finding from another 2023 report from the office of then US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, entitled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” which found that even pre-pandemic “about half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness,” has occasioned much “discourse.” Indeed, as recounted by NPR, the Murthy report warned that “lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.” Moreover,

the physical consequences of poor connection can be devastating, including a 29% increased risk of heart disease; a 32% increased risk of stroke; and a 50% increased risk of developing dementia for older adults.

Clearly, the psalmist wasn’t wrong when proclaiming “How good and pleasant it is/ when God’s people live together in unity!”

I began thinking about all of this a few weeks ago as I began leading a Thursday night student gathering for our all-campus Bible study.

We’re studying the book of Luke this semester, and our first week began very simply: the first four verses of Luke, the first two verses of Acts, and the few other mentions of Luke in the Pauline letters.

It was good to be reminded of Luke’s status as a non-Jewish believer as well as his participation on Paul’s missionary journeys. We wondered together about Luke’s motivation to write: how his visits to so many early (also) non-Jewish believers demonstrated a need for a well-investigated history to accompany Paul’s pastoral advice and theological treatises.

But what really struck us came in Luke 1:3: “it seemed fitting to me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in an orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus…”

Theophilus: Friend of God.

Any writing class will stress that it is essential that successful authors must have an unwavering sense of audience. From the earliest analyses of rhetoric onward, the character and needs of the reader/listener have been foundational. Who are they? What do they require? How should the text be shaped to meet their needs? Entire theoretical schools in the field of English debate this elusive creature.

So to name a specific reader says something about Luke’s aims. This project is personal, not abstract. Written for someone with a name, a history, a community. It’s a Greek name, and some scholars suggest that “most excellent” might be an honorific because of status or position. Lots of interesting speculation about who Theophilus might be historically. But, whatever else, someone who deserves the very best efforts at scholarship and craftsmanship.

But another interpretation suggests that the name might instead be a general descriptor for how Luke sees his audience: as friends of God–and also as beloved by God. The translation of the Greek bears both meanings simultaneously.

Whether specifically historical or simply metaphorical, it’s lovely either way: the gospel is addressed specifically to every believer. But how wonderful that the telling of it also starts from the assumption that the intended hearer is someone who is in a beautiful relationship with God, both loving and being loved.

After all, a story sounds so different when we are included in it–all of us–as cherished friends. It’s not a story, it’s my story. That’s transformative, both in how we hear it and how we tell it, how we see ourselves and how we see others.

“I have called you friends,” Jesus declares.

What changes if you really believe that?

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash