Jesus Not Up A Tree

My homily on Sunday used a fable from Aesop.  Here’s another one calling our attention to friendship.

Two friends were traveling together.  As they went down a country road, they met a large bear.  One of the friends quickly climbed a tree and hid himself in the branches; the other man who was slower afoot, lay down and pretended to be dead – for bears it is said, will not touch a dead creature. 

The bear ambled up and sniffed around the man’s head, but the man held his breath and after a while the bear took himself off. 

His friend, who had been watching from the tree, called out to ask whether the bear had harmed him. “Not at all,” answered the man, “he just whispered something in my ear,” “And what was that?” asked his startled companion.

“Never travel with a friend who won’t stand by you in danger,” answered the other. 

This fable reminds us that we’ll never find our friend Jesus up a tree.  

Deacon David Pierce