The Friendship with the Apostles His Apostles should simply first be with him and share the fullness of his person and day-to-day existence as the basis for all subsequent apostolic activity   Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis The Imitation of Christ says: "The highest cannot stand without the lowest." If Scripture compares the experience of the divine to very familiar human realities, it is obviously taking for granted that the earthly experience is a precursor, preparing us for the divine experience of love. I suppose this is why novice masters normally ask postulants whether they have ever fallen in love. When we come to Jesus' relationship with his followers, the theme of friendship flowers everywhere; for discipleship is nothing other than faithful, obedient friendship with the Anointed One whom God has sent. To recall yet again a most significant detail from the Gospel narrative: I have always been immensely moved at reading early on in Mark the following account of the vocati...