Today
we celebrate the feast of St Andrew, one of the 12 apostles. Like many of the apostles, the Gospel does
not go into many details about him.
Today’s reading from Matthew tells us that Andrew was the brother of
Simon Peter, that he was called to be a disciple out of the everyday reality of
his life while he and his brother were fishing and were casting a net into the
sea. Jesus called them to follow him –
they were amongst his first followers.
Andrew and Simon Peter immediately put down their nets & followed
Jesus. After Jesus’ death and
resurrection, the apostles were dispersed throughout the world to bring
Christ’s Good News to others. Tradition
has it that Andrew brought the Gospel to the people of Turkey and Greece, where
Andrew gave his life as a martyr as his continued Christ’s ministry and
teachings.
In
his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us how important it is for us to share our
faith with others, to continue the work of Christ here on earth by preaching
the Gospel. Paul tells us that it does
not matter if we are Jew or Greek. No
matter what our status in life, Christ Gospel is open to us.
As
we journey through this last week of the liturgical year in anticipation of the
holy season of Advent, as we hear of the witness of Andrew the Apostle, may we
see the responsibility we have in helping to spread the Gospel throughout the
world. As part of our Advent practices,
may we find new and different ways that we can help Jesus and his apostles in
their mission to spread the Good News. May we honor the work of Andrew and the other
apostles by keeping that work alive.
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