Today,
we celebrate the memorial of St Andrew, one of the 12 apostles. This year, the feast of St Andrew happens to
fall on Monday of the first week of the holy season of Advent, our time of
preparation before Christmas. Like many
of the apostles, the Gospel does not go into many details about Andrew. 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 casting
their nets into the sea. Jesus called
Simon Peter and Andrew to follow him as his disciples. They
were amongst his first followers. These
two brothers immediately put down their nets and followed Jesus unconditionally. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, all of
the apostles were dispersed throughout the world to bring Christ’s Gospel 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. As we think about all the problems that have
afflicted Greece and Turkey in recent years, with Greece going through a debt
crisis and struggling to hold together the very framework of its society, and
Turkey being embroiled in the a conflict with Russia and all the problems going
on in the Middle East, we call upon Andrew to lead and guide these countries as
they confront these immense challenges, challenges that have profound affects on the rest of the world.
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
start the holy season of Advent, as we hear of the witness of Andrew the Apostle,
may we the responsibility each one of us has in living out the Gospel message in 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. May we honor the work of Andrew and the other
apostles by keeping that work alive.
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