The feast days of all the apostles are celebrated in our Church’s liturgical calendar. As we journey through these first days of the holy season of Advent, today we celebrate the feast of St Andrew. Like many of the apostles, the Gospel does not go into a great detail about him. Today’s reading from the Gospel of 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 casting a net into the sea. Jesus called them to follow him; they were amongst his first followers. Andrew & Simon Peter immediately put down their nets and followed him. The Gospel states that right after Peter and Andrew were called, two other fishermen, the brothers John and James, the sons of Zebedee, were called as well. Tradition has it that Andrew brought the Gospel to the people of Turkey and Greece after Jesus’ death and resurrection when all the disciples were sent out as missionaries. Andrew gave his life as a martyr in order that Christ’s message would be proclaimed to all 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 it does not matter if we are Jew or Greek; it does not matter who we are and what our status in life is: Christ’s Gospel is open to all.
As we journey through this first week in Advent and as we hear of the witness of Andrew the Apostle, may we see the responsibility and opportunity we ourselves have in helping to proclaim the Gospel to the world. As part of our Advent practices, may we find new and different ways to continue Christ’s mission to the end of the earth.
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