Saturday
30TH November 2019. Read Daniel 7:2-14 and Luke 21:29-33.
_“Immediately, they left the boat and
their father, and followed him.” *(Matthew 4:22)*_
Each time
I read today’s Gospel passage, I cannot but wonder how it so happened that some
grown-up men would abandon their Father, their entire fishing career and what
brings them money to go after a total stranger simply because he said: “Follow
me, and I will make you fishers of men”? There must have been something so
captivating about Jesus that made them leave everything behind to follow Him.
The call
of the disciples in so many ways reflect on our own call as Christians. The essence
of being a Christian is to follow Jesus. The Christian life is all about
discipleship. You cannot be a disciple without an interior sense of detachment.
You must leave something precious behind to freely walk with Jesus. Even Jesus
would tell us that “no servant can have two masters.” (Luke 16:13).
Anyone who
is attached to worldly riches will always have a hard time being a true
disciple of Jesus. Anyone who _*loves*_ riches more than God will find it very
difficult to worship God. (Cf. Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25 and Luke 18:25). As
Andrew left everything else behind, we are called to leave everything else to
follow Jesus. We are called to deny ourselves (deprive ourselves of something),
take up our daily cross to follow Jesus. (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34 and Luke
9:23).
Have you
been a Christian for so long? What have you left behind for Jesus’ sake? What
do you plan to leave behind so as to freely follow Jesus’ footsteps?
While Matthew’s
Gospel presents Andrew as one of the fishermen Jesus called alongside Simon
Peter, John’s Gospel tells us that Andrew was one of the two disciples of John
the Baptist who left him to follow Jesus after he identified Jesus as the Lamb
of God. As John states:
“The next
day again John (the Baptist) was standing with two of his disciples; and he
looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two
disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus… They came and saw where
he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth
hour. One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon
Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have
found the Messiah.”
In other words,
Andrew had stayed a whole day with Jesus and based on his conviction that Jesus
is the Messiah, he then introduced Jesus to Simon his brother. After this, not
much is heard about Andrew other than the fact that he introduced more people
to Jesus. In John 6:8, Andrew was the one who told Jesus that there was a boy
in the crowd who had five loaves and two fish. This is what prompted the
miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Also in John 12:20-23, Andrew went
to Philip to tell Jesus about the Greeks who came into Jerusalem for the feast
and were demanding to see Jesus. We may
conclude that Andrew was fond of introducing people to Jesus.
This is
precisely the reason the season of Advent begins on the nearest Sunday to the feast
of St. Andrew. Andrew basically introduces the whole Church to the season of
Advent; to begin our preparation to commemorate the events of the incarnation
of God among the human race.
Dear
friends, have you been a Christian for so long? How many people have you
introduced to Jesus? Andrew stayed a whole day with Jesus and went on to
convince Simon about Jesus. How much do you do about Jesus? Could this be the
reason why you have never successfully introduced anyone to Jesus?
St. Paul
in today’s first reading says: “How beautiful are the feet of one who brings
Good News.” As they say, bad news sells quickly and easily but Good News takes
time. We find it very hard to talk to someone about Jesus but we have no
problem spending a whole day gossiping about the faults of others? We are so
quick to share stories about the scandalous behaviour of others on social media
but simply gloss over spiritually edifying messages? May St. Andrew inspire positive
change in us. Amen.
You never
can tell what God would do in a person through your message. Just be an Andrew today:
talk to someone about Jesus.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, use me like St. Andrew to bring people to you.
Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Feast of
St. Andrew. Bible Study: Romans 10:9-18, Psalm 19 and Matthew 4:18-22).
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