St. Andrew the Apostle
“As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
Matthew 4:18-20
“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” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated by Peter).”
John 1:40-42
November 30 is the feast day of St. Andrew. There are varied stories of Andrew’s life with Jesus, but in all of them he is listed as one of the apostles, one of those early disciples who were sent into the world to proclaim the Good News. Matthew’s Gospel tells of Jesus calling Simon Peter and Andrew at the same time and they immediately left their life as fishermen to follow Him. John’s Gospel tells of Andrew and another person hearing John the Baptist talk about Jesus, after which Andrew became the first disciple.
Whether Andrew was the first or second disciple does not matter, the important thing is that he dropped everything in his life and followed when Jesus called. Andrew is mentioned by name several other times in the Gospels, always having to do with bringing others to know Jesus. Andrew, along with Phillip, brought a group of Greeks to see Jesus (John 12:20-22). It was Andrew who brought forward the young boy with the two fish and five loaves that were multiplied to feed 5,000 people. (John 6:8-9).[i]
Think about meeting a new and unknown itinerant preacher and then dropping everything that is going on in your life to follow him. That sounds unbelievable in our modern age and it was probably just as crazy in the first century. Not everyone recognized Jesus as the Messiah, as the Son of God. Those who recognized Him knew that they needed to drop everything in their lives to follow Him. Through Holy Scripture, we can know Jesus and we can strive to lead our lives following Him, growing as disciples and sharing the Good News.
Collect for the Feast Day of St. Andrew
Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give unto us, who are called by your Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
“The Book of Common Prayer,” page 237
