"To bring people to Jesus."

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Andrew, one of the twelve Apostles.

Saint Andrew is the disciple in the New Testament.

He brings his brother Peter to Jesus,

He brings the boy with the five loaves and the two fish. bringing people to Jesus.

Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and saw Andrew and Simon Peter fishing.

It is then he asked the two to become disciples and "fishers of men."

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Romans 10:9-18

You are saved if you confess

With your lips that Jesus is Lord, and in your heart you believe that God raised him from the dead. By believing from the heart, you obtain true righteousness; by confessing the faith with your lips, you are saved. For Scripture says: No one who believes in him will be ashamed. Here, there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; all have the same Lord, who is very generous with whoever calls on him. Truly, all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

 

But how can they call upon the name of the Lord without having believed in him? And how can they believe in him, without having first heard about him? And how will they hear about him, if no one preaches about him? And how will they preach about him, if no one sends them? As Scripture says: How beautiful are the feet of the messenger of good news. Although, not everyone obeyed the good news, as Isaiah said: Lord, who has believed in our preaching? So, faith comes from preaching, and preaching is rooted in the word of Christ.

 

I ask: Have the Jews not heard? But, of course, they have. Because the voice of those preaching resounded all over the earth, and their voice was heard, to the ends of the world.

 

Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊    

Matthew 4:18-22

As Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, As Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come, follow me; and I will make you fish for people." At once they left their nets and followed him. He went on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them. 

 

At once, they left the boat, and their father, and followed him.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Come, follow me."

Today's Gospel, from Matthew, follows the Markan tradition. Jesus called them, and they left their nets. There are other accounts which tell more of Andrew: he is the apostle who told Jesus of the boy with barley loaves (Jn 6:8-9), he commented on the massive walls supporting the temple (Mk 13:1-4), and he served as the bridge between the Jewish and Greek followers of Jesus (Jn 12:20-26).

 

Nonetheless, what seems to be not given too much attention to is the fact that Andrew was the protokletos, he is the one "first called." He is the one who even led Peter, his brother, to Jesus (cf. Jn 1:40). He served as the bridge between his brother and the Lord. We have already pointed out that he also served as the bridge between the Jewish and the Gentile believers.

 

Furthermore, we may reflect on the fact that we can only serve well as a bridge when we remain in Jesus' love. The greatest challenge posed to us now as Jesus' disciples is to bridge the love of Jesus and the way we live our life, participating in the creation of a culture characterized by social love.