St. Andrew, Apostle (Feast)
Romans 10:9-18 Mathew 4:18-22
Theme: Your call
Today the church celebrates the feast of the Apostle Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. In the gospel reading of today, we see how Jesus called him and his brother Simon Peter, and also James and John the sons of Zebedee. They responded promptly to the call of Jesus, by leaving everything behind and followed Jesus. They did not worry about their craft as fishermen or about their family, they left everything and followed him. Today’s feast and the gospel reading is a reminder that we should be faithful to the ‘Yes’ that we have said to the Lord, at one time or the other in our lives. St. Andrew did not allow anything to distract him from whole heartedly answering the call of God, so he gave up everything to follow Christ, including his life. He remained steadfast in the yes, he said to Jesus until the end of his life. He was martyred in Greece in an X-shaped cross.
This brings us to a very important question as we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew, How faithful are you to the call of God that you have received? This is an important question that we all need to reflect on today. As children of God and Christians, we have said yes to God, let us remain steadfast like St. Andrew and embrace our call whole heartedly, by letting go any form of distraction on our way. The baggage’s we carry along can sometimes become a great challenge and set back to our answering the call of God and saying yes to him. The call of some of the Apostles of Jesus in today’s gospel reading, gives us a guide on how to respond to the call of God. They made the decision to say yes to Jesus and left behind two very important things in their lives. They left behind their craft and their family; it takes a lot of courage and faith for one to make such a decision.
One of the good things about their ‘yes’ to Jesus is the fact that they did not regret the choice they made to follow Jesus. Also, in our own time, all those who sincerely follow Christ will have no reason to regret the choice they have made. In view of this, we are all encouraged today to accept the invitation presented to us by the Word of God, to say ‘Yes’ and follow him with a sincere heart. Remember, from the point they said yes to Jesus, things never remained the same for them. We can never outdo God in generosity. May the Lord bless his words in our hearts in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.