Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
Biographical Information about St. Andrew
Readings for Thursday
Commentary:
Reading 1 Rom 10:9-18
We hear in this passage the message that is at the root of the “alter call” in many of the Baptist and Evangelical Christian communities. It appears, unfortunately, in this passage to be an absolute; “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The Church asks for this profession but also expects, as is explicit in other parts of the scripture that actions must accompany the professed faith in Christ. In the first century this was significant and could result in social and economic persecution.
The second section of this selection exalts those who carry the good news to others. Note here how in Semitic fashion, the body part (in this case the feet) that bares the Good News is praised.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise. In this passage we give praise to God’s gift of the Law which guides us in our daily lives. The hymn also extols the virtue of obedience and steadfastness to the Law and its precepts.
Gospel Mt 4:18-22
This passage is the account in St. Matthew’s Gospel of the call of the first disciples. Ironically the notes on this section point out that three of the four called, Peter, James, and John, are distinguished by a particular closeness to Jesus. As we celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew today, we should note that other scriptural evidence indicates that he too had a particularly close relationship with the Lord and he was called first among all the Apostles.
The reason that Matthew’s account indicates the disciples left work and family immediately without any explanation may be due in part to Andrew’s earlier encounter with Jesus as a disciple of John the Baptist (Jn 1;40)
Homily:
There is a very old joke that says; “One of the bravest people in the history of the world was the first one to drink cow’s milk.” The joke itself begs the question; who was the first to drink cow’s milk? And, if we choose to carry it a bit further; who first domesticated the cow? Think about it, we don’t know the name of the person, without whose inspiration and courage, we would not have beef as part of our diet or milk as a source of nourishment. Given the current dietary aversion to red meat that may have not been the best example but there are others; who first decided that medicinal herbs could help us ward off disease? Not the inventors of Penicillin or even Aspirin surly, some unknown chemist in a darker age tried and found the beneficial effects and carried them forward.
The point here is this, in the history of the world there are many great names we could cite as being the benefactors of humanity. These great people often performed great deed and feats of work to earn their just places of honor. However, if we were to trace the events and inventions that made these same people noteworthy, we would find there are hundreds and thousands more, behind the scenes without whom nothing would have been accomplished.
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. He also is considered the First Apostle. Although we are not given a Gospel from John today, if we were to look at the first chapter of St. John’s Gospel in verse 40 we would find that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. When John the Baptist first said; “Behold the Lamb of God.” Two of his disciples followed Jesus and spent time with him that day. One of those was Andrew who, after hearing Jesus speak, ran to his Bother and said; “We have found the Messiah! (the Anointed one)” That might explain why, in today’s Gospel, when we hear that when the first disciples were called by Jesus; “At once they left their nets and followed him”.
The example of St. Andrew is an important one for each of us. How many times have we thought when we were performing some act of kindness in God’s name or when we were at prayer; what merit does this act have or, why do I bother? Think of St. Andrew, little is known of him and not much recorded in history yet it was he who told Peter, the Rock upon which the Church was founded; we have found the Messiah!
Pax
Biographical Information about St. Andrew
Readings for Thursday
Commentary:
Reading 1 Rom 10:9-18
We hear in this passage the message that is at the root of the “alter call” in many of the Baptist and Evangelical Christian communities. It appears, unfortunately, in this passage to be an absolute; “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The Church asks for this profession but also expects, as is explicit in other parts of the scripture that actions must accompany the professed faith in Christ. In the first century this was significant and could result in social and economic persecution.
The second section of this selection exalts those who carry the good news to others. Note here how in Semitic fashion, the body part (in this case the feet) that bares the Good News is praised.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise. In this passage we give praise to God’s gift of the Law which guides us in our daily lives. The hymn also extols the virtue of obedience and steadfastness to the Law and its precepts.
Gospel Mt 4:18-22
This passage is the account in St. Matthew’s Gospel of the call of the first disciples. Ironically the notes on this section point out that three of the four called, Peter, James, and John, are distinguished by a particular closeness to Jesus. As we celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew today, we should note that other scriptural evidence indicates that he too had a particularly close relationship with the Lord and he was called first among all the Apostles.
The reason that Matthew’s account indicates the disciples left work and family immediately without any explanation may be due in part to Andrew’s earlier encounter with Jesus as a disciple of John the Baptist (Jn 1;40)
Homily:
There is a very old joke that says; “One of the bravest people in the history of the world was the first one to drink cow’s milk.” The joke itself begs the question; who was the first to drink cow’s milk? And, if we choose to carry it a bit further; who first domesticated the cow? Think about it, we don’t know the name of the person, without whose inspiration and courage, we would not have beef as part of our diet or milk as a source of nourishment. Given the current dietary aversion to red meat that may have not been the best example but there are others; who first decided that medicinal herbs could help us ward off disease? Not the inventors of Penicillin or even Aspirin surly, some unknown chemist in a darker age tried and found the beneficial effects and carried them forward.
The point here is this, in the history of the world there are many great names we could cite as being the benefactors of humanity. These great people often performed great deed and feats of work to earn their just places of honor. However, if we were to trace the events and inventions that made these same people noteworthy, we would find there are hundreds and thousands more, behind the scenes without whom nothing would have been accomplished.
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. He also is considered the First Apostle. Although we are not given a Gospel from John today, if we were to look at the first chapter of St. John’s Gospel in verse 40 we would find that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist. When John the Baptist first said; “Behold the Lamb of God.” Two of his disciples followed Jesus and spent time with him that day. One of those was Andrew who, after hearing Jesus speak, ran to his Bother and said; “We have found the Messiah! (the Anointed one)” That might explain why, in today’s Gospel, when we hear that when the first disciples were called by Jesus; “At once they left their nets and followed him”.
The example of St. Andrew is an important one for each of us. How many times have we thought when we were performing some act of kindness in God’s name or when we were at prayer; what merit does this act have or, why do I bother? Think of St. Andrew, little is known of him and not much recorded in history yet it was he who told Peter, the Rock upon which the Church was founded; we have found the Messiah!
Pax
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