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| “St. Andrew” taken from an antique French Holy Card, Artist and Date UNKNOWN. |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Romans 10:9-18
Commentary on Rom 10:9-18
As part of his dialogue regarding why the Jews had failed in their mission, St. Paul calls upon the Roman Christians to profess their belief that Jesus is the Son of God, divine in his own person. The Jewish converts could not say the name of God but referred instead to Yahweh as “Lord.” By asking the Christians to “…confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord“, they professed their belief in his divinity and what flowed from that profession was justification (to be made just as if one had not sinned). In justification is salvation since the physical act of confessing with the lips must come from an interior faith from the heart.
The Evangelist continues his call to faith explaining that this path to salvation is open to all peoples (“There is no distinction between Jew and Greek”). This invitation does not have any prerequisites (i.e. one does not have to have come to belief through Judaism) to be unified in Christ, paraphrasing Isaiah 28:16.
In the next section (v. 14-21) St. Paul poses questions as to why the Jewish people forfeited their status as favorites in the eyes of God. Perhaps there were reasons which he rhetorically proposes and then rejects: did they not hear; did they not understand? To the question, have they not heard? St. Paul responds quoting Psalm 19:5, which concludes this passage.
CCC: Rom 10:9 343, 186, 449; Rom 10:12-13 2739; Rom 10:13 2666; Rom 10:14-15 875; Rom 10:17 875
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (10) The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. (John 6:63) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Commentary on Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11
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. The passage also reflects the idea that following God’s statutes leads to peace and prosperity.
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Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22
Commentary on Mt 4:18-22
This passage is the account in St. Matthew’s Gospel of the call of the first disciples. The important principle provided in this episode is the fact that the four disciples called by Jesus, the first four, followed the Lord immediately. It is recorded that they left their entire livelihood and all their possessions behind and followed Jesus. (A similar abruptness is found also in the call of Levi, Matthew 9:9.)
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. 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 (John 1:40).
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Reflection:
What would the world be like if St. Andrew had not become a disciple of St. John the Baptist? We don’t know what called him to follow the Voice, to become a member of that close circle of devout followers. But we do know that if the Apostle had not, he would never have been sent, as tradition holds, with his companion to ask Jesus if he was the one to come or if they should expect someone else.
And what if he had not gone to the Lord and heard those words: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Luke 7:22)? Those words had meaning beyond the obvious. While indeed the blind, the lame, and deaf were healed, those events were a direct reference to the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1).
And what did St. Andrew do? He returned to the Baptist and then, perhaps taking St. John’s own mission to the next level went immediately to his brother (John 1:37-40). The words he spoke to him echo through the thousands of years that have passed. They are graven in the heart of every Christian who has ever come to faith, "We have found the Messiah."
From that point forward the profession of faith made by and to the brother of the one who would be given the Keys to the Kingdom would shape the whole world. From St. Peter and those first four disciples would be added eight more, including the one who betrayed him. From them, the Gospel of the Lord would travel to every part of the world. It began with a simple statement of faith - "We have found the Messiah."
Today as we celebrate the feast day of St. Andrew, we thank God for the gift of faith, the faith he gave St. Andrew and all the Apostles and the faith he gives us. We ask on this day that St. Andrew will intercede for us and the one he found will bless us with an abundance of faith so that we in our turn may announce it to the world - "We have found the Messiah."
Pax
In other years: Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
[1] The picture is “St. Andrew” taken from an antique French Holy Card, Artist and Date UNKNOWN.
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