Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle

Biographical Information about St. Andrew

“St Andrew”
by Jusepe de Ribera, 1616-18

 
Readings for the Feast of Saint Andrew [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Romans 10:9-18
 
Brothers and sisters:
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.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
The Scripture says,
No one who believes in him will be put to shame.
There is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon him.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
 
But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed?
And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone to preach?
And how can people preach unless they are sent?
As it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!
But not everyone has heeded the good news;
for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what was heard from us?
Thus faith comes from what is heard,
and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
But I ask, did they not hear?
Certainly they did; for
 
Their voice has gone forth to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
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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.
 
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
 
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
 
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
 
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
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Commentary on Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11
 
Psalm 19 is a hymn of praise. In this passage, we give praise for God’s gift of the Law which guides us in our daily lives. The hymn extols the virtues 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
 
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
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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).
 
CCC: Mt 4:19 878; Mt 4:21 878
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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 done as St. John had suggested 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).
 
[Note: there are two different versions about the call of Andrew and his brother, Simon (St. Peter).  In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus calls them while they are fishing with their father (Mark 1:16; Matthew 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11), although we notice in Luke, Andrew is not mentioned.  However, in the Gospel of St. John, hear the following: "Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed)." (John 1:35-41) The reflection above sort of cross-references the two versions of the call.]
 
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 Peter, who would be given the Keys to the Kingdom, would shape the whole world.  To 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: Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
 

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[1] The picture is “St Andrew” by Jusepe de Ribera, 1616-18.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.