Mt. 4:18-20
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.
St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, had been a follower of John the Baptist. So, he must have already been a devout soul when Jesus called him to be an apostle. Andrew lived in Bethsaida in Galilee as did Peter. He, like Peter, was a fisherman by trade. He was part of Jesus’ beloved twelve apostles, someone intimately close to Our Lord. He and his brother were the first called to follow Jesus. Both Andrew and Peter responded in a way that is an example for us all. The reading from Matthew’s Gospel today states that Andrew, along with Peter, when called by Jesus, immediately left his nets and followed Him.
Andrew and Peter had probably learned the fishing trade from their father and grandfather as young boys. They knew the sea, how to fish from boats, how to fix nets, how to support their families by fishing. Now, suddenly, they were willing—for Jesus—to leave all this behind. It wasn’t just a fun hobby like fishing is for some today; it was their livelihood. Leaving the tools of their trade—their nets, maybe their boats, their customers, all their years of training behind—would be costly. They most likely risked being thought crazy by their families and neighbors. Perhaps their wives and children were full of fear. They had to soothe them. They had to somehow explain why they were doing something totally inexplicable.
They must have seen the love and felt the love coming from Jesus. Jesus’ love must have been enough for them to dare following Him into an unknown future. What amazing trust! What amazing courage! Courage to follow Jesus was not just an initial step. It was a lifelong call, and St. Andrew answered yes to it over and over.
Andrew had an open heart, open enough to receive the love Jesus was sending to him. He had a willingness to humbly learn a totally new way of being in this world at the feet of Jesus, day after day. None of this could have been easy to do, and the lessons would not be simple ones.
In the end, after spreading the Good News of salvation by word and example, Andrew was crucified. By example, St. Andrew shows us how the things that define us so often in this life – like wealth or learning or what we are used to doing – really mean nothing. Only love matters. St. Andrew witnessed that Jesus was born and walked among us as a man. He saw Jesus die for us. He believed in the resurrection. He had courage, even in the face of persecution and death. He understood something that we all need to learn: that living with the risen Jesus forever is worth everything.
St. Andrew is today’s Ornament of Grace.
OBSERVING THE BEAUTIFUL ORNAMENTS
- If Jesus were to ask you to give up your wealth and livelihood to follow Him, could you dare to do that?
- When Jesus calls you to do something, even something seemingly insignificant, do you drop everything to do it right away?
