The First Disciple
AM: Psalm 34 • Isaiah 49:1-6 • 1 Corinthians 4:1-16
PM: Psalm 96, 100 • Isaiah 55:1-5 • John 1:35-42
How much do you know about Andrew, the saint we honor today? I’ll admit that I don’t remember much about him from the New Testament lessons, but I do know that he is the patron saint of Scotland and at Saint Paul’s we celebrate his “feast day” by wearing tartans to church and being regaled with bagpipe music!
In the accounts of Mark and Matthew, the calling of Andrew and his brother Simon by Jesus occurs when they are fishing at the Sea of Galilee, but in today’s reading from John’s Gospel, Andrew—a follower of John the Baptist—hears him exclaim, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” and decides to follow Jesus... “They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day.”
Andrew then carries a message to his brother Simon: “We have found the Messiah.” From this bold proclamation we can only assume that the time Andrew spent with Jesus must have been extraordinary.
In sharing the Good News of Jesus with his brother, Andrew becomes one of the first evangelists. This passage closes with Simon being brought to meet Jesus, who renames him Cephas (from kepha meaning “rock” in Aramaic and translated to Peter, from the Greek word for rock, petra). Peter goes on to become the patriarch of the Roman church.
In the Orthodox church, Andrew is known as Protokletos, or “First-Called.” He seems to have top billing over his brother and is credited as the founder of the church in Constantinople. The Apostle Andrew is also revered as the patron saint of Greece, Russia, and parts of Italy.
There are variations in the accounts of the Calling of the Twelve. This brief recounting of Andrew’s introduction to Jesus may be missing some of the poignancy of the seaside call to “become fishers of men”—but it is rich in its simplicity. Andrew was compelled to follow Jesus, heard his teachings, and then proclaimed him as the Messiah. How many others were offered the same, but did not choose to “Come and see”?
Written by Shannon Dillard Mitchell
...who is grateful for the many opportunities to serve God and God’s people through the ministries of St. Paul’s church.