Feast of St Andrew

Today is the feast of the apostle Andrew. The gospels contain several accounts which show Andrew as a disciple who mixed with people and brought them to Jesus. He was with John the Baptist when he pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God. Andrew and another disciple followed Jesus who invited them to spend some time with him. That visit transformed Andrew's life and he immediately went and brought his brother Simon to meet Jesus.

 

Then when Jesus was teaching a multitude and saw that they were hungry, it was Andrew who was able to tell him that there was a boy in the crowd who was willing to donate his loaves and fishes to help. When some Greeks wanted to meet Jesus, it was Philip and Andrew who brought them to him.

 

Finally in today's gospel,(Matthew 4:18-22) Jesus calls Peter and Andrew to follow him and they left their nets immediately. They fished by bringing the fish together into their nets; Jesus called them to bring people together into the community.

 

Bless all those small communities, Lord, where people come together to share your life giving Word.