St Andrew

FEAST OF ST ANDREW

I never cease to be amazed that four of the twelve apostles were fishermen. We celebrate the Feast of St Andrew on 30 November.

Although, he was the first apostle, we know remarkably little about him. We know that he was born in Bethsaida, a city inhabited by both Greeks and Jews at the NE of the Sea of Galilee. Later he moved to live at Capernaum.

The early church historian, Eusebius, suggests that he became an evangelist in Scythian, a region north of the Black Sea. Hence he is the Patron Saint of Russia. The apocryphal Acts of Andrew, which did not find a place in the New Testament,

suggests that he was martyred by Crucifixion at Achaia (Greece), whilst a later tradition suggests that his body was carried to Constantinople and later, during the Crusades, was transferred to Amalfi in Italy. Yet another tradition claims that his arm was transported, as a sacred relic, by Regulus to Scotland in 750AD, and hence he became the Patron Saint of Scotland.

What we do know for certain is that he was the "First Christian Evangelist" and so the day before his Feast is observed as a "Day of Intercession and Thanksgiving for the Missionary Work of the Church". Yet, in spite of the absence of reliable information concerning the life and witness of Andrew, I believe we can safely discern something of his character from the pages of the New Testament.

Three words sum up for me the life of St Andrew. They are searching, sharing, and humility.

Let. me explain:

Firstly, Andrew was a person who was engaged upon a search for meaning to life. He had an open and questioning mind that would not remain content until he had found the answer. He was not content to sit back and drift aimlessly through life.

One cannot make sense of the call of Andrew by the Sea of Galilee, as recorded in the synoptic Gospels unless one reads the story in conjunction with the Gospel of St. John. It was not just a question of a nomadic eccentric stranger stopping by the fishing boats and inviting him to follow him. This not only fails to do justice to Andrew, but more importantly gives the whole story a touch of unreality.

No, much rather, the invitation to follow Jesus was the result of a long inward search on the part of Andrew and a growing personal friendship with Jesus. A search which had begun much earlier with John the Baptist.

Andrew was first a disciple or follower of John the Baptist and presumably, had been baptised by him, as indeed was Jesus himself. In fact, it was the day after the baptism of Jesus that John pointed out to Andrew and an unknown disciple, “There is the Lamb of God". Out of curiosity, seeking to silence their restless minds, they chased after him wanting to know where he lived. Jesus invited them to "come and see" and they went and spent the remainder of the day with him, since it was already late afternoon. Quite what happened we do not know, except that Andrew was inwardly satisfied since he immediately went off to tell his brother Simon that "we have found the Messiah”.

It was sometime after this that Jesus caught up with him again and invited him to leave his fishing nets and apply his working experience to “fishing for men".

So the call of Andrew was preceded by a period of searching on the part of Andrew, first with John the Baptist, and later with Jesus himself which came to a climax by the Sea of Galilee when he was challenged to get off the fence and make an act of commitment.

Secondly, Andrew was a generous person who wanted to share his new found faith with others. He did not want to keep it a secret - not even from his brother. Rather, as I have already said, he went immediately to Simon and said “We have found the Messiah”.

In fact, he became a person who was always introducing others to Jesus.

There are only three occasions when Andrew takes the centre stage in the New Testament and each time he introduces others to Jesus. Firstly, there is his introduction of his brother Simon. Secondly, there is the boy with the five loaves and two small fish at the feeding of the five thousand. Thirdly, there is the incident when he brought some enquiring Greeks into the presence of Jesus.

Andrew was a person with a missionary heart, always wanting to share Jesus with others, whether they be Jews or non-Jews; whether they be old or young. It mattered not.

The third word which sums up the character of Andrew, for me, is the word “humility”. He was a person who was quite content to play “second fiddle" and not object if he was not in the spotlight, even though he may well have been instrumental in enabling another person to take the spotlight.

This was particularly true in the case of his brother Simon. Again and again he is identified in the Gospels, not in his own right, but as the brother of Simon Peter. There can be no doubt that he lived under the shadow of his brother Peter. People may not know who Andrew was, but everyone knew about Peter.

Even in terms of that inner circle of apostles around Jesus at the healing of the daughter of Jairus, the visit to the Mount of Transfiguration and the Garden of Gethsemane, he was not included with his brother, and his two former fishing colleagues from Capernaum, namely James and John.

This exclusion and overshadowing could not have been easy for Andrew, particularly since he was the first of the twelve to find Jesus and yet, there is no evidence that he ever complained. There is no reference to jealousy, resentment or bitterness. He was always quite content to stand back and allow others to enjoy the spotlight. To have been instrumental in bringing Simon Peter to know Jesus was quite enough. He was content to sit back and play "second fiddle". Here indeed he humility of Andrew, as opposed to the boastfulness of his brother, shines forth as an example to us all who may often feel rejected and fail to receive the recognition we feel we so richly deserve in this world.

Andrew was a searcher for truth. Andrew was a person who introduced others to Jesus. Andrew was essentially a humble person.

Let us recall to mind all those who have been instrumental in bringing us to a knowledge of Jesus – our parents, godparents, teachers, youth club leaders, husbands, wives, children, friends in the community and friends at work; and may we learn to exercise in our lives that inward spirit of humility, which is content to allow our contribution in this life to go unrecognised.

Let us give thanks for the life and witness of St Andrew; pray for those who, like him, are searching for a faith; pray that we may be willing to share our faith with others; and that we may live lives that seek to give glory to God and not to ourselves. Amen