St. Andrew 30/11/06 - Matthew 4:18-22

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Today is St. Andrew's day. He is best known as the brother of Simon Peter with whom he lived and worked in Capernaum. Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist who directed him to Jesus. After he had met Jesus and decided he was The Messiah, Andrew introduced his brother Simon to Him. It is after this that we have today's reading.

Jesus chose disciples to win disciples. It is through this strategy and the work of the Holy Spirit that the early church grew so quickly. Andrew is an example of this when he told Simon Peter about this Jesus whom he had just met.

For the church to grow believers have to take on board the task of sharing their faith with others in prayer, word and deed. People need to see and know that our relationship with Jesus Christ makes a difference to our lives.

This does not mean that things will be easy. Having met Jesus and acknowledged who He was, Andrew and Simon are later invited by Him to leave their homes, businesses, families, and follow Him. They would be transformed, to have a new occupation. Fishers of men.

They immediately followed Jesus as did James and John. This is an example of the wholehearted, unquestioning trust and obedience that Jesus wants us to have in Him.

Jesus took ordinary, even insignificant people to follow him and minister for him. He used what had gone on already and transformed it for the purposes of God and His kingdom. He invites us to do the same today. We like Andrew and the other disciples are just ordinary people. But people who have a relationship with Jesus which is transforming us. Jesus can and will transform others, too. When Peter preached his first sermon on the day of Pentecost he caught 3,000 men into Jesus' net.

Andrew followed Jesus for the next three years. Relating to Him, learning about Him and from Him. Seeing His rejection, suffering and crucifixion. Witnessing the risen Lord Jesus on several occasions. According to tradition he preached in Scythia and suffered martyrdom in Achaia, crucified on an X-shaped cross, now called a St. Andrew's cross.

His willingness to follow Jesus immediately, to spread the good news and to die for it is a challenge for us and the church today.

Let us pray for the grace that we need to follow Jesus and to live out and proclaim the good news of his kingdom.