Memory of the apostle Andrew Read more
Memory of the apostle Andrew
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 4, 18-22
As he was walking by the Lake of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast into the lake with their net, for they were fishermen.
And he said to them, 'Come after me and I will make you fishers of people.'
And at once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.
And at once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Today the Church commemorates Andrew, the first one to be called. This recall reminds us that Christians are first and foremost disciples, that is men and women who listen to the Lord and follow him. The liturgical year we just started is nothing but a year of discipleship of Jesus, a year of listening to the Gospel in order to grow in the love of God and of our brothers and sisters. For this reason, the story of the first called - according to the narrative of John - continues to be exemplary. Andrew, son of Jonah and brother of Simon Peter, was a native of Bethsaida, plying his trade as a fisherman, with his brother. He was called by Jesus while he was mending his nets, and he immediately left them and followed the Master. According to tradition, Andrew announced the Gospel in Syria, Asia Minor and Greece, and died in Patras, crucified like his Master. The Orthodox Church venerates him as the first bishop of the Church of Constantinople. The Gospel of Mark joins him to the first four called. All, in fact, after the encounter with Jesus began to follow him. The Church, every Christian community, every religious experience, always begins with a meeting. But it is not a matter of hasty greetings, or drawing-room entertainment. How many times do we fill our time with chatting, or waste many words! Here is a simple and clear invitation of Jesus: “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Andrew and Simon, called Peter, listened to this call, left their nets and followed him. Why follow? It is difficult to explain the future of God to those who, like us, are illiterate of His word and His love. And the Master explained the future of God in the only way these fishermen could understand, perhaps in the only way that could attract them, “You will still be fishing, but for people.” For this fishing we need to leave the usual fishing boat and start walking not on water but on the earth of men and women that is perhaps even more mobile and uncertain than the waters of the lake. It is no longer the sea of water; it is the sea of men and women, it is the crowd of people who like a sea will absorb them and overwhelm them: Andrew, along with three others, accepted the invitation of Jesus. It is not we who choose, it is another who looks at us, loves us and calls us. Truly, Jesus is the first “fisher of men” and he called those poor fishermen. It is not for us to judge whether or not we are worthy, or whether someone else is; these judgments are related to a worldly logic. In the Gospel perspective it is for us to listen to the invitation, accept it and respond to it, as the four fishermen did. Following Jesus is not an option for heroes or elected spirits. The first four were simple fishermen: they heard Jesus, they trusted and followed him. This is the secret of faith and of the Church.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
