Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (Mt. 4:18-22) “Who Chose Who?”
Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (Mt. 4:18-22) “Who Chose Who?”
The call of St. Andrew is described in a couple of different places in the scripture. In the passage we just read Andrew is very passive. Jesus is walking along the seashore and Jesus picks him out to be an Apostle. Andrew drops everything to follow Jesus.
In the other call story in the Gospel of John, Andrew is described as a disciple of John the Baptist. Jesus is pointed out to him, and he goes to Jesus asking if he can spend time with him. We see by these two stories that following Jesus is a mutual choice. Jesus chooses us and we must choose him. That was the experience of Jesus, and it can be our experience.
What did Jesus see in Andrew? Was the day he called Andrew the first day that he met him? We would suspect that it was not. Jesus must have known about Andrew and the other men he chose. We are told in the scriptures that Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum. What prompted the move? It was probably motivated by the fact that Capernaum was a bustling fishing town.
We can speculate that Jesus worshipped with Andrew and the other fisherman in the synagogue. He sat with them in the town square discussing the mysteries of life. He was able to judge their depth of belief. Jesus observed their work ethic. He was able to see how moral they were. For all these reasons he made his choices as to who he would want to be disciples.
He did not just select the first twelve men he ran across on the seashore. Jesus saw something special in these men. He knew their talents and their abilities. He probably also knew that as fisherman they had to have the virtues of patience and the ability to adjust to what life threw at them. For those reasons Jesus chose them.
Reflection Questions:
Do I feel chosen? Why do I feel that way?
Did I choose to follow Jesus? Do I feel like I had no say? Why?
Dear Parishioners,
We are having several funerals this week. Whenever we have a funeral, ministers sit down to plan with the family. Debbie Patronagio, a staff member, does most of the planning. I usually sit in as well. We choose the readings. We select music with the families. We also help the grieving family pick out the ministries that they want to help with.
We try to spend a lot of time listening and helping families process their grief. We try to help those who have had a significant loss as they deal with their feelings. Hopefully, this process is a comfort to the family of the person who has died.
Some of this planning can be done in advance. If you are interested in discussing funeral plans feel free to call Debbie or myself and we will answer your questions.
May Our Lady of Sorrows pray for all those who grieve,
Fr. Mark