“Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter”
Who was St. Andrew? We do not know the exact year Andrew was born. We do know he was born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee [1], and was the son of John, or Jonah [2] One interesting thing about Andrew is his name; it is Greek instead of the traditional Hebrew. The place where he grew up, Galilee, had many cultural things that were Greek, including language. Also, his family openness to the other cultures should be taken into notice. [3]
What did St. Andrew do before he was an apostle? He was a fisherman like his brother, Peter. In Matthew and Mark’s Gospels, we hear of Jesus calling them from the Sea of Galilee saying, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” [4] In today’s Gospel reading, we hear another important factor-- that he was a disciple of John the Baptist.
What was Andrew doing with John the Baptist? This shows us that Andrew was someone, who was searching for the true Messiah. He wanted to know better of the word and presence of the Lord. “He was truly a man of faith and hope; one day he heard John the Baptist proclaiming Jesus as: ‘the Lamb of God’ [5], so he was stirred and with another unnamed disciple, followed Jesus, the one whom John had called ‘the Lamb of God.’” [6] Jesus was presented to many people, but unlike Andrew, many of those people were not “waiting” or “open”. They were not hungry for the Messiah. When are the times in our life that Jesus has been presented to us, or presented Himself to us? What was our response? How can we maintain an attitude of “waiting”? How can we practice the beatitude, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”?
The Gospel for the First Sunday of Ordinary Time was The Epiphany of the Lord. The Three Wise Men, like Saint Andrew were searching or waiting for “a sign” and so they were first able to see it and second willing to follow it. What are the similarities between the Three Wise Men and Saint Andrew? Both were attracted by “a light” and in following “a light” they were led them to the source of light. For the Three Wise Men, “God called them by what was most familiar to them and showed them a great, marvelous star, so that it would attract their attention by its very greatness and beauty.” [7] In the same way, Andrew was drawn to Saint John the Baptist, a charismatic prophet, preaching and baptizing in preparation for the Messiah. It was an act of faith for Saint Andrew to become a disciple of Saint John the Baptist, maybe a choice that would have brought about persecution in his life. The Wise Men gave up all to follow the “star”. This was a great act of hope in which, they trusted they would find something great; they would find a king. The Wise Men must have known the challenges that would lie ahead on their new journey of hope. Both Saint Andrew and the Wise Men were willing to make the necessary sacrifices to follow what was attractive. They had already given up so much to follow “a prophet” or “a star”, imagine the difficultly to then follow something new. The Wise Men in arriving in Judea, found a little baby and this was the King they were asked to follow. Saint Andrew was told by his teacher, Saint John the Baptist, to “Behold the Lamb” and was then asked to follow Jesus. The Wise Men and Saint Andrew give us the example of perseverance and obedience. We must follow our hunger for truth, for beauty, for goodness. We must also be willing to always obey and give up lesser truths, beauty and goodness (i.e. the star and Saint John the Baptist) for the source of truth, beauty and goodness. What are the lesser truths and goodness in our life, which we followed faithful and which led us to a greater truth and beauty?
What special title does Andrew have? Andrew has the very special title as the “Protokletos”, which means, “The first called”. As we read in the Gospel reading, Andrew was the first of the Apostles to be called to follow Jesus. He even showed his apostolic spirit by going to his brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus.” [8] If it were not for Andrew who knows if Peter would have come to see Jesus and be our first Pope.
Where else do we see Andrew in Scripture? We see Andrew’s name specifically in three other places: at the multiplication of the loaves, at Jerusalem questioning the end of times, and again in Jerusalem before the Passion of our Lord.
ACTIVTY – Saint Andrew in Scripture
Read the following verses. What can we learn about the person and faith for Saint Andrew the Apostle? This activity can be done individually or each reading can be given to a group of individuals who can then share with the whole group. Read John 6:1-15; Mark 13:1-8; John 12:20-36.
The multiplication of the loaves
On this particular occasion of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, it was Andrew who points to the fact precisely how many fish (two) and loaves of bread (five) they have. [9] It is important to point out here that Andrew does not doubt Jesus. He is actually going to Jesus because he is a realist, and knows on his own, they do not have enough. He gives what they have over to Jesus, and we see the miracle take place. For ourselves, we may look around us and think that we cannot do everything asked of us, and it may be true. Alone, left to our own accord, we cannot do it all, but when we ask Jesus to help us, and we hand to Him what little we have, He will make it happen and our gifts multiply. When is a time in our life when we gave the “best” we could, gave all we could and Jesus multiplied that?
Jerusalem: The end of times
The second place we hear of Andrew speaking is at Jerusalem. As they were leaving, one of the disciples marveled at the sight of the Temple. Jesus in reply said that there will be a time where not a stone on that temple will be together. Later, Andrew along with Peter, James, and John ask privately what did Jesus mean and when will this event occur. [10] At this time, Jesus gave a difficult teaching and downright scary unfolding of what is to come before the end of times. However, as Jesus says do not be troubled by any of these things. If we are true disciples of Jesus, we will have to reason to worry. For Andrew, we can learn that we should not be afraid to seek and ask questions to Jesus. However, we must be ready to accept whatever He tells us, even if it is surprising and difficult teachings. We follow these teachings because Jesus is the fullness of truth.
Jerusalem: before the Passion
The last story is when Andrew and Philip (who also had a Greek name) were asked by other Greeks, who came up for the Passover, if they could see Jesus. When Andrew asks Jesus, He said, “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. I solemnly assure you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”[11] What Jesus wants to say, “Yes, my meeting with the Greeks will take place, but not as a simple, brief conversation between myself and a few others, motivated above all by curiosity. The hour of my glorification will come with my death, which can be compared with the falling into the earth of a grain of wheat. My death on the Cross will bring forth great fruitfulness: in the Resurrection the ‘dead grain of wheat’ - a symbol of myself crucified - will become the bread of life for the world; it will be a light for the peoples and cultures.” [12]
Here we see Andrew as having a special role with the Greek world, as he was the first one to go and share this news with the Greeks.
What did Andrew go on to do after the Resurrection? He became the apostle to the Greek world. While his brother Peter traveled from Jerusalem to eventually Rome, Andrew helped establish the Church in Constantinople and is considered the first bishop of the Church of Byzantine. Rome and Constantinople are in a very special way, Sister Churches. In 1964, Pope Paul VI returned the relic of St. Andrew to the Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of the city of Patras in Greece, where it is told in tradition that is the place where Andrew died.
How did Andrew die? It is believed by tradition that Andrew was killed in Patras and suffered the torture of crucifixion. Like his brother, Andrew did not feel worthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus, so he requested to be crucified in a different way. For Andrew, he was crucified in a “X” shaped cross; this is now known as “St. Andrew’s cross”. At the hour of his death Andrew gave his final testimony to the power of the cross. [Please read the spiritual reading for this packet] As we can see, the cross was not seen as an instrument of death, but as a means for perfect union to the Redeemer. Our own crosses in our life have value only if we accept them as part of the Cross of Christ. “It is by that cross alone that our sufferings too are ennobled and acquire their true meaning.” [13]
“The Apostle Andrew, therefore, teaches us to follow Jesus with promptness [14], to speak enthusiastically about him to those we meet, and especially, to cultivate a relationship of true familiarity with him, acutely aware that in him alone can we find the ultimate meaning of our life and death.” [15] ?
[1] Jn. 1:44
[2] Mt. 16:17; Jn. 1:42
[3] Benedict XVI, The Apostles pg. 59
[4] Mt 4:18-19; Mk. 1:16-17
[5] Jn. 1:36
[6] Benedict XVI, The Apostles pg. 60
[7] Saint John Chrysostom, Homilies on St. Matthew, 6:3 (from In Conversation with God; Vol. 1, 43)
[8] Jn. 1:40-43
[9] cf. Jn. 6:8-9
[10] Mk. 13: 1-4
[11] Jn 12:23-24
[12] Benedict XVI, The Apostles pg. 62
[13] Benedict XVI, The Apostles pg. 64
[14] cf. Mt. 4:20; Mk. 1:18
[15] Benedict XVI, The Apostles pg. 64