Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
One of the most contentious issues between Roman Catholics and Protestants is contained in today’s Scripture reading from Romans chapter 10: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” One of my friends repeatedly uses this isolated piece of Scripture to assure me that she was saved many years ago, even while admitting that nothing in her life changed until long afterwards. In other words, no matter how you live your life from that moment on, if you have confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you are saved. Wow, how easy is that? It sounds more like cheap magic than true conversion.
In Matthew’s Gospel today Jesus first approaches Peter and his brother Andrew followed by his encounter with James and John. “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men”, He says (Mt. 4:19). They left the livelihood that supported their families and left their families as well. Those of us who live in situations that support our complete dedication to following Jesus are fortunate. But many of us find ourselves, having fallen in love with Jesus, in situations that challenge us at every turn. Indeed, James and John left everything, including their own father, to follow the Master and Scripture says they did so ‘immediately’. What was it about Jesus that compelled them to do this? I can only surmise it had to do with the ‘heart’. We know well the disciples, each in their own way, stumbled and fell in those few short years of Jesus’ ministry, but eventually their actions and their lives caught up with what they knew in their hearts. We are no different than those very first followers of Jesus. We are called, we respond to the best of our capacity, we stumble and struggle all along the way. Rarely does that initial encounter with the person of Jesus totally integrate our hearts and minds and actions. Conversion is nearly always a lifelong process.
When it comes to following Jesus, for some of us, it takes a while for our hearts to catch up with our actions; for others, our actions don’t seem to reflect the burning desire in our hearts. The point is, whether we are working day by day to align both our actions and our hearts toward this Jesus who has called us, the Jesus we confess with our mouths is Lord. This does not involve magic but rather progress and painstaking commitment—trying our best to cooperate with God’s grace; this is the only way we can possibly travel the road to salvation. This day, may we stay aware of who it is we have dedicated our lives to serving. May we remember our commitment to the Master. And may God grant us the grace to fulfill our calling—just for today. Amen
--Gail Lyman
“The Lord remembered us in our low estate, for his mercy endures forever.” PS 136:23