Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle
Today is the feast day of the apostle St. Andrew. Both readings today highlight the importance of listening to and acting on God’s word. There are several times in the gospels where Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” How often are we listening to hear God speak to us, and if we aren’t listening, how can we do His will?
In the gospel reading from Matthew, we hear about the call of the apostles. Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee, and sees Simon and Andrew fishing. He calls them to follow Him and become “fishers of men.” He goes further and finds James and John in their boat and invites them to follow as well. All four men immediately leave their boats and follow Jesus.
When I hear this story, I have so many questions: How can these men just leave their lives and their livelihood to follow this man? Is this the first time they had met Jesus? How do they know that following Jesus was worth leaving everything behind? When I place myself in the same situation, I wonder if would be able to respond so wholeheartedly.
At times, I think that these accounts of the apostles can be more discouraging than inspiring, since these behaviors of radical change seem beyond our reach. But with further reflection, I think that there are important lessons that speak to me about how we are also called and asked to follow. I believe that Jesus calls us to follow Him in the small actions of our daily lives. He might not be calling me to leave my home and family and travel to another place to preach the gospel, but Jesus does call me to act with kindness, compassion and love when dealing with the people and situations throughout my day. When I interact with someone who is difficult, my first inclination might be to either fight back or even ignore this individual. But Jesus is calling me to respond with peace and non-judgment.
The challenge is whether we listen for Jesus’ call when we go about our daily activities. In order to hear Jesus direct us, we need to commit to spending time in prayer and in the scripture, so we will recognize His voice. The better we know Jesus and His Way, the more likely we will know how He beckons us to respond in various situations. Although this does not seem as remarkable as the call of the disciples, when we begin to listen and act as Christ in the little ways of our lives, we become true disciples of Jesus. We may not always hear and follow Jesus, but if we arise each morning and ask Him to provide us the ears to hear His voice, I believe He will. Once we listen and hear, then we are called to step forward in faith to be Christ for others.
Loving God, Jesus calls us and asks us to follow Him to share love, mercy and peace with the world around us. Send down Your Spirit, so we will have the ears to hear and the wisdom and grace to act in our daily lives. May we be signs of Your presence and may our lives give you glory. We pray this in Christ’s name. AMEN.
-Marylynn Herchline