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Today we mark the feast of St. Andrew, the first disciple of Jesus.
St John Chrysostom writing 1700 years ago reflected:
“After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share it with his brother. Notice what Andrew said to him [Simon Peter]: We have found the Messiah, that is to say, the Christ.”
St Basil the Great writing at the same time as Chrysostom really emphasised the firsts:
“Andrew was the first to become an Apostle. It was he who opened the gates of Christ’s teaching. He was the first to gather the fruits cultivated by the prophets, and he surpassed the hopes of all by being the first to embrace the one awaited by all…”
In a society where we are pressured to fit in and follow the crowd let’s not be afraid to be the first to stand and speak for what we know be good and true and beautiful.
When we follow Christ we experience freedom since Christ frees us from the trap of following every fad, fashion, celebrity or opinion.
With Christ every one of us becomes unique, original, distinctive and therefore attractive in a world where it’s too easy to follow the trend to blend with the crowd.
When we seek to follow Christ more intimately we become leaders like Andrew, the first to act and speak with Christ in every situation.
In this way we followers are able to take first place becoming leaders.
Good morning Father John, and thank you for this reminder to speak of the Good News in every situation. Your reflections are certainly Food for Thought/Faith!
It has dawned on me that we don’t have to go and preach, but just to speak about Jesus often, as you would a friend… A much loved friend!
Great point about the freedom we receive when we follow Jesus – the complete opposite to the assumption by many that following Christ holds us back. Lead on, Jesus, friend.
Yes – when we have the desire to be closer to God – we are on the right path -just need to commit.
Thank you for the thoughts.