St. Andrew, a fisherman and the brother of Peter, was the first apostle to be called by Jesus in John's gospel, and so he is accorded the first place in the calendar, as the church year in the West begins on the Sunday closest to Andrew's feast as the First Sunday of Advent. Andrew is one of the very first evangelists, if not the first, because he went to go get Peter and brought him to Jesus. He also brought the Greeks to see Jesus in John 12, and of course found the lad who brought he bread and fish for the feast in John 6. He's the patron of both Scotland and Russia, interestingly enough. On this Major Feast we celebrate the witness of Andrew and how he connected people he knew with Jesus as we honor his memory and pray that we may do likewise.When was the last time you personally invited someone to come to church with you, or to just come to social function or do some outreach? If you haven't, why not?
Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give to us, who are called by your Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
RFSJ
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