Jesus’ Invitation to Andrew and to Us This Advent

Searching the Gospel for stories of Andrew, we find him in sentences such as this one from Matthew 10: “Simon, also known as Peter, and Andrew his brother…” Andrew almost never gets a mention under his own steam, but is almost always mentioned as being Simon’s brother. Jesus gives Simon a special new name; not so Andrew, who remains Andrew, Simon’s brother.

As the little sister of a brother who was always popular, always in demand, always marked as special, there’s a little voice in my head wishing that Andrew would get his own moment. And he does, if we read closely. In the first chapter of John, we learn that Andrew is one of two disciples of John the Baptist who are with John when Jesus walks by. We don’t know who the second is, but it is clearly not Simon because in the first place, he is not mentioned, and in the second place, Andrew goes to his brother and tells him, “We have found the Messiah.” Andrew brings Simon, who will become Christ’s ‘rock,’ to Jesus (John 1: 35-41).

My mind quickly makes personal and family connections when thinking about Saint Andrew on his feast day today. My grandfather on my mother’s side, whom we all called “Bop” because some cousin with allergies couldn’t say “Pop,” was named Andy. His father was Andrew, in addition to many other members of my family. One cousin Andrew was dubbed “Buzz” as a young child to avoid confusion. I always loved the story that on his first day of kindergarten, he proudly walked up to the teacher and introduced himself as Andy.

That same side of the family is of Scottish heritage, which we can trace back to Alexander, my great-great-grandfather, who sailed for America in 1865 with a barely legible, pocket-sized Bible lovingly signed by his sister Janet, whom he likely never saw again.

The Scottish flag looks like a simple blue “X” on a white background, unless you dig a bit into Andrew’s sainthood, where we discover that this is a Saltire cross, a cross turned on its side, which is how Andrew was crucified. His choice, says the legend, because he felt unworthy of a crucifixion just like Jesus’. Andrew is said to have been crucified in Greece, where he’d been preaching and led many to convert, and refused to renounce Christianity. His connection to Scotland comes from the story of the claiming of his relics (bones), which Emperor Constantine is said to have collected and removed to Constantinople in the 4th century. Before that happened, though, a Greek monk who would become Saint Regulus was told, in a dream, to take Andrew’s bones “to the end of the earth.” He apparently grabbed what he could and set sail, landing eventually on the coast of Scotland, where a now ruined cathedral, St. Andrew’s, was built.

Andrew’s martyrdom was in the year 60 CE. Andrew knew Jesus, and knew him well. He was one of the first people Jesus invited to follow him, along with his brother, Simon, of course. As we enter into Advent, I think of Andrew and his proximity to Jesus himself. I think of that moment, as Andrew, a follower of John, heard the baptizer cry out, “Look, here is the lamb of God!” and immediately turned and began to follow Christ, on that pronouncement alone. And then went to his brother to bring him, too, into Jesus’ innermost circle.

In Matthew’s account, it is Simon and Andrew who Jesus sees casting their nets into the Sea of Galilee and invites them to follow him, and become “fishers of people” (Matthew 4:18-19).

I wonder, would I, too, have left everything behind and simply followed? How did they know? Connecting Andrew’s discipleship to John helps; he had been preparing for this, had learned and come to believe that the Messiah was on his way.

How, this Advent, am I preparing myself once again to follow, without regard for what I might be leaving behind if I do? I wonder what Jesus might be asking of me, this year, as I prepare the manger in my heart. And if you haven’t heard Ana Hernandez’ beautiful song, If In Your Heart, I invite you to do so – it’s an aural mantra for the season of Advent.

As we enter into Advent this year, what is Jesus inviting us into, with Saint Andrew – and his brother, Simon who is called Peter – as our model?