PRESENTING: ANDREW!

Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle
Mt 4:18-22

Today is the feast of St. Andrew, an apostle of the Lord. Brother of Simon Peter, a native of Bethsaida, a disciple of John the Baptist before becoming an apostle of Jesus, preached the Gospel, and later martyred by crucifixion in Achaia – these are commonly known details in the life of Andrew. But when I remember Andrew, I think of him as one who always presents to the Lord.

In the Gospel of John, there are three occasions John is mentioned presenting someone to Jesus.

In Jn 1:41-42: “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.”

Jn 6:8-9: “Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’"

Jn 12:20-22: “Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus.’ Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.”

In the first citation, Andrew introduced to the Lord he who would become the Prince of the Apostles, the first pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth, the rock on which Jesus would build His Church. In the second, he brought to Jesus the agent for the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish. In the third, he made it possible for pagans to encounter the Lord. All three presentations are important even for us today.

But these three presentations happened because it was himself that Andrew first presented to the Lord. In Jn 1:35-40: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, ‘What do you want?’ They said, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you live?’ Jesus said, ‘Come and see.’ So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.”
We cannot present anyone to the Lord unless we present our selves to Him first. We cannot bring anyone to the Lord unless we bring our selves to Him first. False apostle is the man who says, “I lead people closer to Jesus” unless his heart belongs to Jesus first.