Today is the feast of St. Andrew the apostle. He was the brother of Peter, and the gospel tells the story of Andrew going to his brother and announcing that he had found the Messiah, and “He led him to Jesus.” (John 1, 42)
Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist. He was looking for the one who was to come, of whom John had preached. He found Jesus and listened to him, and did not hesitate to go forth and announce the Good News, first to his brother who would become “the Rock” on which Jesus would build his Church, but also to the ends of the earth. Like the other apostles, save John, Andrew suffered martyrdom for his witness to the Truth.
St. Paul reminds us that our vocation is not to persuade others into believing the truth by means of worldly wisdom or fancy philosophy. Our vocation is to preach the truth, to preach Christ crucified. This is good news for us because we do not need to be glitzy with our lives or our witness. We don’t have to do the miraculous, nor do we have to outwit the worldly wise.
We need only to lead others to Jesus by announcing his presence and saying, “Come and see. Listen to him,” just as St. Andrew did.
