Mt 4:18-22
As Jesus walked by the lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He went on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them.
At once they left the boat and their father and followed him.
REFLECTION
In the New Testament we find two complementary narratives of Andrew’s vocation. In Matthew, Simon (Peter) and Andrew, brothers, are fishermen in the lake of Galilee and are called by Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Andrew appears as disciple of John the Baptist. He heard his testimony and was with Jesus a complete day. Early in the next morning he looked for his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” and brought Simon to Jesus (Jn 1:37-42). So we can approach this apostle under two aspects: as a fisherman and as a disciple of John the Baptist. We are before a rich personality, though discrete in the rest of the Gospel. In fact, he appears only in the multiplication of bread and fish (Jn 6:8) and in the entry of Jesus to Jerusalem (Jn 12:22). He preached the Gospel in Asia Minor and Greece, and was crucified in Patras. Andrew is venerated not only as the Patron of Constantinople, but also of Scotland and Russia.
We see Andrew recognizing in Jesus the Messiah through the witness of John and his own experience. And we admire his solicitude immediately calling his brother Peter. We also realize his promptness in leaving his family and job and following Jesus. Andrew is for us a model of availability and perseverance in the call of the Lord.
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