My dear brothers and sisters, the Lord give you peace. We are blessed on this feast day to place before our consideration the graces brought into the world through our brother, Saint Andrew, an apostle of the Lord and the biological brother to Saint Peter.
In our readings today, we will contemplate the profound themes of faith and its proclamation, and how it spurs us on to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, and to the end of our days.
In the first reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans, he emphasizes the need to proclaim the message. Again, we need to keep in mind he is talking to a Christian community in Rome, which was a place bustling with all kinds of civil life and a lot of it was animated and held together by various kinds of proclamations. In ancient Rome, proclamations served various purposes and could take different forms, often related to politics, religion, or social order. There were formal statements, public decrees, issued by the Senate and could include laws, political decisions, or responses to current events.
Also, emperors would issue edicts that had the force of law. These could pertain to administrative matters, regulations, or public policy. For example, the edicts of the Praetors were important in the context of civil law. Then you had something which was called Fasti: These were public calendars that indicated important dates and events, including festivals, elections, and religious ceremonies, often inscribed in public places. You also had Proclamations of Censors: Censors announced the results of the census, including the allocation of social classes and public works projects. Those who were soldiers would also hear Military Proclamations—concerning military campaigns, battle orders, or honors given by their commanders.
After a victory in battle, Rome would hear Proclamations of Triumph: When generals returned victorious, they would often make public proclamations, usually in the context of a triumphal procession. In times of crisis, such as natural disasters or military threats, officials might issue proclamations aimed at maintaining public order. And then of course there were imperial proclamations where Emperors often addressed the populace directly, often through the use of letters or messages delivered by heralds.
Paul was inviting the new Christians to consider a new kind of proclamation and to pass on what they themselves received— the Word of God… and so we too, having been blessed with the illumination which God’s word has brought into our lives, are to bring that light to others by boldly proclaiming the good news.
In the gospel reading, we have a passage that describes the first four apostles called by Christ. Admirably, they left everything behind, and set their sights on following Jesus. Andrew had no idea what was in store for him, but given some early indicators, he knew he was in for the adventure of his life. So too, our lives following Jesus will be beautiful, moving, profound, and adventurous. He will ask of us difficult things, as he did of Andrew and the other apostles, but nothing compares to the glory which eventually is revealed to all in heaven. As Saint Paul elsewhere says to the Romans: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” 8:18.
Hence my friends, be of heart. Andrew who showed Peter the Lord, shows him to us as well in his generous self-emptying at the invitation of Jesus. That self-emptying of Andrew ought to speak to us louder than words, for he must have seen and experienced something beyond words in leaving his former life and career and family behind to follow Jesus.
May our Lord always remain that precious treasure we have found, which nothing of this world can supplant and take away from us. Through the intercession of Saint Andrew, May you be blessed… through him who is the Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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