Matthew 4:19-20
He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.
You're in the front yard doing yard work, maybe planting seeds for a flower garden. It's hot and you're dirty and smelly. A strange man walks by and says, "Come with me and I'll help you plant seeds to grow people of God." Do you stop, leave your family and go with him? Probably not. Most would think that it's dangerous, crazy, weird, and so on. Yet this is what happened with Peter and Andrew. They were throwing and dragging a net trying to catch fish. A stranger comes along and says, "Come with me and I'll make you fishers of men." Without hesitation, they left and followed. Why? Did they hate fishing? Was their life going nowhere? Did they want something more from their life? We don't know, but we know that they left at once. I'm confident that I wouldn't have done that. Yet Christians are called to live in holy boldness, to step out in faith and believe in things that we often call a mystery. How does one believe that God can be everywhere, that the waters of baptism can wash away sin, that Jesus is in the Eucharist? These and more are all part of our Christian belief and faith. I remember going to a Billy Graham Crusade and witnessing so many people come forward to make a profession of faith. Some of them learning about Jesus for the first time. They chose to leave their past behind and start a new life in Christ. Jesus calls all of us...dirty, smelly, short, tall, dark, light...all of us are called. Jesus could have called anyone, but he chose the hard working men on the water, fishy smell and all.
Today is the feast day of St. Andrew. As Christians we look at Andrew as a simple fisherman who showed compassion for the people during the miracle of loaves and fishes, and one who was willing to go with Jesus with blind faith. Andrew was also crucified. Today let us have the faith that Andrew showed, with compassion toward others and a faith in Jesus that shows others that you are a Christian by your love.
