1st Week of the Advent
1st Reading: Rom 10:9-18
Brothers and sisters: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The Scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame. There is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news! But not everyone has heeded the good news; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what was heard from us? Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. But I ask, did they not hear? Certainly they did; for Their voice has gone forth to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
Gospel: Mt 4:18-22
As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.
FAMILY OF CHRIST: Jesus calls two pairs of brothers – Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John to be his Disciples. The gospel presents the names of the elder brothers Peter and James first and then mentions the names of the younger brothers Andrew and John. This reflects the family environment in which the younger ones grow in the shadow of the elder brothers/sisters. Certainly, there is serenity and joy in living under the contour of the elder ones. Do we have such protective as well as promoting environment at home today? Jesus speaks the language of fishermen saying, ‘come on guys, I will make you fishers of people’. Peter, Andrew, James and John leave everything they had and follow him. This implies that the community of Jesus has to incorporate into itself the parlance/life of the society. Then only the gospel can be understood by the people.
Prayer: Lord God, we pray for the promotion of love and care in our families and in our parishes.
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COME AFTER ME: Andrew was originally a disciple of St. John the Baptist and later the same Andrew became the first of Jesus’ disciples (Jn 1:35-40). His name regularly appears in the Gospels near the top of the list of the Twelve. It was he who first introduced his brother Simon to Jesus (Jn 1:41-42). He was, in a real sense, the first home missionary, as well as the first foreign missionary (Jn 12:20-22). The name “Andrew” is a Greek name meaning “courageous” or “manly.” St. Andrew lived up to his name by suffering martyrdom. This story of the call of St. Andrew is quite appropriate for the beginning of Advent because Advent must be a time when Jesus calls us anew. It must be a new beginning and a new conversion for us. As Advent begins, we should hear Jesus call to us, “Come after Me!”
Prayer: Lord, let my words and deeds inspire others to come to you!
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BRINGING PEOPLE TO JESUS: Andrew, whose feast we celebrate today, comes out in the gospels as an apostle who brings others to Jesus. To begin with, in the Gospel of John after his own encounter with Jesus, he goes and brings Simon, his brother, to Jesus (Jn 1: 40-42). When Jesus asked his disciples to feed the multitude, they replied they do not have enough money to buy bread for that crowd. However, Andrew found a young boy who had five barley loaves and two fish and brought the lad to Jesus (Jn 6:9). Again, when some Greeks wanted to have an encounter with Jesus, they approached one of the Greek speaking apostles, Philip. He approached Andrew, and Andrew brought them to Jesus (Jn 12:22). May he teach us and intercede for us the grace to be able to bring other people to Jesus.
DAILY GOSPEL 