The celebration of St. Andrew’s Day is traditionally observed on November 30.  It was transferred to December 1 this year as November 30 was the First Sunday of Advent.

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Reflection:

St. Andrew’s day is the first feast of the new liturgical year and rightly so, as he is among the first to respond to Jesus’ call to follow.  Little is known of Andrew outside of the New Testament, though he is traditionally shown as being crucified on an X shaped cross, now known as the Cross of St. Andrew.

St. Andrew did not seem to be in the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, but he is described as one who left off following John the Baptist to follow Jesus.  Andrew is also the disciple who brings the boy with the loaves and fishes when Jesus feeds the multitude.  Perhaps the most important attribute of Andrew is that he brings his brother to Jesus.  That brother, Peter, ultimately becomes the primus inter pares of the Apostles, is martyred in Rome, and according to Church tradition it was St. Mark who recorded the preaching of Peter in the Gospel that bears Mark’s name.

The point is, in many ways Andrew does not seem too remarkable, yet he makes his mark by being faithful and bringing his brother to Jesus.  He is an inspiration for all of us who labor in the vineyard, not knowing what fruit will be produced, or what the harvest will be, but believing that because we are faithful, God will bless the results. God knows, maybe that sister, cousin, neighbor, or coworker we bring to Jesus will be the next key leader of the Christian Church who sets the world on fire with the Gospel.