Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
[Peter’s Shadow]
Some of you may have grown up in families where you were not the
one who always got the attention. A brother or a sister may have done better
than you in sports or in school or in music and got most of the recognition and
the approval. Perhaps you were sometimes introduced as “so-and-so’s brother or
sister.” You always seemed to be a little bit more in the background.
It is likely to have been that way for Andrew, for he was the
brother of Simon Peter.
It appears as if Andrew lived in his brother’s shadow. Out of the
dozen or so times his name occurs in Scripture, only once does it appear
without Peter’s name being mentioned too. In fact, Andrew is most often
referred to as “Simon Peter’s brother,” as he is in verse 40 in today’s reading
from John’s gospel.
Although it was Andrew who was the first to follow Jesus, it was
his brother who would become the first among the apostles and to be in Jesus’
inner circle — Peter, along with James and John, also known as the “Zebedee
boys” as one of my seminary professors called them. In fact, the name, Peter or
Cephas, was a special name given by Jesus, meaning “a rock.” Andrew, however,
would simply be one of the Twelve.
But, that does not mean that we should feel bad for Andrew, as if he were being treated unfairly. For he had his own special, God-given place and role as an apostle.
This was the way of Andrew, even as it was the way of Andrew’s
first teacher and rabbi, John the Baptizer. John’s task was to prepare the way
of the Lord, to point to Jesus and say, “Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). John’s purpose
was not to gain permanent disciples for himself, but to lose his disciples to
Jesus, to lead people to him who is the Christ.
[Andrew Points to Jesus]
John would say of Jesus: “He must increase, but I must
decrease” (John 3:30).
That is true not only for John or Andrew, but for all of us here
as well, especially during this season of Advent.
You are to decrease, to die to yourself and your own desires, so
that Jesus might come forth and be magnified in you with His abounding mercy
and life. As Paul writes in Galatians 2: “I have been crucified with
Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”We are
all made new through Christ.
Again, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This
saying showed itself in Andrew’s life in the way he directed others — not to
himself — but to Christ. He brought people to Jesus.
One of those many times that Andrew led people to Jesus was when
he found a young boy who had five barley loaves and two fish. Andrew did not
know if what he did would help, but he brought the boy and his food anyway. And
from that, Jesus fed 5,000 men, plus women and children — and they believed.
Then in today’s lesson, we learn that it was Andrew who brought
his brother Peter to Jesus.
You see, Andrew believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and
that faith immediately led him to seek out his brother and tell him. Andrew may
not have become a famous apostle, but he was the man who brought Peter to
Jesus.
Now, all of us here this evening can be a little like Andrew. You
may not be the most prominent member of First Lutheran, but you can do things
to help lead people to Jesus.
When you lead someone to become baptized in the name of the
Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, you are being like Andrew. When you
invite or give someone a ride to the Divine Service or Bible study, you are
being like Andrew.
For Jesus is the Word made flesh; He is living and active in the
proclamation of His Word to save those who hear and believe. Just as Andrew led
Peter to Jesus, you also get to welcome others to come and see where Jesus
abides for us with His life-giving gifts. We decrease and Christ increases as
we direct people away from ourselves to Him, the only Savior of the world.
[Jesus Humbled Himself for Us]
Fittingly, Jesus became our Savior by taking the least and the
lowest place for Himself. Jesus humbled Himself to be born of a virgin. He
decreased to the point of death on a cross for us, so that you might increase
with the riches of His forgiveness and grace. Through Jesus — the Lamb of God,
we are covered with the pure fleece of Jesus’ righteousness. Jesus who humbled
Himself is now risen and is exalted to the name above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow.
[St. Andrew’s Cross]
After Christ returned to heaven, tradition has it that Andrew
became a fisher of men in Greece. With the help of the Holy Spirit, Andrew made
converts of many in a town called Patras. This upset the pagans of the town and
Andrew wound up in jail.
When the Christians heard about Andrew arrested, they became
enraged and if it was not for Andrew urging the people to imitate Jesus — a
riot could have broken out.
Eventually, Andrew’s death was decreed and he was to be crucified
on a saltire — a cross in the shape of an “X.”
Andrew preached Christ for two days on that cross, continuing to
point people to Jesus, before his suffering finally ended and he died.
Today, Andrew is most known for the way he died.
In fact, the flag of Scotland is in the shape of the St. Andrew’s
Cross.
The St. Andrew’s Cross is also represented on the British Union
Jack flag as the “X” representing the union of Scotland within the United
Kingdom.
In a way, Andrew’s life as a disciple came full circle. For when
Andrew first met Jesus, our Lord said to him, “Come and you will
see” the place where I am staying (v. 39). Now at
last, Andrew again went to where the Lord was. Andrew was with Christ. For we
know that Jesus will take us to be with Himself — in soul in our death and in
body at the Resurrection on the Last Day.
Since we have this certain hope in Christ, let us learn from the
example of Andrew’s humility. Let us “humble ourselves.” Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
