Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday - 4th January 2024
Abbot Paul • January 3, 2024
Although we always acknowledge Peter to be the first among the Apostles, Primus inter Pares (the First among Equals), it is, in fact, his brother Andrew who glories in the title, The First Called, Πρωτόκλητος in Greek. You can understand why from today’s Gospel passage taken from John, (Jn: 1: 35-42). It’s also a passage that gives an alternative version of the call of his disciples by Jesus. It’s a beautiful, moving story. “As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.” It would appear, then, that the first group of disciples to be called by Jesus were, at first, followers or disciples of John the Baptist and that it was John who pointed them in the direction of Jesus, declaring him to be the ‘Lamb of God,’ the one who would sacrifice his life in order to bring salvation to those who repent and believe. When Jesus asks them, “What do you want?” as they follow him, taken off guard, they reply. “Where do you live?” which is a loaded question, meaning who are you? Jesus’ reply, “Come and see,” is an open invitation to each one of us every day: Come and see where I live; come and know who I am; in discovering me, you will discover yourself; in knowing me, you will know yourself as God knows you.
The paragraph that follows tells us that one of the two was called Andrew and that he was the brother of Simon Peter. “One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.” It is Andrew, who informs Peter, “We have found the Messiah.” It is Andrew, the First Called, who takes Peter to Jesus. We often need someone, a friend, a relative or even a stranger, to take us to Jesus and there are times when it is our turn to take someone to Jesus. How aware are we of that, as we go about our daily lives? Jesus looks into Peter’s heart and says to him, “You are to be called Cephas, the Rock,” and it is on the rock of Peter’s faith that Jesus will build his Church. We, too, are called to be rocks on which the Church is built, rocks if not like Peter, at least like Andrew and his unnamed companion. Lord, may I bring others to you today and never forget that I was created to bring others to you for healing, grace and salvation. Amen.
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