St. Andrew, the Apostle, Saturday – 30th November 2019 — Gospel: Mt 4, 18-22
Creative transformation of God’s Spirit
Right from the beginning Jesus’ mission was never meant to be carried out on his own. His goal was to reconcile all people to God. This involves the building of community and so the necessity of extending an invitation to others to help Him make this possible. The sea is a symbol of the forces of chaos prior to the creative action of God’s Spirit. In watching Jesus call the fishermen from the sea, we are watching the Spirit calling them to be part of a new creation. The first disciples were called to carry on Jesus’ mission of rescuing others from the ‘sea’. Andrew was one of the first disciples to be called by Jesus and who responded spontaneously. He along with three others were called to be ‘fish for people’ (Jer 16,16). This unmerited, unexpected grace of Jesus’ call carries its own cost: total, permanent abandonment of livelihood and family. The creative word of God simply meets every follower of Jesus in their everyday world, lays hold of them, and transforms forever their lives for the mission of Jesus.
