Breaking the Word

St. Andrew, the Apostle, Thursday – 30^th November 2023 — Gospel: Mt 4, 18-22

Radical Response

Andrew was the son of Jonah, the brother of Simon Peter, and a fisherman by trade. Both seem to have come from Bethsaida, although at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry they were in Capernaum. In all the Gospel lists of the apostles, as well as in the Acts (Acts 1,13), his name is listed among the first four. John’s Gospel narrates many incidents of Andrew’s life. Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist before becoming a disciple of Jesus (Jn 1,40). As a result of his first encounter with Jesus, Andrew came to realize that Jesus was the Messiah. He then went to tell his brother Simon, whom he brought to Jesus (Jn 1,41). He and Philip also brought the Greeks to Christ (Jn 12,20-26). He is specifically mentioned for his involvement in the feeding of the five thousand (Jn 6,8). In other Gospels, he appears alongside Peter, James and John. Andrew is said to have been martyred by crucifixion at the city of Patras. His crucifixion is believed to have been on Cross that was shaped like the alphabet X. This cross is commonly known as “St.Andrew’s Cross” today.  Today’s Gospel reveals Andrew’s loving spontaneity and his radical trust in Jesus. When he was suddenly called to the extraordinary life of an Apostle, he readily left his nets and boats and followed him.

34^th Week in Ord. Time, Wednesday – 29^th Nov. 2023 – Dan 5,1-6.13-17.23-28; Lk 21,12-19

Impending Doom and Hope

The first reading presents the account of the divine “writing on the wall” during the royal banquet offered by the King Belshazzar to the nobles and leaders in the Babylonian palace. The king and his guests use golden, and other precious metal, vessels looted from the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the beginning of the Exile. While the party-goers are feasting, a hand is seen writing three words on the wall of the palace: Mene, Tekel, Peres.  Daniel, the Jewish dream and vision interpreter, is called in to explain what it means. Daniel uses the occasion to predict the end of the Babylonian rule and the overthrow of his government by the Persians. There were three main accusations brought against Belshazzar: he sinned not through ignorance but through disobedience and pride; he defied God by desecrating the sacred vessels; and he worshipped man-made idols instead of the mighty God. Although the “writing on the wall” was a message of impending doom for the Babylonian king, it was a message of hope for God’s people, who will see the end of the oppression with the fall of this empire. No ruler, however powerful, can maintain a regime that goes against the values of God.