The Feast of Saint Andrew (Transferred)

In the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, One God. Amen.

A most BLESSED Feast of St. Andrew today!

As I was pondering the significance of this day, and what I might preach about, the theme of identity came to mind. 

Now when it comes to our identity as humans, our identity is first and foremost given by God. We are, above all else, imago dei, made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). You, and you, and you, and even me are all made and marked and blessed and loved as image-bearers of our Divine Creator.

And, as Christians, we find our identity in the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. For those baptized - and, a plug here, if you’re not baptized I would love to prayerfully discern with you about being baptized - we find ourselves mystically bound to the Body of Christ. We are the very members incorporate, the hands and feet of Christ, in this world. So, Jesus is a key component of our identity.

But the question still lingers: Who are we? Who are we, as a church? Who are we as, specifically, St. Andrew’s?

Part of our identity is rooted in the person who our church is named after.

Saint. Andrew.

And who is he? Who is this Saint? This Apostle? This early disciple of Jesus?

Andrew. He does not make too many appearances in the Scriptures - but when he shows up, very important things transpire! Today’s Gospel, Matthew 4:18-22, is a good starting place. 

Andrew is the brother of St. Peter, originally named Simon. They were fishermen, doing what fishermen do, which is - fishing. Then, suddenly, Jesus is on a walk and calls them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people,” and he and Peter immediately respond to Christ - leaving their livelihood right then and there.

So our first glimpse of our patron is that he is a hard worker!

Now, I would wager that every single person here is involved in some way, shape, or form in the work of this church. We are small, and there is much to do both here at the church and in our broader community. Almost every single person who is in this room is someone who works hard, and works hard for the church. And though I’ve only had the blessing to be your vicar for only six months, I see the love and labor you put into the church and the broader community. 

You, like Andrew, are hard-workers.

Secondly, Andrew is responsive to the call of Christ. And I know that we strive to be responsive to Christ. We might get there through some bumps and scrapes, but, grace upon grace (John 1:16)! In all that we do, in our ministries both communally and individually, in the ways we care for one another, the church, and our neighbors, we attempt to discern the will of Christ. We strive to do good in our community because we know Christ is asking it of us.

Right off the bat, it seems we have a good relationship between who we already are and who our patron is. This, to me, is a very good sign!

Andrew also makes an appearance in the Gospel of John 1:35-42. Here, Andrew is already a disciple of John the Baptizer. John says, “Look, here is the lamb of God” as Jesus approaches. Immediately, Andrew follows Jesus. Once again, the theme of rapid response to the presence of Christ is apparent.

He then goes on to stay with Jesus for the night, and then, in verses 41-42, “[Andrew] first found his brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah…” He brought Simon to Jesus…”

Here, Andrew the Apostle is, I think, perhaps the first evangelist, the first missionary. As we know, Peter takes on great importance in the history of the church. But he wouldn’t have met Jesus without Andrew, his brother, telling him the good news of Christ and bringing him to meet the Saviour of the World.

Andrew, then, is a model of welcome and invitation to come and see and know who Jesus Christ is. To come and experience the peace which is Christ’s to give. The joy which is Christ’s to give. The wonder which is Christ’s to give.

Andrew is welcoming and inviting.

And this church is perhaps the most welcoming and inviting congregation that I have ever been a part of. 

Nobody new who enters this church will feel isolated, or alone, because - well - we’re small. But also because ya'll make a point to say hi, get them a name tag, point out what’s going on in the liturgy. And what a GIFT that is, because there are many churches, even some Episcopal churches, who are not that openly friendly and welcoming.

And this, my beloved Saint Andrewites, is very much in line with our patron. We strive to be a welcoming and inviting congregation, just as St. Andrew was a welcoming and inviting presence to his brother Peter!

Lastly, in the Gospel of John, chapter 6 verses 8-14, Andrew makes another appearance. It is during the feeding of the five thousand, a large crowd is following Jesus, they are being healed by Jesus, and witnessing the power of God breaking into their world.

Jesus says “where are we to buy bread for the people to eat?” There was no question that the ministry of Christ had to feed the hungry and that they were to do it. Philip says, basically, “there’s no way we can feed these people we don’t have enough MONEY!”

But Andrew, in verse 8, comes to Christ and says, verse 9, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus then proceeds to bless the loaves and fish and, miraculously, everyone had more than enough to eat.

Here, Andrew doesn’t let a lack of resources prevent him from seeking solutions. Andrew sees what is available given exactly where they are at, and brings it before Jesus Christ for blessing, for guidance, for solution.

This feels so relevant to me! This feels exactly like who and how we operate. We are not the wealthiest church in Tucson, we are not overflowing with resources. But with what we are given, we set it all before Jesus Christ for His blessing, to do with it the good that can be done here in our community. We do not let resource limits stop us from doing immense good in the community!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we do this through our support of the Neighbors Feeding Neighbors ministry and how they and their mighty volunteers pump out nearly 1,2000 meals a month to feed homebound seniors and the homeless and anybody in need! We donate our canned goods once a month to them.

This church has housed refugees. This church supports the ministry of La Ristra. This church - as a building - needs a lot of support from the many hands that ensure the grounds are clean, the plants are watered, that the newsletter goes out with great information in it, that the altar is prepared for every Mass, that people are welcomed, that coffee hour has tables for people to recline and eat and chat. The list goes on and on and on.

And it always, ALWAYS, gets done.

We do what we can with the blessing God has given us - both within the walls of the church and outside them. And God blesses these actions that each of you participate in. And God makes it bountiful, and abundant.

Like Andrew, we come to Christ with what we have, and Jesus then blesses our gifts and makes it abundant. And shortly, we’ll be bringing forward our pledges and ministry surveys. To offer to God what we have of our time, of our talent, of our treasure. We come as we are, we come with what we can, and God blesses that.

So who is Andrew? And who are we?

Andrew is a fisherman, a hardworker. We are all working hard in the various places in our lives and within this Church.

Andrew is called by Christ and he responds. We are called by Christ and are responding.

Andrew welcomes and invites Peter to meet Jesus. We are welcoming and inviting to any who would join us and like to encounter Jesus.

Andrew sees a need, and brings before Jesus what resources he finds. We see the need of our community, and we bring what resources we have before Jesus, too.

Ya’ll. I have to say, we are living well into the charism of our beloved Patron Saint.

So then, who are we, here at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, on 545 S 5th Avenue?

Hardworking. Responsive. Welcoming. Offering. All in the name of Jesus Christ!

And by God’s grace our church is a place of peace.

By God’s grace, our church is a place where all are welcomed and loved and included in the name of God.

By God’s grace, our church is a place where we can be fully ourselves, fully who we are in this moment, and step boldly into who we are being called to be in the love and grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our savior.

So today we celebrate who we are in light of who Jesus Christ is.

And today we celebrate who we are as bearers of the name of St. Andrew.

The first called.

The welcomer.

The one who goes out and invites in.

The one who seeks to feed those who are hungry.

May we rejoice and be glad for all that God gives us!

St. Andrew, pray for us to Jesus Christ, our saviour and redeemer!

In the name of the Holy and Unidivided Trinity, One God.

Amen.