Today, we remember the Great Apostle Andrew, “the First-Called,” as he is known throughout the Orthodox Church. As we read in today’s Gospel, Christ said to them, “’Come and see.’” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour). One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).
This great faith and bold witness is what stands out about St. Andrew. He was already a pious and God-fearing Jew when Christ first called him. He was one of two of St. John the Baptist’s foremost disciples along with St. John the Theologian. They were versed in the Scriptures and were preparing the way of the Lord, the way of Messiah.
Not surprising then, Andrew was also first of the disciples to venture further afield, to Georgia, up through Dacia (Romania), and then to what would later become Kiev. He was also then willing to give his life for the sake of the Gospel. St. Andrew is remembered in Holy Tradition for having been crucified in the form of an X, that is, the first letter in Greek of the name, “Christ,” i.e., Xristos.
It’s this boldness and love of Christ for whom St. Andrew gave his life and was responsible for bringing thousands to the knowledge and love of Christ and new life in Him, that he was named the patron Saint and protector of Romania, Russia, the Ukraine, and Scotland.
St. Andrew and the other Apostles called the peoples they evangelized with the Good News of new life, eternal life, in Christ, to a radically different mode of living; they were called to manifest the “fruit of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22-23).
This ‘fruit’ wasn’t something exterior to the convert in Christ; it wasn’t some ancient equivalent of the ‘power of positive thinking. No, rather, it was the outworking, the over-flow of each believer’s cooperation with the work of the Holy Spirit in his or her life. It’s only in this context that the words of St. Paul, characterizing the unity of the faith make any sense.
The Apostles themselves and those who embraced and “put on Christ” in holy Baptism (Gal. 3:27), and were “sealed” by the Holy Spirit in Chrismation, naturally desired the fullness of their new-found life in Christ: all that was darkness was now light; all that was decaying and dying was now filled with life. They couldn’t help but walk in the way of Christ because many of them risked everything to follow the Truth, Light, and Life that He is.
And so, in this context, St. Paul proclaims himself a “prisoner” of Christ, meaning that He is absolutely obedient to Christ, that his whole life, his whole being, is about Christ and His Church. The same can be said of St. Andrew and the other Apostles, but also the Christians of the Apostolic age, many of whom gave their lives in martyrdom for the sake of Christ.
Because of what’s at stake, because the witness of one faithful Christian, who likewise makes himself a “prisoner” of Christ, one Christian who truly ‘walks the talk’ has the power to convict, change, and present a true alternative to the otherwise monotonous, hopeless and nihilistic existence of those without God or the lukewarm ‘Christ on my terms’ so prevalent today , St. Paul beseeches our Orthodox forefathers and us “ to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
If one’s full of pride and self-focus, if one cares nothing for the authority of the Church, her bishops and priests, then you can’t experience the fullness of the life in Christ, whether you’re “Orthodox” or not because there’s no worthiness there, no lowliness, gentleness, or longsuffering, and, especially, no unity of the Spirit. It’s obedience and submission to Christ and the godly authority He’s established in the Church that keeps “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” to which St. Paul calls us today.
It’s through the obedience and godly submission that is the hallmark of humility, and, therefore, Christ-likeness that is the power of Christ, of the Holy Spirit, that speaks so loudly of an “alternative life” to the ego-centric, prideful, and isolated existence so common in society today where Christ is the not the whole of one’s life.
The witness of which St. Paul speaks, of which St. Andrew and the other Apostles preached and lived, for which they gave their lives in martyrdom, speaks to those truth-seekers in every age.
Ask yourself if there’s anything you’re holding back from Christ, anything that you’re being disobedient about, either in attitude or in deed; there’s always room for increased growth in humility as we continue to journey “further up and further in” communion with the Holy Trinity.
Often, what holds us back from following Christ and the authority of the Church to the extent we are admonished to in the New Testament and in the faithful witness of the Church through the ages is fear, i.e., pride. We fear having to change our lifestyle, of giving up more autonomy, more control. But the reality is, that Christ’s way is freedom, it’s healing for our souls. Humility, godly submission, obedience, are all good for us and they help us to “walk worthy of the calling” to which you and I have been called.
If more of the Orthodox in this land are willing to die to self, to learn to submit themselves more to Christ and His holy Church, to walk in humility and obedience, to be “prisoners of Christ,” we’ll bear the fruit of those who present with authenticity the fullness of the Gospel and life in Christ and it will speak to this culture and draw more people to the knowledge and love of God.
Holy Saint Andrew, pray for us sinners that Christ God may have mercy on our souls and that we may follow in your footsteps to boldly, courageously proclaim and live out the Gospel of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, that we and those around us may be saved!
Fr. Robert Miclean
Holy Archangels Orthodox Church
30 November 2014
St. Andrew “the First-Called”
Epistle: I Cor. 4:9-16; Eph. 4:1-6
Gospel: Luke 13:10-17; John 1:35-51
