06 28 2020 Meet Andrew
Mercy peace Retreat review from God our Father through Jesus Christ his only son our only Lord and savior. Where we left off last week Jesus was in the middle of preparing his disciples for what's ahead for them? And therefore by extension? He's also preparing us for what is ahead for us today? And the Gospel reading is more of the same comes out of Matthew 10 or so. Kind of continuing almost a consecutive reading Matthew 10, and of course the words of Jesus today his preparation for his disciples then and there and Here and Now is very somber shall we say sobering maybe we could even say harsh But because he said it it is nevertheless true and we need to take it to heart as we have an opportunity part of the preparation of the disciples not known as the apostles was something that I guess we could call field trips maybe or mission trips because after he would teach them for a while he would send them out for a while to practice what they had learned and then come back and report and then heat they would hang together and he would teach them more stuff and it would be sort of going along those lines. So that if we are looking at these words of Jesus to his disciples and to his Apostles into us the question has come up in my mind maybe also in your mind and that is whatever became of them ever became of the apostles. Who were they? What did they end up doing? And then maybe even most significantly how did their lives and those are the questions. I'd like to answer with you this summer, segueing from the last two weeks sermons and and gospel readings and moving forward into the rest of the summer. I'd like to begin answering those questions. I'd like you and us to meet Jesus as close as friends. Because they were more than just simply people you hired. They were his friends. They were his his family and and give us a chance to get to know them. So I'd like to but I got to get to know them as a group first this morning and then as the weeks go by focus on one or two per Sunday today beginning with Andrew and I'll tell you why Andrew later on of all the people that I picked first apostles. First of all, and I just maybe you know, there's they were not always Apostles. They had real jobs in the real world. A lot of them were fishermen and after that they became disciples first, they became disciples before they became Apostles and so they along with many others followed Jesus. That's kind of what a disciple is a follower date a learned are a student. They observed his life. We live is Miracles all those phenomenal things that he did they heard him teach. They heard him preach. They heard him explain things. And after doing this for about 12 to 18 months this discipleship thing Jesus then called 12 of his disciples, but there's more than 12 he called 12 of his disciples together and he designated them as Apostles and we talked I think it was last week what that word means write the word Apostle means sent one one who is sent kind of like today in missionary or maybe an ambassador and in from this moment where the disciples became Apostles in the Bible. They are now referred to as at 12. They really weren't referred to as the disciples. They would refer to the 12 or the apostles. Maybe sometimes it's 12 disciples, but always the 12. What were they like? Well, it's curious that the one most important characteristic that they all share in common was that they were ordinary. They were common folk. They were ordinary Blue Collar type workers. If you will there was no one among them. It was a scholar or a a public speaker or a theologian. No one among them was educated or rich or successful like an interpreter or none of them more talented or 10 maybe in their vocation. None of them were smart, you know brilliant. In fact, they were sort of kind of Outsiders to a lot of circles of their time and of their culture they were certainly religious Outsiders. They were not among the religious leaders or delete or even the other followers. They were spiritually weak.
And in fact, the Bible tells of Jesus himself says that they were spiritually dull, you know, like for like in our time would have more insight into the kingdom of God than they did even though they hung around with Jesus until finally he explained it and I finally got it. They made a lot of Miss judgements.
They miss spoke very often isn't specially Peter Peter was the one with a mouse shaped like a foot misspoke. Okay, that's that's what they were like as a group individually in there. One of them one of the 12 words that sell it is it was a radical is a political radical like some of the folks that are out in the streets in our country today. You wanted to tear down the whole Roman system today and free Israel from this Roman occupation. On the other hand there was attacked one of them was a tax collector, which would make him a political trailer because he worked for the occupation for the occupying Army and and power one of them. Of course. We all know was a betrayer. At least four of them were fishermen, maybe even 7 or fishermen but they were all from the same town and all of them were pretty much in the same region up there in in Galilee to the north of the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus needed them the most when he was dying on the cross for their sins and for your sins and for the sins of the world when Jesus needed them the most when he was betrayed and put on trial and his Kangaroo Court, they all abandon him. Every single one of them except for maybe Peter and and and and John kind of got into the high priests Courtyard in and and house but even then Peter denied him. After Jesus died when they weren't up in the locked room, they just simply went about their jobs. They return to their former locations.
Did Jesus do all this about them? Knowing all this about them Jesus nevertheless still call them to be his disciples and then later on ordained them to be apostles.
We need to kind of go to kind of get our heads around that that Jesus would know all this about them because he was of course God the son and nevertheless. He would still choose them. Anyone still ordained them as the sent ones that were to come. So there in those three years or so specially those last 18 to 24 months that he was with them. He taught them the scriptures. And of course in his day, the scriptures were what we today call the Old Testament talk to them proper Theology, and I'm so who is God and how he gets along with people he talked to him what the kingdom of heaven really is. He talked to my God be living really looks like not the legalistic stuff that the Pharisees were imposing on people. He taught them mercy and taught them Grace. He taught them forgiveness that all gets involved with the kingdom of God and godly living. And it was it was a brief training time 18 to 24 months, but it was intense and that's why it had to include those field trips that I mentioned or those mission trips. That you would send them on so they can practice and then report back to him. When he died when Jesus died on the cross as I just briefly mentioned. The 12 just sort of kind of pretty much fell apart because of the hold abandonment thing all their training fell apart. They forgot somehow Aldi. I taught them. I prepared them for and they were beside themselves in that for figure in that Upper Room. But then of course hero Jesus rose from the dead he met them back in Galilee. Like he said he would and He restored them. You restored them to the calling that you're giving them his disciples He restored them for the position that he ordained them to his apostles. And he still worked intended to work through them to continue his work in this world. They were still plan a there was no plan B, it was them or nothing. And then he told him to wait in the city in Jerusalem on the day that he is sent that he told him to wait. Until they receive power from on high. Before they went off and did anything. And so 10 days later on Pentecost as we talked about a couple of weeks ago the spirit Came Upon them fell on them. They were baptized in the Holy Spirit and after that point, then they engaged fully you got Apostolic task the past they were trained for the past. They were cold to the task that they were ordained to. And then of course by themselves, they couldn't do it. They weren't up to it. That's the kind of Jesus said wait in the city until you receive power from on high but in Christ with the indwelling of the spirit, they did it. And they are all people are proof. What the Bible says that the strength of Christ the strength of God, the power of God is made complete is made perfect in weakness. Cuz if you get to know as you get to know the lines of these disciples and their behavior and all their foibles. It takes the spirit of God to turn them into what we admire today as apostle. And that we name churches after then we make statues of them. We almost kind of worship. Damn. But these folks were just plain simple ordinary everyday people like you and me, but Christ call them Christ ordaining them Christ fill them with his spirit and they went out and they did the work of the Apostles that they were called and ordained to do. Because after Jesus ascended in the spirit came starting in Jerusalem, and then spreading over the world. They established the kingdom of God on Earth. Jesus founded it, but they established it and they spread it and their lives and their witness turn this world their world upside down. They changed the culture. As a result of their lives and they are witness and their message. They changed the culture of the Roman Empire from Pagan self-centered hedonistic into what we might call a Christian culture, but certainly a culture that is more merciful than the culture that they were born into and they're trying I'm still continues today.
Back in their day woman became more respected and treated more fairly than there used to be children are no longer abandoned streets left to die because the parents didn't want them. The sick will no longer the Bandit in some corner somewhere. They were cared for cuz they're Christians took them in at the beginning of orphanages. This will happen in the Roman Empire. This won't happen in a couple of decades maybe even centuries after the apostles went everywhere. And they changed the culture and they turn the world upside down and their witness their legacy still continues today because their witness recorded for us in the New Testament now rest of the scriptures still changes people. Still brings people to faith in Christ still connects people to God still changes the way we look at the world and the way we look at people and the way we look at a weakness and the way we look at Injustice. It's still going on. It's still happening. And this is all because Christ call them priced ordained them Christ filled them with his spirit and then Christ sent them out as his ambassadors and missionaries. So that's just kind of a brief look at the 12 for today. We'll do some more group shots of the 12 as the next in the next couple of weeks. But today I kind of want to wrap up and just pick one and look at one of them one of the 12 and and I've chosen Andrew and of course, maybe you're wondering why did I choose Angel? Why did I do with Peter or Judas or some well-known apostle? During the year during the course of of 12 months each. One of these Apostles has the Saints game st. Andrew's day st. Peter's Day Saint Thomas Day. So on and so forth Andrew's day comes first is on November 30th, which is towards our beginning a bad back. Remember how the church year starts not on January, but the church year starts at the end of November or early December with Advent. So Andrew's day is first in the calendar year, so I picked you. What do we know about Andrew? Couple of things he was from a town called bethsaida in Galilee, which was located on the Northern end of of Galilee. So if you're picturing kind of Israel and Mediterranean is over here and look at the Dead Sea on the bottom. We got the Jordan River leading into it on the top. We have a Sea of Galilee in a tougher Sea of Galilee. We have stayed up. That's what Andrew was from. He was at one of those fishermen and he had a brother named Peter of the famous One Simon Peter and so they fished together Andrew was initially a disciple of John the Baptist. I remember him and one day John the Baptist with his disciples and go to all the people that were standing around.
Answer from that point on Andrew. Wanted to get to know this Jesus better this Lamb of God. So Andrew is also there for the first to follow Jesus. He was the first to say farewell temporarily to John and go follow Jesus and ask him. Where are you staying till you can read about that in the Gospel of John chapter 1 Andrew was also the First Missionary for Jesus because Andrew was the one who brought his brother Peter to Jesus and introduced Peter to Jesus, He believed was the Messiah. Later on in his life not very much later on, but shortly later on Jesus, then actually called Andrew to follow him. So the first encounter was Andrew wanted to know Jesus, but then after that Jesus called Andrew to follow him as Andrew was following Jesus. The king of point where Jesus was texting his disciples and was looking at a large crowd of 5000 men plus the women and the children and he asked them so boys, how are we going to feed them? And I all the apostles were counting on their fingers while they would take this much money and we don't have this much money and but we need to send him home because otherwise they'll faint here. And so Andrew was the one who went and found a little boy and that little boy had Five Loaves and two fish and Andrew was the one that brought this little boy with his fish in love with Jesus and from that result of the miracle that we say is the feeding of the 5000 which is an incorrect title. It's the feeding of the 5000 men. Okay, there's a lot more people there than five thousand men. I pretty much can guarantee you that.
On the downside Andrew was among the 11 a band in Jesus when he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Just you know, like all the others abandon him. That's kind of a black mark on his record heat in that regard. He's very much like us but then like I mentioned before on Easter evening, he was reinstated by Jesus into his role as a puzzle when Jesus appeared to them to the 11 now. Breathe on them. And said receive the Holy Spirit received the Holy wind receive the holy breath. They were reinstated into their calling and into their tasks. After Jesus ascended and tradition says that Andrew reached in Palestine there in the Middle East and Cynthia and epirus and in Frost, which is otherwise known as the part of Greece. So therefore Andrew is a very highly honored in the Greek Orthodox church that started in the 300s really soon after he died and he did die on November 30th. Very often in the church. We commemorate the day of a person's death. We do not commemorate that the other person's birth because I'm right the person they in a person's death because they ever Christians. It's a day that they enter into the fullness of eternal life. That is their real birthday. If you will and he is said to have died on a cross shaped like an X. like that time and that is why all of these Apostles not only have saints days, but they've also developed we call Shields over the course of time. They never wore the shields. They never used the shield. But each Apostle has a shield that has been as a representative a representation of something about them. And so the shield of Andrew is in the shape of the Cross upon which he died and was actually murdered. And then tradition says that some of his relics were taken to what is known as Saint Andrews Church in Scotland. And so he has become the patron saint of Scotland and in the western church. We began remembering him and honoring him in the 500 AD just a little bit afterwards little bit later than the Eastern Church did Obviously, there's much more to the story in the Bible and tradition. Please look it up. Fascinating stuff the lives of these apostles today just like this just noticed something to me is important how God took an ordinary fisherman and how that ordinary fishermen became an extraordinary spokesman for Jesus. Ordinary person in extraordinary spokesman for then in the course of his ministry in his life changed lives. If you went and lived and spoke. This everyday guy like you would like me was so filled with Supernatural strength from above and wisdom that he was able to fulfill his sacred Duty. to the point of death
think about that and everyday guy Supernatural strength sacred Duty. martyred for Christ what can God do with ordinary you?
What did God do with ordinary you?
Amador Daenerys me
this is not a pop quiz. Is almost a rhetorical question? The answer's simple. He can do the same thing that he did with ordinary Andrew. Cuz ordinary Andrews just like you and me. folks you and I have been given a sacred Trust. and her baptism
that's when God put his claim on our lives and put his spirit in our hearts. And ever since then. Unless you bring the store kind of coasting. In this thing called church membership or Christianity or whatever you call it if you if you haven't been just coasting. He has been training you and me has been molding you into the image of Jesus into a copy of Jesus. That is uniquely you.
in spite of your weaknesses in spite of your foibles in spite of all your mistakes and your screw-ups
and he's preparing you always to be a useful instrument in his hands. and his kingdom
Please don't make excuses about how you're not adequate and you've made mistakes and you screwed up and that that that that you don't know and you can't speak and you can't do when you can't this and you can't that you want to see what his strength can do with your weakness.
Give him a chance.
Give him a chance watch and see what happens. Is God the extraordinary one? Takes you the ordinary one. And makes your life. his instrument watch and see what happens just like Andrew. Amen. Amen. All right time to ask everyone again to make their offering or Their donation or whatever is the case maybe so we have a plate set up in the back of your way out. And if you're online and would like to do that online, it's on our website up there in the upper right hand corner. And for Napoli's next couple of moments. Let's watch this video.