Today's Reading: John 1:35-42a
Daily Lectionary: Isaiah 6:1-7:9; 1 Peter 2:13-25

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" (John 1:35-36)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. John the Baptist's job was to point the way to Jesus, and he was good at his job. In John's Gospel we read about the calling of a disciple of John, Andrew, who heard the Word and followed it. The name Andrew means "manly" or "valor," and throughout his life, he accomplished many physical things. A fisherman by trade, he worked with his whole body, and this training helped him when he was called to be an apostle. Andrew's job was to proclaim the message of the Gospel and to bring people to Christ.

Right from the beginning, he did just that. The Gospel of John tells us, "He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah'" (John 1:41). This drive to bring people to Jesus filled the life of Andrew, and he continued to go forth into all the world to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified for the sins of the world. Eusebius, a church historian, writes that Andrew went as far as Kiev, which is now in the Ukraine, in order that people might come to a knowledge of the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done. According to tradition, Andrew died after being tied to an X-shaped cross in Greece.

We remember Andrew this day because the Body of Christ should always remember and give thanks to God for the people He has called to share the Gospel of Christ. The apostle Andrew was a blessing to the Church and to the people of God, for the Lord used this simple fisherman to proclaim His message into the ears of people who were lost in sin and needed a Savior.
 
The Holy Spirit used Andrew, and He uses us today. As believers in Christ, we go to church and receive the Gifts God gives to us through preaching, teaching, and the Sacraments. These things fill us up and lead us to share the message of Christ. In so doing, the Holy Spirit works through us to proclaim the Good News to those still in darkness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

All praise, O Lord, for Andrew, The first to welcome You, Whose witness to his brother Named You Messiah true. May we, with hearts kept open To You throughout the year, Confess to friend and neighbor Your advent ever near. ("By All Your Saints in Warfare" LSB 517, st.5)

-Rev. William K. Stottlemyer is pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, MD.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch