What Can We Learn From Andrew

My dear friends in Christ,

What did you think of that little tribute to fathers? I’ve watched it a few times, and do you know how it makes me feel? Guilty. Why? I look at all those examples of dads and think, “That’s not me!” I wasn’t very happy to get up at 3 in the morning to get a bottle ready and change dirty diapers. When I come home from the office, I’m not the smiling, engaged father in the back yard. I’m not very patient when fishing line is tangled around the reel, or when hooks are whipping around my head. Father’s Day sometimes feels like “What a Father Should Be Day.”

What does God expect from me, a dad? What does he expect from moms, and grandparents, and children, and aunts and uncles? What does he expect from each one of us? Today, as we take a closer look at the life of the disciple Andrew, we’re going to see what all of us, not just dads, can learn from Andrew.

Last week we met the first disciple in our summer series—Peter. Our gospel reading today tells us about the family connection Peter had with Andrew. Do you remember what it was? Andrew was Peter’s brother. His father’s name was John, also sometimes called Jonas. Andrew and Peter were both born in Bethsaida on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Mark’s gospel tells us that they shared the same house in Capernaum. Can anyone guess what Andrew’s occupation was? That’s right! Matthew tells us, "As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen" (Matthew 4:18).

Andrew knew about being a disciple. Before he met Jesus, he followed John the Baptist. After John pointed out Jesus to his disciples and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35), Andrew began following him. Later, he is listed as one of Jesus’ closest followers, one of “The Twelve.” Andrew is sometimes called “protokletos,” which is Greek for “the first one called.” Andrew, which in Greek is “Andreas,” comes from the Greek word for “man.”

We don’t know much about where Andrew went or what he did after Jesus ascended into heaven. Different church traditions have him establishing churches in Russia, areas of Asia Minor, and finally in Greece where he died. A seventh century church tradition suggests that Andrew was crucified on a cross in the shape of an X, and that he was tied to the cross, not nailed, so that his suffering would last even longer. Because of that legend, Andrew’s symbol in most church art is the X-shaped cross.

When we were growing up, we lived on a dead end street with a ravine that ran behind our house and all the way around the school property. Once we got outside, we could end up a long way away from the house. When we heard Dad’s whistle, we knew that we needed to get home as fast as we could!

Listen to what happened when Jesus called Andrew. "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him" (Mark 1:16-18). When did Jesus call Andrew? Sometime after John the Baptist had introduced him to the Messiah. How long did it take for him to follow Jesus? At once! Why did he follow so quickly? He knew Jesus was the Lamb of God. He believed he was the Messiah. Jesus invited him to follow. Andrew followed right away.

What can we learn from Andrew? First, we need to follow Jesus when he calls. He doesn’t show up at the office after a long day of filling out forms or talking on the phone and say, “Follow me!” He doesn’t walk into the laundry room and call us away from mountains of dirty clothes. He doesn’t step into the classroom and tell us to leave behind our books and assignments and follow him.

Jesus calls us with his Word—the gospel message that someone shared with us. He called some of us at the baptismal font. His words: “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” work a miracle. He calls us out of death to life. He frees us from sin. He makes us part of his family.

Jesus calls today. We hear the message of sin and forgiveness at the beginning of the service. In songs, the readings, and the sermon, the voice of our Savior calls us to believe and follow. Like Andrew, we need to follow “at once.” There’s no time to waste!

That struck home this past week. Early Wednesday morning, Dan Lindquist, a member of Salem’s 2005 confirmation class, died in a car accident. He was 17 years old, and had just graduated from Stillwater High. It’s not supposed to be that way, is it?  God’s timing isn’t ours. He simply calls us to follow him. We can’t wait for the right time, or say, “I’ll get around to it when ….” The Bible tells us, “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). Andrew’s example calls us to follow Jesus—to listen to his Word and believe now!

Sometimes, dads are a walking “how-to” manual. My dad showed me how to work with wood, how to change the oil in a car, the best way to paint a wall, or how to eat an ice cream cone without losing the ice cream out the bottom.

What else do we learn from Andrew? "Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6:8-9). How did Andrew react to the lack of food for so many people? He went looking for a solution. He wanted to answer the question Jesus asked Philip: “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” What does this teach us about Andrew? He was resourceful. He was willing to “think outside the box.” He wasn’t afraid to bring it to Jesus attention.

We see that trait later in Andrew’s life in Mark 13:3-4. "As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?’” What did Andrew and the others want to know about? Jesus had just told them that the temple would be destroyed, and not one stone would be left on top of another. They wanted to know when the temple that would happen, and what signs they should look for. What does this teach us about Andrew? Andrew wanted to learn more from Jesus. He wasn’t afraid to ask questions.

Is that our attitude? Do we want to learn more from Jesus? By nature, we don’t want to learn more! It’s a weakness we all possess. We do our time in church for an hour, and that’s enough. Bible study? I did that years ago when I went to Sunday school. I have more important things to do, you know, like golf, or fishing, or going out to eat, or reading the paper. Instead of learning more from Jesus, we become distracted. God calls our distraction “sin.” It separates us from him. Because it is sin, our distraction spells destruction!

We need to repent and look for God’s forgiveness. We need to learn more from Jesus. The more time we spend with him, the stronger our faith we will be, and he will help us to be better dads. Wouldn’t it be nice if every one of us could say with the psalmist, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me" (Psalm 119:97,99,102). We need to learn more from Jesus!

Let’s review for just a second. What can we learn from Andrew? First, we need to follow Jesus. Second, we need to learn more from Jesus. There’s one last lesson we can learn from Andrew. Let’s look at John 1:40-41. "Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus" (John 1:40-42). Who introduced Andrew to Jesus? John the Baptist, the man Andrew had been following. What was the first thing Andrew did? Found his brother (Peter) and told him the exciting news! How did Andrew make sure his brother met Jesus? He physically brought Peter to meet him! Once Andrew met Jesus, he couldn’t keep the Messiah’s identity a secret. He had to tell someone. Who better to tell than his brother, Peter? Then he made sure that Peter met him.

A wise pastor once told me, “The only thing we can take to heaven with us is our children.” If we want our children in heaven with us, we need to lead them to Jesus. That’s our job. The author of Psalm 71 said, "My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds" (Psalm 71:15,17).

Our children need to hear about their Savior from our mouths. It begins with the Word of God—reading it to them and talking about it wherever we are. Clarence Budington Kelland, an American author who was famous for his short stories, once wrote, “My father didn’t tell me how to live, he lived, and let me watch him do it.” Our children also learn by watching us. They need to see us make worship and Bible study a priority. They need to hear our love for God in the way we use his name and the way we talk about him to others. They need to see us model Jesus’ plan for marriage. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25). The lessons we teach about God’s Word with our lives are far more powerful than any sermon I could preach!

Still not feeling like “super-dad”, or “super-mom”, or “super-employee”? Don’t worry. If we were all “super”, we’d be in heaven. We will struggle in our roles until the day we die because we are all sinful. When we struggle, remember the lessons Andrew shared with us: we need to follow Jesus, we need to learn more about him, and we need to lead our families to him. With God’s help, we will! Amen.