August 18 I Sunday

Psalms 100-102

1 Corinthians 1

“Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.”   —John 1:40

 

What do we do after we discover a good find? Do we tell others about it or do we keep it to ourselves? Like Philip, Andrew was also a disciple of John the Baptist. Upon hearing John talk about Jesus, Andrew too left John to follow Jesus but not before finding his own brother, Simon Peter and telling him, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). Andrew brought Peter to Jesus and together, they became disciples of Jesus. Bringing Peter to Jesus, Andrew probably never guessed his own brother would be one of the major apostles after Jesus’s ascension in sharing Christ to the Jewish people and recognizing that the Christian faith is open to everyone: “I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right” (Acts 10:34-35).

Although Andrew was not part of Jesus’s inner circle, his contribution as a disciple of Jesus was noteworthy. One time, Jesus had a crowd of five thousand to feed and they did not have enough food or money to buy food for everyone. It was in this occasion that Andrew brought a boy he found to Jesus saying, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9). Andrew managed to find a boy who had some food, even though he knew the amount of food would not be enough to feed the crowd. Yet, it was through these five barley loaves and two fish that a crowd of five thousand would be fed and after everyone had eaten, the remainder would fill 12 baskets. Andrew probably never anticipated this miracle from Jesus; he may have just brought whatever food he managed to find. Despite how little food this boy had, Jesus was able to take that amount and multiply it.

Andrew was not only a good finder but he did not hide what he found and readily shared it with others. What is admirable about Andrew is that he surrendered what he found to Jesus, both his own brother and the boy’s lunch, and left the results to Him. Who knew that his brother would turn out to be one of the greatest apostles or the boy’s food would feed five thousand?

Do we share Christ with others and bring others to Jesus, trusting His work in their life? We never know what Jesus could do with our faithfulness, so may we have the courage, fervency and zeal of Andrew to share our good finds with others.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the greatest find of my life. Give me the courage to bring others to You and trust that You are able to work a miracle in their lives. Praise You!


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