Being Preachers and Teachers
He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
According to Paul in today’s first reading, “faith comes from what is preached.” We could extend that to say that faith comes through the preaching and teaching of those who believe. Who were the preachers and teachers in our lives through whom we came to believe? We can include among those preachers and teachers all those who spoke to us as children about the life of faith, about God, Jesus, Mary and the saints, about the church and the sacraments. The primary preachers and teachers were our parents; they spoke to us about the faith from our earliest years. We may have encountered preachers in church and teachers in school who helped to open up the riches of the faith to us. Books or articles written by people of faith may have touched us deeply. The preachers and teachers in our lives took many forms. We owe our faith to them. We don’t come to believe on our own. We need people of faith to lead us to faith.
Today we celebrate one of the earliest preachers and teachers of the faith, Saint Andrew. He can easily get lost in the shadow of his more famous brother, Saint Peter. Yet, according to John’s gospel, it was Andrew who brought Peter to Jesus. In other words, Andrew was the first preacher of the faith in the life of Peter. Andrew reminds us that we all have a role in bringing others to faith. None of us goes to the Lord on our own. We need companions in faith who help to bring us to the Lord, as Andrew brought Simon to the Lord. We are all called to be preachers and teachers in that sense, people of faith who witness to our faith in ways that help others to meet the Lord for themselves.
Blessings,
Deacon Jack
St. Clare of Assisi
Houston, TX