Homily for St. Andrew’s Day
Originally preached 02 December 2021 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry
This past Tuesday the Church celebrated St. Andrew’s Day. I have a bit of a soft spot for St. Andrew, for one because my second-born shares his name. But also, much like my second-born, I think St. Andrew tends to get overshadowed by his more popular brother, St. Peter, otherwise known as Simon Peter. Most Christians know Simon gained the name Peter because Jesus said, ‘on this rock I will build my Church,’ and Peter is the Greek name for rock. Many Christians can also recall Simon Peter being told he would become a fisher of men, a play on words of his profession, a fisherman. But I think a lot of us forget that Andrew was there in the background, and from the reading today we hear that he too was a fisherman and called to be a fisher of people. According to the Gospel of John, it was actually Andrew who was first a disciple of Jesus, and it was Andrew who sought out his brother and told Simon Peter they had found the Messiah, or the Anointed One. Many of us will recall Peter’s lack of faith in denying Christ three times before the cock crowed, but Andrew was one of the first to recognise Jesus Christ for who he was. And in bringing this good news to his brother, it could be said that Andrew was not only the first disciple, but also the first recorded missionary.
After Jesus died, Andrew continued to spread the Gospel around the Black Sea and Asia minor, which is why he is the patron Saint of Ukraine, Romania, and Russia. But he is also the patron saint of Scotland, which is why Scotland’s flag is the St. Andrew’s Cross. You may notice that the cross on the Scottish flag looks a bit different from the cross on which Christ was crucified. Once again, many will know that St. Peter insisted on being crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to be crucified the same way as Jesus, but I’m sure few will know that St. Andrew insisted on the diagonal cross for the same reason.
St. Andrew is in many ways an aspirational figure for Christians today. He trusted in Jesus and followed him before anyone knew his name, he brought the message of Christ to both his loved ones and those far and wide, he quietly got on with his mission, always recognising that he was not as great as Christ Jesus. In the end, St. Andrew was crucified because he refused to stay quiet about the Good News of Jesus Christ and he humbly took his place as a martyr, making himself less than the crucified Christ on what has become known as the St. Andrew’s cross. I think in some ways Andrew is more relatable than his famous brother, because he didn’t have an official title, and he is so often overlooked, yet he showed the love of Christ in every day life. May we have the courage of St. Andrew, to proclaim the Gospel even if we’re told to keep quiet, and the humility of St. Andrew to always put Christ first.
Reflections of a Christian 