As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God.' Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, 'What do you want?' They answered, 'Rabbi,' - which means Teacher - 'where do you live?' 'Come and see' he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.
One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' - which means the Christ - and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas' - meaning Rock.
Who's image and likeness?
Sometimes you can get into wonderful debate about religion. You don't have to be in the Church or the school for a hotly contested argument on the points of faith. I have found myself discussing the same in the most unusual of circumstances; the barbers is a great place for it; or even the gym! Where ever it takes place, there seems to be genuine interest on behalf of the parties involved to talk about faith - even if they profess to have little or none themselves. People like to talk to people of faith about faith. Maybe they are looking for some answers (maybe a fight?), who knows.
I had a little incident a few months ago in the parish. A couple were getting married and in the course of the preparation the question of the practice of the faith came up; put very bluntly, I asked 'do you go to Mass?' A deep discussion ensued. One of the parties told be out straight that they did not go to Mass, because they like to meet God in their own way, not in a way that is dictated to them. What way was that, I asked? Lighting a candle now and then and doing no wrong, was the reply. I asked was that enough, I was told I was bordering on being interfering. I replied, I'm a priest - that's my job!
It is not uncommon for people to describe themselves as religious or spiritual. A relationship with God for most adults is no more that a passive acknowledgement that 'there is something there'. For whatever reason many have not even a basic understanding of the what it means to be a Catholic, let alone what and why the Church teaches what it does. In days gone by when a 'cultural piety' existed it was not as necessary to ask the hard questions about what we believe. The faithful attended Mass and said the prayers and that was enough to make them very holy and good people. With fewer people attending Mass, that great mainstay is gone. The support of the community has dissipated and in its place a myriad of competing voices. God is up for grabs. If there is a God at all, some are happy to look for Him alone - on their terms.
John did not keep the disciples to himself. They saw Jesus and he told them to follow. The Lord was not content to answer their question "where do you live?" by giving them the address, he said "Come and see?" They came and spent time with Jesus, the rest of the day. Whatever they heard, or whatever they saw must have been very impressive, because Andrew the very next day was on the mission.
I find it interesting that he called Peter to come and see Jesus. He did not want to tell him about him, he wanted to introduce him, so that Peter could see for himself the Messiah.
From the very beginning of the Church apostles have been bringing people to Jesus. Andrew, John and Peter all went on to do great and wonderful things in Jesus' name. They worked great miracles, went on long and dangerous journeys. Andrew and Peter were to give their own lives for the faith. In all of this they pointed to Jesus. He was their reference and their message. No matter what they kept bringing people to Christ.
It is very easy to say, I will meet God in my own way- I will do it myself. If we do that we will inevitably be wrong. The image of God I will have will more likely be made the image and likeness of myself. God will vindicate all I do and say, hopefully he will smite my enemies for me - the thoughts of which gives some kind of wicked comfort. God is to be discovered not invented. We do not need to start from scratch, figuring out who God is and what we wants from us. It is already done. Jesus has revealed the face of the Father. In his Church - One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic - the Good News is preserved intact. Of course the history of our family the Church has it's darkness. Many have failed badly to reveal Christ as they should; despite all this the Church remains to point the way to the Father.
The Apostles saw Jesus, they met Him, they knew Him and loved Him. They have given us a complete and trustworthy faith to hold on to, so that in a world that changes the presence of God is real and alive. As we celebrate the Eucharist may we remember that we do not and should not feel as if we do it alone. By being part of the Church we will not stray and if we do the Shepherd, who's voice is known to the flock will bring us to green pasture.
(The large bell at St Peter's is called St. Andrew.)
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