Red Letter Day

If you go to Honey Creek, get on a boat and follow the waterway out to sea, you will find yourself on St. Andrews Sound. Several building projects and developments in northeast Camden County bear the name of St. Andrew in some way. Since St. Andrew was a fisherman it is most appropriate that a body of water be named after him. Many people cherish the thoughts of St. Andrew, and he is regarded as the "patron saint" of Scotland, Greece and Russia. Surely there must be lots of good fishing in those countries too.

The Episcopal Church also loves St. Andrew. He was an Apostle of Jesus Christ who according to tradition gave his life for the cause of Christ, so Andrew gets a "red letter day" on our church calendar.

If we take a quick glance at Andrew's life as portrayed in the Gospels, we might think that Andrew didn't do very much. He is seldom mentioned except in the lists of the Apostles, but when he is mentioned, he is blessing others with his thoughtfulness.

When I picture St. Andrew I think of his faithfulness. He was simply always around when Jesus needed something. Andrew's great claim to fame is that he was the brother of St. Peter, who is regarded as chief of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. The irony here is that Andrew met Jesus first and then brought Peter to Jesus. He was gracious to step into Peter's shadow when Peter became the leader of the Church.

Andrew is also known for a very famous incident having to do with fish. When Jesus was going to feed the five thousand people at once, it was Andrew who found the lad with the five loaves and two fishes and asked Jesus, "What is that among so many?" Andrew was the sort of person who would swing open the door so that others could walk right into the Kingdom of God.

So today, we remember St. Andrew as we pray this prayer:

"Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen." (from the Book of Common Prayer)


Pastor Linda
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Pastor
The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek
www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org