Following the Joy?
Mark 1:14-20

Today I would like to take one person out of the first followers of Jesus and talk about what it might have been like for that person to meet Jesus, and walk with him. I have chosen Andrew.

I couldn't find a great deal written on Andrew either in the Bible or in character sketches of the disciples written by various authors over the years. There is certainly more written about Peter. In, fact when we think of the disciples, Peter, James, and John come to mind right off the bat. Then we think of Matthew the tax collector, doubting Thomas, or even Judas who ended up betraying Jesus. Andrew is somewhere down at the bottom of the list. And yet there is something intriguing about Andrew, so much so that I would like to know more about him. That might be impossible but at least we can let our imagination go wild.

For this imaginative pursuit of Andrew, I am greatly indebted to a sermon preached by the late Peter Marshall in a little book that I found on my bookshelf called Mr Jones Meet the Master.

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Peter Marshall calls Andrew the Saint of the Rank and File. Andrew was the kind of person who was willing to take a back seat to his brother Simon Peter. He wasn't a "flashy" kind of character. In today's world he wouldn't be found in a suit decked out in sequins, with a bright coloured tie, with a Rolex watch to boot, making a spectacle of himself on his own television show. He probably wouldn't even stand out in a crowd. He might be the person who rides beside you on the bus, delivers your mail, drives the car next to you in traffic, waits on you in the store, works at the next desk to you in the office, sells you a ticket at the theatre, drives a taxi, or even carries your bags. Andrew is all around you, ordinary, and yet in a very unobtrusive way he was willing to get the work done.

When we compare Andrew and Peter, we see that Peter was the leader. Peter was aggressive. Andrew probably played second fiddle to his famous brother. His brother seemed to be the one who stood out in the crowd, the one you couldn't forget. He got the notice , the publicity, the attention, the credit, the praise, the spotlight and perhaps the reward. But Andrew seem to have the grace to remain in the shadows, and never complained

      When we look into the lives of these two brothers, it must be admitted that Andrew was not the great preacher Peter was. He was not the great missionary leader who helped establish churches that spring up like flowers in the wilderness, but it must never be forgotten that it was Andrew that brought Peter to Christ. As Dr. McKay has said, "There would be no eloquent Peter at Pentecost had there been no humble Andrew to bring him to Jesus"

      Peter Marshall Mr. Jones, Meet the Master Jove/HBJ, New York , 1978 p. 49-50

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There was something in Jesus that caught Andrew's attention. It could be the same thing that attracts me to Andrew. In John's Gospel he was first attracted to the message of John the Baptist that the Reign of God was near and then when he saw Jesus there was something inside that twitched and he wondered whether in Jesus the Reign of God had come. He and another follower of John went with him and stayed with him for a time. In those days a student of a didn't go to lectures, or attend classes to learn of a Rabbi's thoughts and theories. A student would live with the Master to learn his way of life. It is said that Joseph Campbell, the theologian and philosopher, would encourage his students to follow their bliss. If a student ask him should I do this or do that, he would ask, "What is it that calls you?" There was something in the person of Jesus that called Andrew. He saw in Jesus the thing that he dreamed of, the thing he hoped for, his meaning of life, his bliss. God became present to him in Jesus. He could do no other than to stay with him and learn of him. So he followed his bliss, his true joy.

He knew that his joy was not complete until he shared it with another. Andrew first shared it with his brother Peter. Together they walked with Jesus.

It must have been difficult. It wasn't an easy road to follow. It was hard to leave the community where they had been brought up, and fishing which was all they knew, to follow a teacher who went from place to place sometimes not knowing where they were going to stay. Yet the draw was so great that the disappeared.

      When a missionary society wrote David Livingstone wanting to send other's to join him, they asked whether he knew a good road to get to him. He wrote back , "If you have [ones] who will come only if they know there is a good road, I don't want them. I want [people] who will come if there is no road at all."

      (story from "Good News Broadcaster," April 1985, Page 12)

I think that Andrew wanted to follow Jesus whether there was a road or not. 

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What things he must have learned of Jesus! Can you imagine being with Jesus when he healed people, when he released others from their sins, when he related compassionately to those in need, when he accepted without hesitation those who were considered to be outcasts and sinners, when he raised Lazarus from the grave. He was with Jesus at the wedding in Galilee. He was with Jesus in when Nicodemus came to talk to Jesus by night, and he heard him talk to Nicodemus about spiritual things until the dawn came creeping from behind the hills.

How could Andrew ever forget his voice, his face, his vision his love, and his faith. Day by Day he realized that he not only walked with Jesus, he had Jesus in his heart. Do you know what it is like to have Jesus in your heart?

        A four-year old girl was at the pediatrician's office for a check-up. As the doctor looked into her ears with an otoscope, he asked her "Do you think that I'll find Big Bird in here?" The little girl remained silent. Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked her "Do you think I'll find the Cookie Monster down here?" Again, the girl did not answer him. Finally, the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heartbeat, he asked "Do you think I'll hear Barney in here?" At that, the little girl looked up with her eyes wide and said "Oh, no. Jesus is in my heart; Barney's on my underpants.

Andrew had Jesus in his heart. He had begun by following his joy and he discovered that his joy was within him. No wonder he was always bringing people to Jesus!

When the crowds that were following Jesus became exhausted from hunger, and the children began whimper because they were hungry, tired and weary, Jesus asked his disciples how they could get enough bread to feed the crowd. It was Andrew who said "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and a couple of fish, but what are they among so many."

I like to think that Andrew knew about the boy's lunch because he was interested enough with people of all ages that he had talked to the boy, and even made friends with him. I think that two things motivated Andrew in this story - his interest in people and his compassion to those who were hungry.

Another glimpse we have of Andrew in the scriptures is when a number of Greeks came to ask that they might see Jesus. They enquired of Philip and Philip turned them over to Andrew and it was Andrew that introduced them to Jesus. He seemed to have a knack of introducing people to Jesus. First of all his brother, then the boy with the small lunch, and now the Greeks.

Because of Andrew, other people had the opportunity of catching the joy of their lives.

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There are leaders, great men and women, who get things done and are in the limelight most of their lives. There are also an innumerable host of average people whose names are never printed, whose faces are not captured by the TV cameras, but whose labour makes the work of the leaders possible. They have a job to do and they are willing to do it without complaint. Andrew seemed to be like that. I don't think that it mattered to Andrew whether he was on the right side of Jesus or on the left. I think Andrew would say with Martin Luther King Jr:

      Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right or your left side, not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your left side, not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition. But I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world." Amen.

      from a sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia,
      on 4 February 1968.

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Andrew is the saint of the rank and file. 
He is the one without whom nothing worthwhile would get done
He is the one who is interested in people
He is the one who is willing to share
He is the one who follows his joy and cannot help but pass it on.
He is the one who would say:
"Preach the Good News, use words if you must."
When we see Andrew, I have to ask you this question: (and God knows I ask it of myself)
What is the joy you see in Jesus that calls you to follow him,
that will not let you go, 
That compels you to stay with him, 
and learn of him, until he lives in your heart
that must be shared?

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