He said to them, “Come, follow me; and I will make you fish for people.” At once they left their
nets and followed him. He went on from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of
Zebedee, and his brother John, in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus
called them. At once, they left the boat, and their father, and followed h/im.

Reflect

“Come, follow me.” Today’s Gospel, from Matthew, follows the Markan tradition. Jesus called
them, and they left their nets. There are other accounts which tell more of Andrew: he is the
apostle who told Jesus of the boy with barley loaves (Jn 6:8-9), he commented on the
massive walls supporting the temple (Mk 13:1-4), and he served as the bridge between the
Jewish and Greek followers of Jesus (Jn 12:20-26). Nonetheless, what seems to be not given
too much attention to is the fact that Andrew was the protokletos, he is the one “first called.”
He is the one who even led Peter his brother to Jesus (cf. Jn 1:40). He served as the bridge
between his brother and the Lord. We have already pointed out that he also served as the
bridge between the Jewish and the Gentile believers. Furthermore, we may reflect on the
fact that we can only serve well as a bridge when we remain in Jesus’ love. The greatest
challenge posed to us now as Jesus’ disciples is to bridge the love of Jesus and the way we
live our life, participating in the creation of a culture characterized by social love.

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