The feast of an Apostle is an invitation for us to reflect on the mystery of “call and response.” It is God who always calls, and we are the ones who respond to the invitation. To what does the Lord invite us?
The first invitation of the Lord is an invitation to the Cross. Van Haufer stated this very clearly. When God says, “Come, follow me,” He essentially means, “Come and die with me.” To follow the Lord is to be nailed to the cross. According to tradition, Peter, the brother of Andrew, was nailed to a cross that was then turned upside down. In contrast, Andrew, the brother of Peter, was traditionally nailed to a cross in an X-form. This is why the letter X is used to refer to Andrew. That is the first calling of the Lord – a call to the cross.
The second calling of the Lord is a call to constancy. A call is not just an event; it’s an everyday reality. The Lord called Peter and Andrew by the seaside, but He continued to call them day by day. Since the call is given day by day, the answer must also be day by day. When a man and a woman get married and exchange “I do’s,” that “I do” is not just an event during the wedding. It must be lived out day by day. So, it is a call to constancy. Those who remain faithful are individuals who have stood the test of time.
The third calling of the Lord is a call for companionship. When the Lord calls, He does so personally. Even with this individualized call, Jesus invites us to be companions for one another. Andrew was called personally, but he was also called to belong to the chosen twelve. Similarly, Peter was called personally, but he was summoned to accompany Jesus.
Those are the three Cs of our call. We are invited to the Cross. We are beckoned to constancy. And we are summoned for companionship. We are called to follow the Lord, together!
CALLED TO BE APOSTLES
Mk. 1:14-20
Love Like Jesus
