I wanna be like Mike....uh, I mean Andrew!
Homily for Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

     In today's Gospel, we hear from St. John his version of how Jesus got his first apostles; which is a bit different from what we read in the other Gospels.  But anyway, I think we all know that eventually he ended up with twelve of them.  As is often the case with any group that size; some of the apostles we know a lot about, and some we know nothing about except their name.  Peter, James, and John always seemed to be in the thick of things; they get mentioned in the Scriptures more than the others.  And of course, Judas gets a lot of attention as well.
     But we don't hear a lot about Andrew.  I did some checking, and he's mentioned just 12 times in the New Testament.  Most of those times, he is only mentioned in passing, like when the Gospel writer is listing the names of certain people who were with Jesus.  In John's Gospel, Andrew is mentioned 3 times, but in each of those times John indicates that he is doing something.  Something very important -- He's bringing others to Jesus.  In our Gospel today is the first of those three times.  John records that Andrew is so affected by his time with Jesus that he leaves to go see his big brother Simon.
     Those of us who are fortunate enough to have older siblings can probably understand a little bit what Andrew did.  Andrew had just had this great experience; he met this fantastic person who said such wonderful things.  Jesus' message must have really clicked with Andrew, and you can just imagine how excited he was; and how he felt the need to share this experience with someone important to him, like his older brother.  In your mind's eye, you can almost see him as he runs up to Simon, all out of breath.  "Simon, we've found the Messiah!  You know, the Messiah we've been waiting centuries for!  He's here!  He's here!!  You gotta come with me!  Drop what you're doing, and come with me right now!  The Messiah's here!!
      So Andrew drags Simon off to where Jesus is staying; and we know that Jesus eventually chooses Peter to be the rock upon which his church would be built.   Further on in John's Gospel, it is Andrew who goes out and finds the boy who offers his five loaves and two fishes to Jesus; and even later on in John's Gospel, it is Andrew who brings Jesus to a group of Greek people who have asked to meet Jesus.  You might say that it is Andrew who is really the first evangelist; the first one to say: "You know, this Jesus is really something special!  I need to share what I have and what I've learned and what I've experienced.  I need to share this with others."
     Now I know that times are different today, but I kind of like Andrew's approach.  He didn't have any instruction book, and he didn't have to consult with any committee at his church to see if sharing Jesus was a good idea; and if so, how should he do it?  He just got so filled with what Jesus said and did that he must have said to himself, "You know, I can't keep this to myself!  I've got to tell others about it!  I've got to share this!
     Do you remember a television commercial that ran a few years ago?  It was for Mercedes; and it showed one of their cars being crash tested.  Right at the start of the commercial, you see the crash, and then you see this engineer in his white lab coat going over to inspect the damage, which visually doesn't look too bad.  And then you hear a reporter asking the engineer about the Mercedes' patented "energy absorbing unibody car construction."  The engineer then launches into the commercial about how unique it is, and why everybody should own a Mercedes because they are so safe.  But the reporter seems puzzled, and so he says to the engineer "I know that Mercedes has a patent on this idea; yet you've allowed other car companies to use your technology.  Why is that?"  And the engineer says "Because some things are too important in life not to share!"  What a profound statement that is.  Certainly there are advances in medical research, in science, and in technology that are too important not to share.  But all of these pale in importance when placed next to our faith.  Our faith is too important not to share!  Yet we don't do it.
     There was a survey taken last year among Catholics.  It found that a majority of those who were interviewed reported that they believed that they had had at least one life-changing experience with God.  But a majority of those who reported having such experiences also said that they never told a single other person about their experience.  When these people were asked by the pollsters to explain why they never told anyone, do you know what they said?  Most of them said the same thing: "I didn't say anything because people might think that I was crazy, or else they would think that I was a Jesus freak or something!"
     Well, DUH!!  My friends, that's what we're supposed to be!  We're all supposed to be Jesus freaks!  We're all supposed to be like Andrew, who was the very first Jesus freak.  We're supposed to be so fired up with what Jesus has done for us that we simply can't contain ourselves.  Some things are just too important not to share – and our love of God should be at the top of the list!
     There's another commercial running right now, I think its for a jewelry store.  The guy and his girl friend are in a very crowded public square area, and he is shouting out loud to everyone "I love this woman!  I love this woman!"  And she's all embarrassed, trying to get him to be quiet, and so he says, "Well, then this gift will have to show you how much I love you," and he gives her a diamond or something.  The commercial ends with her hugging him and whispering I love you.
     Like the man in the jewelry commercial; we're meant to be so excited about our faith and our love of God that we want to shout it from the mountaintop.   Andrew's actions in today's Gospel remind us that this is exactly what we are supposed to do; to be so fired with the love of God that we want everyone to know about what He has done for us.  Now, maybe we can't always be like that, I know; and maybe that's just not your style.  But we must try hard to be open to the opportunities that God places in our lives to share with others the happiness and peace that come from knowing our loving God. Shout it from the rooftop if you can, or whisper it quietly if you must; but don't EVER be afraid to say: "Yeah, I'm a Jesus freak!  Let me tell you about my friend!"
     God is so good......Amen?  AMEN!!