The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
I find something so beautiful in the art of sending an invitation. Whether it be an invitation to dinner or a more extravagant wedding invitation, I love that in this simple gesture, we are drawn into communion and given an opportunity to break bread (figuratively or literally) and share a special moment with one another.
In today’s Gospel, Andrew and his brother Simon Peter show us the perfect example of how an invitation can create community. Take a moment and imagine what Andrew must have been thinking after encountering Jesus for the first time: his heart was probably on fire with excitement, wonder, expectation, hope, and everything in between. So what does he do? He invites his brother to come and meet the Messiah. Through this simple gesture, he draws others into community and gives them an opportunity to break bread. This moment is an example of the first of many invitations that Andrew would extend as a disciple of Jesus, and the first of many invitations to which Simon Peter would respond, yes.
Through our baptism, we are also called to proclaim the Good News (that is, Jesus Christ) to the world around us. I don’t know about you, but most days I feel like I struggle to live out this call of discipleship and have to ask myself, Am I actively inviting others into a deeper relationship with Christ? Am I answering yes to that very same invitation from the Lord?
I would like each of us to consider where the Lord might be asking us to be like Andrew or Simon Peter: maybe it’s inviting a few friends to gather during the upcoming Lenten season and to journey with one another; or perhaps it’s setting the alarm 5-10 minutes earlier and spending time in prayer before starting our day.
The Lord is not asking for perfection; he is simply asking us to be open to the movements of the Holy Spirit and to respond to those promptings. As we head into another week, may we follow the example of Sts. Andrew and Peter and lean into our baptismal call by taking part in what I hope is the first of many invitations.
Susie Lopez is a life-long Texan who enjoys training for marathons, baseball games, bacon, and jamming to 80’s songs in H-E-B. She works for a Catholic apostolate, the St. John Paul II Foundation, where she gets to serve the Church with her “Martha-like” gifts and talents, while learning how to become more like “Mary.” Come say hello on Instagram.