Today’s topic for the 40 Days of Blogging is St Andrew, the
First-called Apostle and founder of the Church in Constantinople. Andrew
traveled, among other places, to the port of Byzantium and established a
Christian community there. He ordained Stachys as the first bishop of
Byzantium. Today’s Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the 270 successor to the
St Andrew. Here is a list of the successors to St
Andrew in Constantinople. St Andrew is commemorated on November 30th
each year with grand celebration in Constantinople as he is the patron saint of
the Ecumenical Throne.
A brief
synopsis of the life of Saint Andrew is worth reading, but I want to
highlight just a single moment of inspiration from his devotion. According to
Holy Tradition, when it came time for Saint Andrew to be martyred, he was to be
crucified, but he did not consider himself worthy to be crucified in the same
fashion as our Lord. At his request, he was crucified using a “X” shaped cross
(depicted on Holy Icons), which can be venerated at the Church of Saint Andrew
in Patras Greece. I cannot imagine a reverence for Christ so profound so as to
refuse the same method of execution.
Sort of makes me wonder about my life and how much I show
reverence for Christ. As a Christian (let alone as an Orthodox Priest) I am
supposed to imitate Christ. I am supposed to live as He lived. I am supposed to
love as He loved. I’m not always proud of the progress I am making in these
categories of my Christian journey.
I find most people would be honored to be compared to
Christ; in fact it is often considered a badge of honor to be compared to Jesus
Christ. Of course it SHOULD be an honor. I wouldn’t suggest that we should stop
being (or at the very least trying to be) LIKE Christ. What I’m trying to
express today is not whether or not we are trying to imitate Christ. Rather,
what are we doing to show the sort of reverence for Him that Saint Andrew showed,
EVEN at his own martyrdom?
As we travel the next few weeks preparing for Christmas, we
Christians we have myriad opportunities to show our reverence for Jesus Christ,
AND TO IMITATE HIM, as we encounter our fellow human beings at mall stores, gas
stations, street corners, airports, bus stations, AND at Church. Will we,
following the example of Saint Andrew, show our devotion and reverence of Jesus
in our dealings with others, or will we accept the praise of others for “being
such good Christians?”
Just a thought…
This post is written for the 40
Days of Blogging Challenge sponsored by the Preachers
Institute. You may find other blogs
participating in this challenge. I hope you enjoy this year’s Advent journey.
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