Many of you know my long fascination with Simon Peter (perhaps second only to Jonah), and many years ago I wote a short series of reflections on him supposedly through the eyes of Andrew. But in recent years I have developed a sympathy for Simon's frequently overlooked brother.
Then, on my recent visit to Rome our group had a fascinating time with Fr. Martin Browne OSB from the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity who introduced us to this icon, usually referred to as "The Holy Apostle Brothers." It was given to Pope Paul VI by Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople in 1964 as a symbol of the fraternal relationship between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, with Andrew holding a special place in the eastern church as he was supposedly martyred in Greece, as Simon Peter was in Rome.
In John's Gospel Jesus told his followers that they would be identified by their love for one another.
In an increasingly fractured world his followers could di with demonstrating that love and not just preaching about it.
When did the schism begin?
When the Master chose Simon,
to witness his transfiguration,
or to become Peter, the bedrock
of all that was to follow,
despite his tectonic unpredictability,
and the fact that Andrew was first?
Or in the unwritten story
behind Simon asking the Master,
"How many times must I forgive
my brother?" begging another question
about what had happened between
the two of them? Or was Andrew
now just one brother among many?
Or do we simply seek out splits
where there were none, to justify
subsequent spats and divides,
arising out of presumption and pride,
producing millennia long fractures
that break our Father's heart,
and martyr all our talk of love.
Selah
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