When I was in my mid-thirties, I met Jesus in a new and personal way, different from anything I had experienced before in the practice of my Catholic faith.  While I have shared the details of this encounter in prior blog posts, let me just say that it had the effect of enhancing my faith in God and the Church.  It gave me a desire to pray more, read scripture, and experience everything about my spiritual and faith life in a more intense and real way.

As John the Baptist saw Jesus passing by one day he observed to Andrew, one of his disciples, that Jesus was the “Lamb of God!”  Andrew then spent the day with Jesus, and afterwards, went to his brother, Peter to share that he had found the Messiah and wanted to introduce him to Jesus.

“The first thing Andrew did was look for his brother, Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah (that is, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.” (John 1:41 NIV)

Like Andrew, my meeting Jesus in a new way gave me a desire to tell others about my experience of meeting Jesus.  I was so excited about my encounter and the effect it had on my life that I wanted to share my experience with family, friends, and even co-workers. 

I remember writing lengthy letters to my parents and a cousin, who was a nun, explaining in great detail all that happened.  I shared my experience with a couple of close work colleagues who seemed to accept what I had to say.  One of them retold my story to other work colleagues.  Some friends invited me to share my experience at a parish prayer meeting.  One invitation seemed to lead to another. 

For over forty years, I have been trying to respond to opportunities to tell people about Jesus, including this weekly blog.  Yes, there have been times when I have missed or failed to act on opportunities.  But telling people about Jesus and introducing them to him seems to be the way Jesus started out with Andrew, Peter, and the others he called.  Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus, and Peter, Andrew and the other disciples were Jesus’ “witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)

Like Andrew, have you sought to introduce others to Jesus?