Gospel: John 1: 35-42
Andrew models discipleship and evangelization for us in two important ways. First, he only has one line of dialogue in the entire Gospels: "We have found the Messiah!" This is all that needs to be said. With this phrase he introduces his brother Peter to the Lord Jesus, then James and John, and then Philip and Nathaniel. This gets to the next important feature of Andrew's example: he introduces people to Jesus, and then he gets out of the way.
When people have an authentic encounter with the Lord our presence is no longer necessary for them. There is a tendency in ministry to meddle in people's faith and make it all about us instead of focus on the Lord. It is a tendency to see oneself as the pilgrimage leader rather than a pilgrim. What Andrew does is introduce people to the pilgrimage leader, then he gets back in line to walk as a pilgrim, to accompany others not as a superior but as an equal along the way.
This example is an important one in Advent as we prepare the way of the Lord. We prepare that way by walking along the way; the road is made by walking on it. The only time we get out of line is to introduce someone to the Lord, and then we get out of the way and return to our place.
