Deuteronomy 30:11-14; Psalm 19:1-6; Romans 10:8b-18; Matthew 4:18-22
Delivered at the Kirkin’ of the Tartans at St. James’ Episcopal Church, Springfield, MO on November 30, 2024
Good evening, everyone. I am Brother Michael Malone, and I am a life professed brother in the Anglican Order of Preachers, one of the religious communities within the Episcopal Church. Most people — including Episcopalians — don’t realize that we even have Religious Orders, but I assure you, we do exist. I am blessed once more to have the privilege of acting as verger this evening, guiding the procession in and out, and of delivering the homily.
We are celebrating our Kirkin’ of the Tartans this year on the Feast of St. Andrew, Scotland’s patron saint. How St. Andrew came to be the Patron of Scotland is interesting, since contrary to legend he never set foot there. To be honest, St. Andrew’s connection to Scotland is…well, actually kind of sketchy. Some of it involves a victory of the Picts over the Saxons, but I won’t go into the sordid details here. The Scottish king attributed the victory to St. Andrew, and there you are. There are a lot of myths and legends, including that Sr. Andrew actually visited Scotland, but I really doubt that. Did you know, that if you put a saltire, a St. Andrew’s cross, on a post next to your fireplace, it will keep witches from flying down the chimney? Handy tip!
St. Andrew is the patron saint of several countries, including Russia and Romania. He’s also the patron saint of fishermen, singers, sore throats, and the gout, for what that’s worth.
This is the first year in a while we’ve celebrated St. Andrew in conjunction with the Kirkin’. We’ve done St. Margaret a couple of times, a Scottish queen known for her acts of charity. And we’ve done Samuel Seabury, the first bishop of the Episcopal Church, who was consecrated by Scottish bishops, perhaps thumbing their noses at the English bishops who had refused to do it.
But what do we really know about St. Andrew?
As it turns out, not very much. As I started researching for this talk, I had trouble finding much about him. Most of it, like the thing with the witches, is folklore. Some is tradition, but the facts to back the traditions just aren’t there. He’s only mentioned in the Bible a couple of times. We do know that he was Simon Peter’s brother, and like his brother was also a fisherman.
And while he was one of the original twelve apostles, he doesn’t seem to have made a huge splash. Not like his brother Peter. Not like the brothers James and John, called by Jesus the “Sons of Thunder.” It’s said that when Andrew was put to death, he was crucified on an x-shaped cross, which is why we have the saltire, St. Andrew’s Cross, on the flag of Scotland.
The thing that we do know is that Andrew brought people to Jesus.
He was one of the first to follow Jesus, and when he realized that Jesus was the Messiah, he ran and got his brother Peter.
When Jesus fed the 5,000, it was Andrew who brought the young boy who had the five loaves and two fish to Jesus.
Think about that. We don’t see Andrew very much in the scriptures, but when we do, he’s bringing someone to Jesus. And I think that, right there, makes him a person worth emulating.
So, as Scots, how can we emulate St. Andrew? How can we make that tenuous connection between our heritage and this semi-mysterious saint more firm, more real?
St. Andrew brought people to Jesus. He brought his brother. He brought a lad with a small amount of food that Jesus multiplied to feed a huge crowd.
Can we be like Andrew?
What can we bring?
Well, we can bring ourselves. We can bring everything we are, including — and perhaps especially — our Scottish heritage. After all, St. Ninian made the first Christian converts in Scotland over 1600 years ago. And the Church of Scotland has existed for almost 500 years. That’s a lot of Scottish Christian heritage. And it’s a lot to live up to.
So as we have our tartans blessed this evening, let’s give some thought to what that blessing means.
A blessing doesn’t just mean we line up, we announced our clan affiliation, Fr. Petty pronounces us blessed, we have some haggis, watch the Kilties do their thing (always a pleasure, but the way), and go home feeling all Scottish and good about ourselves.
No, a blessing has some responsibility attached to it. A blessing is a way of empowering people to go out and do God’s work. When we have our tartans blessed, we are dedicating our very Scottish identity to the service of God.
So as we leave here tonight, let’s not leave the joy, the blessing here. Let’s take it out into the world. Let’s spread the blessing to everyone, whether they are Scottish or not. Let’s bring people to Jesus. Let’s feed the those who need feeding. Let’s face it, the world needs that blessing right now.
And I think St. Andrew would approve.
Amen.
Becoming Dominican 