Every now and then you meet someone who leaves quite an impression on you. Padre Andy was one of those guys. Andy was here for treatment on a brain tumour and, being the cousin of my friend Cathy, spent a fair bit of time at the Christelow household. So, Andy became 'one of us' in our Bible study group.
It's very easy to become insular in a church setting. Churches have that horrible ability to develop a culture which ends up being about ways to behave, dress, speak and reverence for traditions. And so it morphs into some sort of correct Christian behaviour model that ends up being totally irrelevant to world in which we live and, as a result, makes God look weird and irrelevant to those who don't yet know him.
One of Andy's endearing qualities was that he a follower of Christ who connected easily with people who weren't church goers. He was politically incorrect from a Christian perspective yet, what is our role? Is it help people connect with our God who wanted reconciliation so badly that he chose to sacrifice his own son on a cross? Is it to help those in need and be there for them? If the answer to those questions is yes, then Andy was a great example of how to do that and not care what other more 'holy' people thought about him.
I didn't know Andy for all that long but I valued him as a friend. And he challenged me about how I carry out my role in life as a disciple of Jesus.
Enjoy your reward Padre!
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