When I was a child and heard the readings at Mass about Jesus calling the apostles, I always wondered:
–What did Jesus have that made the first apostles leave everything in an instant, including their parents?
That question always intrigued me. And other questions followed:
–Didn’t they want to be with their families anymore?
–Did they have such sad lives that following a “stranger” was more interesting?
–How did their families react to the fact that they left in an instant?
–If their families depended on them for work and support, didn’t they care?
These were valid questions, and even though I heard homilies describing Jesus’ greatness, there was something I didn’t quite grasp. Something inside me kept asking those questions. It was as if all the “explanations” I heard only reach the surface. I believed it, but the mystery remained.
These readings are heard approximately every year, so these questions have resurfaced every year.
It wasn’t until recently that another question, one that had never occurred to me before, arose:
–What if the “future” apostles were ready to answer Jesus’ call?
Hmmm…
And almost all my previous questions were nor as important anymore.
In Scripture, Jesus is described as the light that shines in the darkness.
Why Jesus called these men and not others, I don’t know. But what I began to consider was that these particular men were ready to respond, ready to ignite their hearts.
When I participated in the Lasallian missions and the Kairos evangelization camps, we were taught how to light a campfire. There were several steps, which aren’t difficult (I don’t even remember them very well anymore, haha). The point is that several conditions must be met for the wood to catch fire. If you choose wet foliage or green wood, it either won’t light or it will produce a lot of smoke.
In another similar example, my dad enjoyed grilling meat for a long time. For him, preparing the charcoal was a delight. My dad took his time preparing everything necessary to have the grill ready at the temperature he knew wouldn’t burn the meat. He knew how to arrange the charcoal and how and where to place what I remember looked like small pieces of wood to help the charcoal light evenly and not just in the center.
In both campfires and charcoal grills, if those conditions hadn’t been met, the fire wouldn’t have lit properly. It would either barely light or there would be a flare-up that quickly went out. The conditions for a stable and continuous fire were necessary.
Could it be that the apostles were ready, and the flame of love ignited in their hearts easily and naturally?
Today, do you have the right space and conditions within you for your heart to be set ablaze?
If the Spirit leads you, share with Jesus the carpenter how you perceive your heart. And perhaps you will discover what you can do to allow your being to ignite and shine.
Marisol
P.S.: We can hear about the radiant light of Jesus in the readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year/cycle A.
