The time had come for my mom to give birth to her first baby. My parents had already moved to another city due to my dad’s work, but when it came to giving birth, my parents decided to go to Zacatecas, where they both came from.
My dad told me that my mom was admitted to San José Hospital. For whatever reason, they scheduled a cesarean section. My dad described how outside the operating room, above the door, there were two lights, one pink and one blue. There was a nurse inside who turned on the light according to the baby’s gender.
Outside the operating room, in the designated space, were my four grandparents, and my very nervous dad.
When the time came, the blue light came on.
“It’s a boy!”
My dad shouted and jumped for joy.
Hugs and congratulations abounded. Even more joy after learning that my mom was also fine.
A little over four years later, the same scene was repeated in the same hospital.
Four grandparents and a nervous and impatient father. The moment arrived, and now a pink light came on.
“It’s a girl!”
My dad screamed and half-jumped due to a broken foot in a cast.
Again, hugs and congratulations abounded.
To this story, my mom added that before entering the operating room when it was time for me to be born, she already had a pair of earrings ready, in case it was a girl.
Therefore, she says that when I left the operating room with her, she already had my earrings in.
The Medinas, that is, my maternal grandmother’s family, were from the city of Jerez in the state of Zacatecas. There is a very common and traditional earring design from the area, usually made of silver and gold. They’re gorgeous. And when you see someone wearing those beautiful earrings, you immediately know where they’re from.
Growing up, my cousins and I always wore those kinds of earrings. They’re beautiful, and they come in all sizes.
I may have come out of surgery as a newborn with earrings, but of course they weren’t those earrings. However, my first memory of earrings are those earrings.
Funny enough, I also remember losing one, always on the left side. When I was older, my mom told me to take care of them, but I kept losing them. When we went to Zacatecas on vacation, my mom and grandma would get me another pair. Eventually, I’d complete other pairs with the earrings I didn’t lose, hahaha.
My mom also liked earrings, rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Whenever possible, she had her gold jewelry.
When my mom got ready, she’d put on her jewelry after putting on her makeup. She had a jewelry box that I liked to organize. And when I was older, I discovered those lost and found earrings of mine in that box. But by then, I didn’t like wearing them anymore.
On one of those occasions when I was organizing her jewelry box, my dad was there too. It turns out I noticed some tiny numbers on the gold jewelry. Those numbers also had a K. They were 24K, 18K, and others I can’t remember.
When I asked what those numbers were, they told me it indicated the gold’s purity level.
“Purity?”
I asked my dad, confused.
“Yes, the number tells you how much gold the jewelry has. The higher the number, the less alloy it has. And the lower the number, the more alloy it has.”
Then, after noticing the difference in numbers, we noticed another difference.
Those jewels with a higher number had a brighter shade. Conversely, those with a lower number had a duller shade.
That discovery turned into a conversation from beginning to end about gold and how jewelry was made. My dad explained to me that the alloy level contributed to the strength of the jewelry, since gold isn’t very hard, and therefore the alloy helps maintain the jewelry’s shape, preventing it from deforming.
Thanks to my dad’s patience, my childhood curiosity was proportionally satisfied.
I remember that when it came to earrings, my mom and aunts had such a keen eye that just by looking at the gold shade of the earrings, they knew how many karats they had.
Then I had another question for my dad:
“How is gold purified?”
“In fire, because it doesn’t naturally emerge pure. Different metals have different melting points, and since gold is softer, it melts first. This is how they can separate it from other elements. Therefore, it is fire that allows them to be separated.
In the Gospel, Jesus says that he has come to bring fire and division, even within the family itself.
Hmmmm, what?
Why does Jesus say that he comes to bring fire and division?
Could it be that some separations can make us shine brighter?
A goldsmith doesn’t create high-quality gold just by wiping it with a cotton ball. Looking at the sherry earrings my cousins and I wore as children, it was evident that work and dedication went into creating these tiny works of art.
If we were like gold, and fire separates us from what obscures us… Could it be that Jesus invites us to shine brighter as we cross certain separations?
If the Spirit leads you, share with Jesus the carpenter the divisions you are experiencing. And perhaps, that will be the fire that leads you to shine brighter.
Marisol
P.S. We can hear about the fire that Jesus also brings in the readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year/Cycle C.
