«Why did you two not come?» asks Andrew. Peter, sulkily, does not say a word.
«And why did you not come with me and James?» John replies to Andrew.
«I went fishing. I have no time to waste. You disappeared with that man…»
«I beckoned you to come.
«I beckoned you to come.
48.3
It is Him. You should hear His words! We stayed with Him all day until late at night. We have now come to say to you: “Come”.»
«Is it really Him? Are you sure? We only saw Him then, when the Baptist pointed Him out to us.»
«It is Him. He did not deny it.»
«Anyone can say what suits him to impose himself on idiots. It is not the first time…» mumbles Peter, dissatisfied.
«Oh, Simon! Don’t say that! He is the Messiah! He knows everything! He hears you!» John is grieved and dismayed at Simon Peter’s words.
«Sure! The Messiah! And He showed Himself to you, James and Andrew! Three poor ignorant fishermen! The Messiah will need much more than that! And He hears me! Eh! My poor boy. The first sunshine of spring has damaged your brains! Come on, come and do some work. That’s much better. And forget such fairy tales!»
«I’m telling you. He is the Messiah! John said holy things, but He speaks of God. He who is not Christ cannot speak such words.»
48.4
«Simon, I am not a boy. I am old enough and I am composed and thoughtful. You know that. I did not speak much, but I listened a lot during the hours we spent with the Lamb of God and I can tell you that really He can but be the Messiah! Why don’t you believe? Why do you not want to believe? You may not believe, because you have not heard Him. But I believe Him. We are poor and ignorant? Well, He says that He has come to announce the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, of the Kingdom of peace, to the poor, humble and little ones before the great ones. He said: “The great ones already have their delights. They are not enviable delights when compared with the ones I have come to bring you. The great ones are already capable of understanding by means of their culture. But I have come to the ‘little’ ones of Israel and of the world, to those who weep and hope, to those who seek Light and are hungry for the real Manna, to whom learned men do not give light and food, but only burdens, darkness, chains, contempt. And I call the ‘little ones’. I have come to turn the world upside down. Because I will lower what is now held high, and I will raise what is now held in contempt. Let those who want truth and peace, who want eternal life, come to Me. Those who love Light, let them come to Me. I am the Light of the world”. Did He not say that, John?» James has spoken in a calm, gentle voice.
«Yes, and He said: “The world will not love Me. The great world will not love Me, because it is corrupted by vices and idolatry. Indeed, the world will not want Me: because as it is the offspring of Darkness, it does not love the Light. But the earth is not made only of the great world. There are on it also those who, mixed with the world, are not of the world. There are people who are of the world because they have been imprisoned in it, like fish in a net”. He said exactly that, because we were speaking on the shore of the lake and He was pointing to some nets which were being dragged to the shore with fish in them. In fact, He said: “See. None of those fish wanted to be caught in the net. Also men, intentionally, would not like to fall prey to Mammon. Not even the most wicked who, blinded by pride, do not believe they have no right to do what they do. Their real sin is pride. All the other sins grow from it. Those who are not completely wicked, would like even less to fall prey to Mammon. But they fall because of their frivolity and because of a weight that drags them to the bottom, and which is Adam’s sin. I have come to remove that sin, and while awaiting the hour of Redemption, to give those who believe in Me such a strength that will enable them to free themselves from the snares that trap them and will make them free to follow Me, the Light of the world”.»
48.5
«Well then, if He said that, we must go to Him at once.» Peter, with his impulsiveness, which is so genuine and I like so much, has decided at once, and is already acting accordingly, hastening to unload the boat which has already reached the shore: the fishermen have almost beached it, unloading nets, ropes and sails.
«And you, silly Andrew, why did you not go with them?!…»
«But… Simon! You reproached me because I did not persuade them to come with me… You have been grumbling all night, and now you reproach me because I did not go?!»
«You are right… But I did not see Him… you did… and you must have seen that He is not like us… He must have something compelling!…»
«Oh! Yes.» John says. «His face! His eyes! What beautiful eyes, aren’t they, James?! And His voice!… Oh! What a voice! When He speaks, you seem to be dreaming of Heaven.»
«Quick, quick. Let’s go and see Him. And you, (addressing the other fishermen) take everything to Zebedee and tell him to do as he thinks best. We will be back this evening in time to go fishing.»
48.6
They all get dressed and set out. But Peter, after a few yards stops and gets hold of John’s arm and asks him. «Did you say that He knows everything, and hears everything?…»
«Yes, I did. Just think that when we saw the moon high up in the sky, I said: “I wonder what Simon will be doing now”, and He said: “He is casting his net and he cannot set his mind at rest because he has to do it all by himself, since you did not go out with the twin boat in such a good evening for fishing… he does not know that before long he will be fishing with different nets and catching different fish”.»
«Holy Mercy! It’s true! Well, He will also have heard… also that I called Him little less than a liar… I can’t go to Him!»
«Oh! He is so good. He certainly knows what you thought. He already knew. Because when we left Him saying that we were coming to you, He said: “Go. But don’t let the first words of contempt discourage you. He who wants to come with Me must be able to make headway against the sneering words of the world and the prohibitions of relatives. Because I am above blood and society, and I triumph over them. And he who is with Me will also triumph forever”. And He also said: “Don’t be afraid to speak. The man who hears will come, because he is a man of goodwill”.»
«Is that what He said? Well, I’ll come.»