Once upon a time, a diamond was born. He was nothing striking, but rather rough, like the rest of his family. He lived in the darkness and was very content to do just that. As a young diamond he heard tales of how some of his ancestors had left the darkness to a place of light, but that didn't concern him. One day he began to hear noise in the distance, and it came progressively closer. It was the sound of machinery with men talking and often yelling over the roar of the equipment. As time progressed, an opening was made in the cave where he lived. A man walked by, stooped and obviously in pain. The diamond learned that this man had been hurt on the job and was very concerned about his family, which depended upon his income. As he heard about the man the diamond shed a tear.

And then the diamond felt himself being dislodged from his place of birth. He wound up on a truck. He tried to hide from the light that was very intense. Sometimes he would crawl out from under other rocks to take a peek at the light, but it was just too bright; he preferred the darkness where he was born. Over the next few days he was carried here and there; he never knew exactly where he was or where he was going. Then one day, a beautiful woman picked him up. She smiled at him; he had never seen such a beautiful women. "You are afraid of the light, aren't you?" she asked. "Yes," said the diamond, "I am a child of darkness." She again smiled and said she understood, but that he had really been created to seek the light, although he did not know it. She told him he was to receive a bath in the light. The diamond was initially afraid, but as the light began to pour over him he felt a great sense of relief. The women told him, "Not only can you enjoy the light, but you have the ability to reflect the light to many others." So the woman handed him over to the gem cutter. Although it was a bit painful, he could see that with every small edge that was removed he was able to radiate more and more light. He was given a final polish and then mounted on a ring and sent to an expensive jewelry shop.

A few days later, a woman came into the shop and was attracted to the ring. "This is bigger than my friend's," she thought and bought the ring. The diamond shed another tear at the woman's attitude. Then one day the woman walked into another store to buy things to impress her friends. It was a store where everything had been donated to assist the poor. She wondered why people would donate such nice things. Then she saw a sign on a box which said, "For Christ's poor everywhere." Something possessed her, exactly what is uncertain, but she took off the ring and placed it in the donation box. Later that day when the shopkeeper was closing, he was very surprised to find the ring. The man took the diamond ring and placed it on display in a beautiful velvet box. It was not long before a young man, completely in love with his fiancée, came to the store. He saw the ring and knew immediately that this was for his true love. He bought the ring and all the proceeds went to the poor. When the diamond realized the sale would benefit the poor, his tears were dried and he gave thanks for his ability to share the light with others.

The transformation of the diamond from being a child of darkness to a child of the light is not simply a story, it is the reality of every human journey. We are diamonds in the rough, but we need to be transformed to radiate the light of Christ to others. Additionally, as disciples of Christ we are called to do our share to bring the light to others.

Today's Gospel Reading presents Saint Mark's version of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. As we know, Mark provides no infancy narrative, describing instead the ministry of John the Baptist, the Lord's baptism, and his temptation in the desert. We hear that after John's arrest Jesus appeared preaching the good news, but his message was certainly a challenge as well: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news" (Mark 1:15). Jesus thus presents his listeners, including all of us, with a significant prerequisite to discipleship. We are called to look inside and repent of our past offenses. We are called to move from the darkness of sin that sometimes pervades our lives and seek the light. This can only happen through a process of transformation. We need Christ; without his assistance we can have no chance of finding the light.

Jesus realizes the disciples need him, but the kingdom cannot be initiated without some additional assistance. Thus, as we heard from Saint John's Gospel last week, Jesus initiates the call for others to follow his lead and proclaim the gospel message the Lord will first preach. The call first went to Peter and his brother Andrew, then to James and John, the sons of Zebedee. These were simple fishermen. They had no standing in the community; they possessed no great intellect (as far as we know) and certainly held nothing of value, at least as the world would judge. Yet, these were the men Jesus chose to be his inner circle. Why did Jesus choose those whom society would see as misfits or at least less desirable for such an important mission? There are assuredly many possible reasons, but one must be that Jesus wanted to form these men and imbue them with his message. They, like all the Jews, were living in darkness; they needed to find the light. John the Baptist had told them he was not the light; his task was to prepare the world for the light. These simple fishermen were open to God's message; they were still seeking. Unlike some in Israel whose minds were closed, Jesus chose those who sought the light in their lives. These men knew their need for God. Jesus sensed this and chose them to be his apostles.

Jesus called the first disciples, but there had to be a response to that call. When the Lord called Peter and Andrew he invited them to fish for people. The invitation was, therefore, to expand their horizons and to do more. Yet, like Mary's invitation to be the mother of God could not have been fully appreciated at the time of Gabriel's visit, so, too, the ramifications of the first disciples' response could not have been known. Yet, Mark tells us that in all four cases these men immediately left everything and followed in the footsteps of Jesus. Somehow these men sensed in Jesus a call to remove themselves from the darkness of ignorance, error, and sin, and seek the light. However, this was only one part of their call. Not only were they to seek the light, they were also called to radiate that same light to others. We are all inheritors of the efforts of these first disciples.

As we were given the light, so must we transform our lives, believe in the good news, and share the light with others. Christianity requires us to respond to God's call and bring the light to others. First, we must fully adopt the light in our own lives. We need to cast out the manifestations of darkness that at times pervade our lives. We prefer the dark because it is cozy and we do not have to do anything. But Jesus did not come to make us comfortable; he came to rouse us to action. Thus, we need to bathe ourselves in the light, and then, as the diamond learned, begin to radiate that light to others. We can do this in assorted ways, but many, if not all, require some pain and adjustment. God hones and chips away at us, like the rough diamond, so that we will be that more-perfect manifestation of the light, that is God's love to others.

Bringing the light, as we heard in today's Gospel Reading, means a radical call to discipleship. From the day of our baptism, whether we understood the reality or not, we have been called in a formal way to be active followers of Jesus. We cannot sit on our hands and hope that others will do our work. Sharing the light of Christ with others is a full-time occupation, but too often we do not see this as our role. Christianity becomes for many a task we engage in when it is convenient, when extra time arises in our busy day, or we feel a sense of guilt that, "we have become slack" in the exercise of the corporal works of mercy. We must remember, however, what the Pauline author says about discipleship, "I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching" (2 Timothy 4:1c-2).

Jesus, the light, has come, as we have just celebrated in the Christmas season. But while the message has been proclaimed, the Lord's work has not been completed. Thus we, the baptized, the contemporary disciples who answer the call, must as those who first answered Jesus' call, do our share. We must complete the Master's work. We cannot run away from this very fundamental call of discipleship. The most basic call of the Christian life is to be holy people, but this can never be true unless we manifest that holiness through an active discipleship.

How can we be the light? We can bring people from the darkness of ignorance to the light of the knowledge of Christ, by word and deed. We can share who we are and what we have to bring some joy, that is God's light to another. We can make time, time we do not have, to meet the needs of those who are shrouded in the darkness of pain, depression, and maybe even self-indulgence in its many manifestations. We can stand tall against the contemporary forms of idolatry so prevalent in our society — power, wealth, and prestige — and offer instead the gospel message of humility, voluntary poverty, and love. We must remember what Saint Paul (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) learned from his encounter with the risen Lord: "[The Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.' So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong." A series of short stories captures the essence of the Christian call to share the light and thus the message of Christ by what we say and do.

On the battlefield, a chaplain encountered a wounded soldier lying in pain in a foxhole. "Would you like me to read to you from this good book, the Bible?" The man could only respond, "I'm so thirsty." The chaplain dutifully ran off, found a canteen, and poured the soldier a drink of water. The wounded man was squirming on the ground as if he were very uncomfortable. Thus, the chaplain found a bed roll and placed it under the man's head as a pillow. The soldier then began to shiver. Without thinking the chaplain stripped off his own field jacket and laid it over the wounded man. The soldier then looked the chaplain in the eye and said, "Now if there is anything in that book of yours that will allow a man to do more for another than you have already done then please read it, because I would like to hear it."

Three students were discussing various versions of the Bible. One said, "I like the New American Bible. It is easier to read than the older versions." A second student commented, "I like the Jerusalem Bible. It, too, is easier to read and it is poetic in its style. I can use it in my daily prayer." The third student stood and said, "I like my mother's version the best. She translated the Bible into action so I can use it in my daily life."

An international gathering of young people met for a full week to discuss how to better promulgate Christ's message to the world. Those assembled for the conference read many informative essays, heard many fine speakers, watched a few videos, and had ample time to discuss with each other. As the conference was beginning to break up and the those attending were packing to leave, a young woman from East Africa rose and said, "In my country when we hear that a pagan village is ready to accept the gospel we don't send books, videos, a Bible, or even an evangelist. Rather we send the best Christian family we can find because we have found that the example of a good family speaks louder and more clearly than all the books, speeches, and videos in the world."

Yes, the diamond learned an important lesson in its transformation — that radiating the light is not easy, but it is well worth the effort. We, the diamonds in the rough, Jesus' contemporary disciples, are called to radiate the light to others through an active response to the Lord's call. Our task will never be as challenging in many ways as that of the first apostles, but we must never be complacent or think that our participation is not needed. We are the body of Christ. Therefore, let us cast out darkness, seek the light of Christ, and then actively share that light with our brothers and sisters. Let us be transformed into the image of Jesus, who brought the light into the world and will bring those who believe to eternal life as well.