In today's Gospel (Mt 4: 18-22) we see Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John, get called by Jesus while they are fishing or mending their fishing nets. All four of them "immediately" or "at once" drop what they are doing and follow Him. Does that seem remarkable to you? It does to me. Can you imagine you're out cutting the grass, or you are at your desk writing a legal brief, or you're meeting with a customer, and someone walks by you-- someone you don't know and about whom you may have heard nothing-- and tells you to follow him. Is there any chance in the world that you would do that? Would you ever drop everything, leaving your life behind, because someone you've never seen before tells you to do so? It would take a pretty-remarkable experience to produce that result, but that's what happens. And for starters, let's be clear: Jesus doesn't brainwash or hypnotize or overpower these four men. He never does that kind of thing. Jesus always upholds our free will, and never forces Himself on anyone. So whatever the process was whereby these 4 20-something year old men decided to leave their old world behind, give up everything and follow Jesus, it was a process that involved a freely-willed decision. So what drove this immediate decision to follow Jesus? It was a human decision so I'm guessing that the motives of the men weren't singular. Almost always our motives are mixed, some good motives combined with some poor ones. What do we suppose the motives were in this case? One might have been the desire for power. J.R.R. Tolkein in "The Lord of The Rings" says that the desire for power is one that motivates all of us. In the books it is that desire which enables the Dark Lord to ensnare the Ring Wraiths, the former human kings. We get a hint of that in what Jesus says. He says that He will make Simon Peter and Andres "fishers of men." There's a whiff of power there, right? The analogy to catching fish gives the sense of a certain ability to control and dominate and use others. Certainly that isn't what Jesus intended, but an imperfect human could easily have heard that. But that hint of power couldn't possibly have been sufficient to provoke the immediate and powerful response which arose in Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. So what else drives us? Greed, lust, anger, envy-- those are all possibilities, but it is hard to see them in play in the exchange that takes place. I wonder if the answer isn't love. Perhaps the look Jesus gave the four men was a look of such deep and profound love that they wanted more. Maybe it was a look that displayed a love which they knew instinctively they would not experience anywhere else. We're reminded that Jesus can sometimes convey love with a look. That's what He did with the rich young man who could not give up all his possessions. Jesus looked at him and loved him. Maybe just for the briefest instance the four men got a glimpse of God's love for His creation, and that was enough. We might ponder that possibility. It tells us a lot about what we might hope to experience in heaven, when God's love will shine on us not in a brief glance, but with a direct intensity. If experiencing a glance enables someone to drop everything and follow Jesus, imagine what a full-on gaze will do.