Feast of Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr
I enjoy being out in nature, and during the summer in particular, I enjoy working in my garden. Jesus often uses nature to help his disciples understand difficult concepts about life and faith. In today’s reading, Jesus uses the concept of planting seeds and growing to help us understand the concept of death and dying. Death and dying are such difficult topics for us to grasp because there is so much fear related to these ideas. Jesus helps us to recognize that dying is a necessary process that allows all things to be transformed into new creations. Just like the seeds, we must be able to allow ourselves to die to who we are and what we want if we want to become the person God calls us to be. It is only with His grace that we can have the faith to trust and let go. By surrendering ourselves to God and His will, we allow Him to change us so we can grow and bear much fruit for the world.
In the gospel reading, Jesus tells his disciples that the grain of wheat must die to produce much fruit. The grain can no longer remain a single seed, and in fact changes completely and becomes unrecognizable as it becomes the plant with roots, leaves, flowers and fruit. Jesus then goes on to say that if someone hates his life (loses his life) he will actually gain his life (and eternal life.) If I look at the changes that the seed has made to produce fruit, Jesus is asking his disciples (and us) to completely surrender to following Him, so just like the seed we can be transformed. The implication is that when we do this, we will no longer be recognizable as our “old selves”, but we will be something completely new and different- a new creation. Jesus not only calls us to this dying to self, but He shows us the way through both the way He lived His life and His death on the cross. In all that He did, Jesus died to His will to do the Father’s will. Just like the grain, Jesus dies and in His resurrection He gives us a glimpse of what we are promised. Jesus promises us that when we follow Him, and serve Him (as He served the Father) then just as the Father honored Jesus, so too will the Father honor us as we follow Jesus by the way we live.
This dying is not easy. We are so conditioned to want to preserve who we are, to make sure we take care of ourselves first, and to do whatever we can to protect the status quo. I can see myself as that tiny grain screaming and kicking as someone prepares to drop me in the ground to grow. I do not want to change, I am afraid what might happen, and I am sad that who I think I am will no longer be after I begin this “dying process.” Fortunately, God provides the grace we need. “God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.”(2 Cor 9: 8) I must choose to die to my will, my wants, and my desires, but God gives me all that I need to grow like the seed into a plant that bears much fruit.
So how can we be the grain that dies and bears great fruit? I think that we need to begin by recognizing our nothingness in God’s presence. When we see how small and insignificant we are, then we will feel less able to trust ourselves, and more able to look to God for His guidance and protection. It is only when we can believe in God and His great love that will we be able to surrender to Him. Jean-Pierre de Caussade ( a French Jesuit) explains this process very well. “The truly faithful soul accepts all things as a manifestation of God’s grace, ignores itself and thinks only of what God is doing.“ de Caussade talks about living this way every moment. “If we have abandoned ourselves to God, there is only one rule for us: the duty of the present moment.” This moment by moment recognition of God’s greatness and surrendering to His will is something that requires much practice and a large amount of grace. I believe that this consciousness of God in our life flows from a foundation of daily prayer(resting in God’s presence), scripture ( becoming familiar with God’s word), and an active awareness to find God and His presence in the world around us. Again, I am convinced that this is not something that we can begin to attempt without the grace He promises to share with us.
If we pray for God to transform us every moment so we can do His will, then I believe that the person we become will be completely different. Just like the seed is transformed into the fruit-giving plant, we become transformed into new creations as we share the love, mercy, and compassion of God . Yes, this requires a death to who we think we are, but in fact we are transformed into who we truly are- God’s beloved children.
"Heavenly Father, Jesus your Son shows us how to die to ourselves, so we can be transformed into new creations. With the grace of your Spirit, help us to moment by moment die so we can be alive in you. May our lives lived in surrender and faith share your love with the world and bring You Glory. We pray this through Christ, our LORD. Amen."
Marylynn Herchline