A reading of the holy Gospel according to JN 12:24-26
Jesus said to his disciples:“Amen, amen, I say to you,unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,it remains just a grain of wheat;but if it dies, it produces much fruit.Whoever loves his life loses it,and whoever hates his life in this worldwill preserve it for eternal life.Whoever serves me must follow me,and where I am, there also will my servant be.The Father will honor whoever serves me.”
REFLECTION
"If it dies, it produces much fruit"
The Farmer's Almanac states that a seed, which contains the fullest potential of life, ceases to be a seed so that the plant inside may live. Essentially, its original form has died, and the seed becomes something new.
The seed is the embryonic stage of the plant life cycle. The embryo is a tiny plant that has a root, a stem, and one or more leaves. Eventually it grows into a full plant or tree and if healthy will become very fruitful in what it is meant to be.
Even the plant world confirms the beginning of life.
St Lawrence was a deacon of the Church during the Christian persecution by Valerius in 258AD. When ordered to produce the riches of the Church, he presented the orphans and widows and stated they were the treasures of the Church. Well, shortly after this response, he was punished by being burned to death.
But did he die because he mocked the Emperor or was he defending and willing to die for Jesus and His Church?
Of course, he chose to serve God and to defend Him in all and every way. He imitated Christ in his death. For he suffered as Christ, being an example of what it is like to follow in his footsteps.
The seed of his life died physically that day, but the fruits of his actions and death netted him to be venerated as a saint and an example of dying for the Lord.
I don't look forward to a horrific death, tho, I really would love to die for Christ. But if we defend the unborn, if we stop the conversation when people are gossiping, not cheat, not steal or give in to sin, are we not dying to our desires or human nature and choosing God? People will notice and perhaps a seed has been planted for someone to notice.
When I die to self, a new me is created and a better and closer union with God is happening.
