Wednesday 10 August 2022
St Lawrence
2 Corinthians 9:6-10. Happy the merciful who give to those in need – Psalm 111(112):1-2, 5-9. John 12:24-26.
If a grain of what falls on the ground and dies, it yields a rich harvest
The way death allows life to continue is evident throughout the whole natural world. In the human story, the death of our bodies is accepted (though often reluctantly) as part of life. Looking in the mirror these days I see white hairs and wrinkled skin, and I wonder about the products and procedures that are supposed to keep ageing at bay. Jesus’ words in John’s Gospel that ‘those who love their life lose it’ could be applied to our society’s tendency to get lost in pursuing youth, wealth and status at all costs. To ‘hate’ my life in the world invites me adjust my perspective, to recognise my own and every other person’s life as gift and so to gift myself more fully to loving service as Jesus did. A grain of wheat or any seed, with all its potential, must ‘die’ as a seed if it is to grow to become a fruit-bearing plant. What am I willing and able to ‘let die’ in order to live in a new, fruitful way?
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