In This Sunday’s gospel Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (Jn 12:24-25).
Is this not something contrary to conventional human wisdom? Aren’t we trained to preserve life at all cost, and to love and cherish it at all times? Of course, Jesus did not mean that we should be careless with our life here on earth and put thus put it at risk. Neither did he mean that we should treat human life cheaply and view death as a desirable goal. What then might Jesus have meant in saying these words?
Jesus must have been referring to the wrongness of loving our sinful earthly pleasures and valuing the things of this world more than the salvation of our souls. He must have pointed out to the foolishness of exchanging the inexplicable joys of heaven with the passing temptations of this earthly abode.
This therefore means saying no to the devil and yes to God – no to worldly attractions that seem to make us happy at the moment, only to end in separation from God. It is denying the flesh with its sinful passions and feeding the spirit in matters that lead to the fullness of life. St. Paul, in the fifth chapter of his letter to the Galatians, wrote, “Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh, for these are opposed to each other to prevent you from doing what you want (verse 17). Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you as I warned you before; those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (verses 19-23).
This is the irony of dying to live. We die to sin in order to live in holiness. We die in the temporal so as to live in the eternal, and we die to the fleeting deceptions of this world so that we can attain the lasting crown of heaven.
The journey to eternity is not easy. Jesus said, “If anyone of you wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” (Mt 16:24. 26). We will never be shortchanged if we deny ourselves and follow Jesus. Again, St. Paul wrote, “Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9). Also, “God will repay each one according to God’s deeds. To those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury” (Rom 2:6-9).
Let this be our reflection this Sunday. May we choose life that ironically, is attained by dying to ourselves and living for God.