GOSPEL POWER l AUGUST 10, 2021

Saint Lawrence,  Deacon and Martyr

Gospel: Jn 12:24-26 

Jesus said to his disciples,24“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. 25Those who love their life lose it, and  those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  26Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my  servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.” 

T he pattern of kenosis (self-emptying) is already written  in nature, as Jesus shows through the grain of wheat. All  over nature, new and abundant life emerges out of some selfsacrifice. But this kenotic pattern attains its highest expression in us,  human beings, who are the only ones capable of assuming it freely  and consciously, in order to serve God’s purposes. Life is evolving  toward final fulfillment. To actively take part in it, we must cease  holding on to our private little lives, with our petty ego-concerns and  agendas, and begin thinking of the bigger trans-earthly life where we  are all interconnected in a complex web of relationships. It is at the  service of this trans-earthly life that Jesus now welcomes the arrival of  his hour — his death by crucifixion — which paradoxically coincides  with his moment of glory and the fulfillment of his earthly mission.  By wholeheartedly embracing the kenotic pattern, Jesus shows us that  diminishment, loss, and annihilation, which we so fear and avoid, are  doorways to full life in God.

 Lord Jesus, we embrace the kenotic pattern, trusting in your promise that where you are, we, your servants, will also be. Amen.