GOSPEL POWER l AUGUST 10, 2022 - WEDNESDAY

Saint Lawrence, Week in Ordinary Time 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.” 

Jesus has transformed the dark and dreaded image of  death from being the inevitable end of everything into the  way-of-fruitfulness. Hating one’s life in this world means not  letting the world, with its illusory attractions and lures, dictate how  one orients and lives one’s life. Committing oneself to the service of  Jesus means following the way of Jesus. This way necessarily involves  the cross because it clashes head on with the sinful ways of the  world. The death that results from this collision is not a loss of life.  Rather, it is the transformation of that life into power-to-generate other  lives. This self-sacrificing life is the grain of wheat whose potentials  are awakened as it lies buried underneath the earth. In this deathlike state, it puts out roots, sprouts leaves, matures, then yields an  abundant harvest. 

Lord Jesus, may we never shun the death that will make our lives  fruitful. Amen.