“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.”
(John 12:24)
We are not halfway through the Christian season of Lent. Lent is a time set aside for us to do some extra reflection on our spiritual life and our relationship to God. But, it is also a time for us to focus even more on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. During Lent we are made more aware of the depth of the love that Jesus has for us that he gave his own life that we might be saved from sin and death. His death continues to give life. In this way, he lived out his own words from the Gospel quoted above.
But, Jesus did not say this simply because he was talking about himself. He said this because this was his expectation for those who were to be his followers. This one verse expresses a thought that shows up a number of times in the Gospel. Namely, followers of Jesus were to live their lives, not for themselves, but for others. And in doing so, much will be accomplished for the benefit of humanity.
This message is as important for us today as it was at the time when Jesus said it. We can see so clearly these days what happens when people choose to live lives for themselves. When a person chooses to focus on self, this easily becomes greed. Nothing is ever enough. All thoughts and actions are determined by how much can I get. And so, the purpose of life becomes a nonstop effort to accumulate. It may be money, possessions, power, fame or any number of things. And when these things are not achieved, or when they are lost, life itself loses its meaning.
This attitude also shows up with the growth of a “me first” attitude in our society. All things are judged by how they affect me without even thinking about how others might be affected. These attitudes have wide-ranging consequences. We have a society in which it has become so easy for people to feel offended or disrespected. One’s own feelings become so important that we run the risk of losing sight of what might be truly offensive or disrespectful.
And then there is the ultimate result of this kind of attitude, people turn to violence. If I feel bad enough that I am not getting what I want, then I am going to commit some sort of violent act as a result. Our attention right now is on the mass shootings that have taken place throughout the country, but that is only one example. The violence in our streets each day can be traced back to this attitude. But, there are also the cases of domestic violence that so many people are living with. And, the violence does not have to be against someone else. Suicides are on the increase and we hardly talk about them. But those are also cases of someone not getting what they want.
So, we need to continue to get this message of Jesus out to our society. Living for others benefits our whole society. Not only that, but we find new life for ourselves when we do so. It’s just like that grain of wheat. If it is so proud that all it wants is for everyone to see what a great grain it is, it will become nothing more than that. But, if it gives itself up to be buried in the ground, look at all the wheat that one grain produces. Many more people will benefit and there will be new life. When we live for ourselves, our life goes no further than that. When we live for others, we leave a legacy that lives on for generations.
