"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. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also."
John 12:24-26
The Reverend Howard A. Kuhnle was a lovely old fellow. I always enjoyed chatting with him in the retirement home where he lived, and I appreciated his sage advice on matters of parish ministry. He had pastored eleven parishes in his career, written countless articles, and preached his final sermon on the morning of his 100th birthday. He died eleven months later, and, for most of those months, he was mentally more alert than I am now (although this is not saying much!).
Whenever I visit the sick in our local hospital, I always climb the stairs rather than use the elevator. Such had been Howard's advice to me. "Take the stairs," he'd say. "It gets your heart going and you'll live longer." Well, if anyone should know about living long, it was certainly Howard.
Although Howard is dead and buried for some years now, his advice lives on in me. I should also hope that some of his good humor does as well. The grain may be in the ground, but it is still bearing fruit. In the above quote from the Gospel lesson assigned for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Jesus knows that his time on earth is short; however, he also knows that, after he is gone, his Holy Spirit will live on in those whose lives he's touched. They, in turn, will touch others. The grain will keep bearing fruit.
Jesus says that they who love their life will lose it, and they who "hate" their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. This passage has always troubled me a bit since I have no intention of hating my life. (In fact, I rather enjoy it!) The problem is one of translation. The author of the Gospel of John most likely spoke Aramaic. The convention of his day, however, was to write in Greek, so I think our word gets lost in transit between the languages. If we understand the word "love" to mean "to care deeply and passionately for someone or something," then the word our evangelist is looking for would be the opposite of love. In English, we'd say "hate," but this isn't really accurate. "Hate" ususally means "to detest intensely." Perhaps neither Greek nor English has a proper word. We're really looking for something meaning "to view with indifference."
In essence, Jesus is telling us not to sweat the small stuff. When we become passionate about the silly things of this world--such as our ego or our bank account--we lose sight of the fruit which God wants us yield. If we are to love anything about this life, we need to love the eternal things which will live on after our own time in the lives of others whom we influence. We need to love the things of Christ.
What are these? I'd say...
Love--genuine, selfless, unconditional, and non-judgmental.
Sacrifice--Give yourself for the welfare of others. And this includes giving your pride, too. Learn to forgive.
Thanksgiving--Recognize that everything is a gift from God. Be grateful, and you'll learn to live in joy.
Suffering--Pain cannot be escaped in this world, but we can suffer with dignity and honor when we refuse to inflict our pain on others. We each must carry our own cross.
Faith--Know that God is still good even when we fail to see the goodness in our own circumstances. Just think: Right at this moment as you are reading these words, somewhere a baby is being born, a young person is falling in love, a new idea is being developed, a child is learning to read, and someone is looking at a mountain with awe, amazement, and tears.
The world is waiting to see Jesus. Let them see Jesus in YOU.
God bless you, my friends.
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