A Grain of Wheat

There were some Greeks in town who had come up to worship at the Feast. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee: “Sir, we want to see Jesus. Can you help us?” Philip went and told Andrew. Andrew and Philip together told Jesus. Jesus answered, “Time’s up. The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.   John 12: 20-25

Within these last days of his life, we are surrounding by images of life and death in Jesus' words and actions.  This time it is when Jesus is confronted by these Greek-speaking visitors.  The passage is much longer than these few verses, but as I read these tonight I got to thinking about this analogy of the grain of wheat.  Now, I am not wise about any kind of farming or gardening, but this analogy is one I can understand.  As long as a grain of wheat is a kernel in the head of a stalk of wheat, it remains exactly that.  Only when it separates and falls to the ground, getting buried can it then produce more grain. According to all things internet (which MUST be true, right?) one grain of wheat can produce eight or more heads of grain, with over 40 seeds per head.  

Jesus doesn't just answer with a simple yes or no about these visitors, he uses this as an opportunity to teach Andrew and Philip.  I wonder how they processed this teaching.  You can't get very far these days without being confronted with images of life and death, and hopefully resurrection too.  We see people in masks when we have to venture out to the store, we see images everyday on television that remind us of our mortality, and when we get outside and look around we see the promise of resurrection as the little green plants work to spring up from the dirt.  All around us are the images of Holy Week and Easter.  

Jesus challenged them, and continues to challenge us to embrace new life that comes in relationship with our Savior.  It is not about simply laying down the old and taking on the new, it is about being planted in the dirt, and allowing the presence and love of God to transform us into the kind of love that multiplies over, and over, and over.  It often takes darkness, difficulty, and struggle for us to find the strength to bear fruit in the world.  Perhaps that is what is happening these days, as we journey closer to the cross in this rather eery existence and separation.  

I have spoken to many people who are finding this week exceptionally difficult.  It may be because we'd hoped to be through this by now, it may be the rainy weather, it may just be the emotional weariness that comes with all of the anxiety and loss of control in our daily lives.  I wonder tonight if we can think of ourselves as being planted, rooted in the knowledge of resurrection, but allowing ourselves to just get covered in the dirt, without jumping ahead to the flowering.  Daily reaching up a little bit more, as we rediscover who we are, and what it means to be journeying with Jesus this Holy Week.  Perhaps that can be our prayer tonight, to simply allow ourselves to be present where we are, trusting that God is tending to our needs, and preparing us to bear fruit.  

May it be so.

Pastor Devon