SOWING A GENUINE WHEAT

FEAST OF ST. LAURENCE, DEACON, MARTYR

2 Cor 9:6-10; Ps 112:1-2,5-9; Jn 12:24-26

Thin sowing means thin reaping

Referring back to our Lord’s statement in yesterday’s Gospel passage that some people listening to him would not taste death before seeing the Son of Man coming with his kingdom, we mentioned that those who did not taste death before entering the kingdom of God ushered in by the salvific death of the Saviour were those who discovered the real-life different from the illusion of this temporal life. They believed in the Son of Man and took his word seriously. Through listening attentively to him, they discovered eternal life. But it is not enough to hear the heavenly words from the Son of Man; we must also act on the word to possess the contents, or the possibilities made available by the presence of the Son of Man. If it were enough to listen to his word, Jesus would not have said some standing with him, for all were listening to him. Some who listened to his proclamation did not understand what they received and continued their ordinary life that ended in death. Some listened and understood but did not commit to acquiring what he promised; they died equally. But those who listened, understood, and devoted their lives to gaining the great treasure are the ones who exchange the temporary life that is an illusion for the real life that lasts forever.

The commitment of the last set of people is what the Lord described in the gospel of today. The analogy he used to illustrate the commitment required from us is that of the sowing of wheat grain in the soil. Our baptismal profession to live a new life in Jesus Christ is a decision to reject the life of this world. Our commitment to the heavenly life starts from a good understanding of the value of the natural life we have received as a gift from God. It is precious because there is nothing compared to it in the created order, for we need life before any other gift we have or can receive. Our Lord teaches us to use our temporal life to thread eternal life that only he can give us. This teaching is not difficult if we understand that he is asking us to give our temporary life to God to receive everlasting life. The difficulty comes from our ignorance of God and his providential care for us. The darkness of ignorance makes the exchange resemble death, but it is a transition. “I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.” We must trade our natural life for something. The big question is: for what?

The transition from temporary to eternal life is difficult because of our attachments. The difficulty reduces when we know and fall in love with God. The life of St. Laurence, the deacon, illustrates this teaching. He was one of the seven deacons of the Church of Rome executed on the 10th of August in 258 AD, four days after Pope Sixtus II and his companions, by emperor Valerian. We mention both saints together in the Canon of the Mass. St. Laurence was burnt on a red-hot gridiron, roasted as a chicken. A story told of him narrates how he presented the poor and the needy to the persecutors when they asked for the treasures of the Church. Only his love for the Lord, his Church, and the poor could have enabled him to lay down his temporal life so freely to attain the communion of heaven. “Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too.” Our love for Jesus Christ will not grow overnight; deep within us, we must plant, tend, and nurture it to grow. We do this in our everyday activities, which we must do for the love of him. The daily offerings of love and keeping Jesus’ company in prayer will gradually grow the seed of heavenly life into a big tree that will bear plentiful fruits for eternal life. Let us ask for grace to start with the little things of everyday life.

Let us pray: O God, giver of that ardour of love for you by which Saint Laurence was outstandingly faithful in service and glorious in martyrdom, grant that we may love what he loved and put into practice what he taught, to merit the glory he enjoys in heaven.