Monday 10 August 2020
Today is Monday 10 August in the 19th week of Ordinary Time.
It is the Spirit of love who gives life. God is the source of all life, the one in whom we live and move and have our being. As I enter into prayer today, I ask to be drawn towards the fullness of life that only God can bring.
Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John.
John 12:24-26
"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. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour."
August in many countries is the time of fruitfulness, when life seems to burst out of the earth in all God’s wasteful extravagance. How this happens is a mystery. Nothing much seems to be going on, hidden in the dark of the earth, and then suddenly we’re surrounded by a harvest too great to gather.
But Jesus’ image of the wheat grain isn’t entirely encouraging. His theme is of death and loss, and yet he promises rich fruitfulness. Imagine that you are holding a grain of wheat in your hand. Notice its colour, its lightness and it’s fragility. It could so easily be blown away in the wind or destroyed. Yet, within this minute seed is the potential for abundant life. ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, ’How do you feel as you hear these words?
Imagine now, that you let the grain fall into the soil. It’s no longer in your hand, its life as a seed in its present form is over. “But if it dies”, Jesus tells us, “It bears much fruit.” As you listen to the reading again, notice what Jesus says about life…
Can you love God and the anticipation of eternal life, more than life in this world? Maybe these thoughts seem natural to you or perhaps you feel challenged or mystified? Talk to God about this now.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.