A Grain of Wheat

(Jn. 12.23-26)

(Based on Knox 4.2)

Now that summer has ended, I was lying in bed this week talking to my wife about which seasons we liked best. She said that Autumn was one of her favourites, (especially a crisp Autumn morning, when the air is still, and there are crunchy leaves underfoot). But she also commented upon how she felt this time of year was one of contradictions. (Which is an unusually profound thing for Jan to say late at night!)

And she went on to say how in some ways this season is a celebration of life, (here at our Harvest Service we are giving thanks to God for the fruits of the Earth), ...and yet, in nature, it's also a season of death, (the leaves on the trees are beginning to whither and fall). It's as if, at this time of year, life and death go hand in hand.

(pause)

In our Gospel reading, Jesus also drew out the connection between life and death.

"I tell you the truth", Jesus said, (a phrase which he often used when he wanted his hearers to pay special attention), ..."Unless an ear of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed. ...But if it dies it produces many seeds."

Seeds are amazing things, aren't they?

I was reading how in 1844 an English archaelogist discovered a small sealed vase beside an Egyptian mummy. He wrapped it up and sent it to the British Museum.

Unfortunately after the package was opened, a librarian dropped the vase, and smashed it. As he rummaged among the pieces he found some peas, ...they were dried as hard as stones. The librarian planted them, and within a month they had sprouted and were growing well.

Those peas had been sealed in that vase for 3000 years, ...but once they had been buried in the soil, they sprung into life.

We're all too familiar with the fact that life is followed by death, ...(in fact people sometimes say that the only thing we can be certain of in this life is that one day we will die), ...but Jesus pointed out that with seeds the opposite is true, ...death is followed by life.

Now why on earth did Jesus say this? What was he getting at?

Well if we read the verse before, we see that first of all he was talking about himself.

"The hour has come," he said, "for the Son of Man to be glorified".

In other words, Jesus was saying that he himself was like a seed.

I find it fascinating to observe how Jesus' popularity rose and fell.

He came from no-where, ...a little town in the back of beyond, where we guess he probably worked as a carpenter. And then, as his public ministry began, news about him spread like wildfire. Where ever he went crowds of people would follow him, ...some wanted to hear his teaching, ...others wanted him to heal them, ...important religious leaders from Jerusalem came to question him, ...parents brought there children for him to bless them.

He was so popular that he stayed in deserted places, away from the towns, ...but still thousands came to find him.

But then his popularity began to wane, (I guess because people recognised that following Jesus wasn't easy).

His decline in popularity was especially evident during his last week. Crowds that had shouted his praises on Palm Sunday had deserted him by Good Friday.

On the Thursday one of his own disciples betrayed him, ...Peter 'the rock' denied him, and the other disciples ran away.

Jesus was then left all alone,

...just one man,

...just one seed.

"Unless an ear of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed", Jesus said, "...But if it dies it produces many seeds."

I wonder what would have happened if Pilate had then released Jesus? My hunch is that Jesus ministry may then have fizzled out. Popular opinion had turned against him, ...and his disciples, having run away, may have disbanded all together. ...we'll never know. For of course that's not what happened. Jesus was sentenced to death, ...he died, ...and was buried.

The single seed fell to the ground, ...but on the third day there were shoots of new life, ...which in time grew and produced many seeds.

One man's death led to new life for millions of Christians from that point onwards, right up to today.

During this week, I was watching the last few minutes of that epic film 'Jesus of Nazareth'. One scene which stuck in my mind was set immediately after Jesus' crucifixion. It was a conversation between a prominent Jewish leader, (who had been responsible for Jesus' death), and an important Roman soldier. (It's not a conversation that's recorded in the Bible, ...but it does fit with the Biblical facts).

The Jewish leader was requesting that the Romans place a guard on Jesus' tomb. He was concerned that Jesus' body may be stolen, and his disciples might claim that he had risen from the dead.

The Roman soldier asked, "What kind of man are you? You've just had this man killed. Is that not enough?"

To which the Jewish leader replied, "This man Jesus could be even more dangerous to us now that he's dead".

And of course he was absolutely right. The death of Jesus was an event which changed the world. On the cross Jesus made it possible for us to 'cross back to God'. His death has brought Eternal Life to millions.

As in the parable of the sower, that one seed has produced a great harvest.

This principle, that life follows death, is seen most vividly in the death and life of Jesus, ...but in our Gospel reading, Jesus also went on to apply that same principle to us.

"The man who loves his life will lose, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

That's a difficult verse to understand, isn't it? But it's an important theme that Jesus kept coming back to. That if we live only for ourselves, we'll end up losing that life that we love so much.

...But if we are willing to let go of the things that are important to us, if we let them fall to the ground, and are willing to let them die, ...then they'll produce a great harvest of eternal significance.

A great modern-day example of this was Mother Theresa. In terms of material possessions she gave up everything, (when she died I think she only owned her clothes and a bucket). And it wasn't just material things that she gave up, ...she was willing to give up her reputation, (facing public criticism for acting on her beliefs), ...She gave up her time, (working long hours with very little sleep), ...and all this at a time when most of us would have expected her to take a well-earned retirement.

Wealth, reputation, health, leisure, ...these are things that people desperately hold on to. But as Mother Theresa let them go, allowing them to fall to the ground and die, so they became seeds which produced an enormous harvest.

"Unless an ear of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed. ...But if it dies it produces many seeds."

(pause)

Jesus gave all he had got so that we might be part of the seed-bearing and harvest of his kingdom. Dare we give all that we've got for him?