UNLESS A GRAIN OF WHEAT FALLS AND DIES...

John 12:20-33

A man got lost in the desert. Walking and walking, he was so desperate to quench his thirst with a drink of water, then, he found a hut and entered to look for water. There was no water except an old and rusty water pump. He run to it and pumped it. No water came out. He bent on the floor weak and discouraged. He found a container beside him full of water. He took it and brushed the dust off the outside. On this container it written: “You have to pour the water from this jug to make the pump work. Please, be sure to refill the jug with water for the next use,” that was the message on the jug.

Thoughts were racing in his mind: “Should I pour all the water? What if the pump won’t work after? Or should I just drink the water and go? But what about the next user as the jug says? If I pour all the water, I might either lose everything or get fresh and cold water from the pump. He thought for a while and then poured all the water and started pumping. At first, no water came out. “Squeak, squeak, squeak,” sounded the pump until finally water flattered forth. He had enough water for himself and for the next user. He took the jug, refilled it and added the following words: “Believe me, it really works. You have to give everything away before you can have a refill of good water.” That is what he added.

This story can help us to get and understand the message of Jesus from our Gospel passage. Today’s Gospel for this Fifth Sunday of Lent gives us a beautiful imagery as Jesus speaks to us about what it means to be his disciple, what it means to live out our Christian vocation. Jesus uses the image of a grain of wheat to convey what discipleship is all about. He says: unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

This image of the grain of wheat which must die in order to produce fruit is about our own lives as Christians and disciple of Christ. Jesus warns us to be fully aware of what we are actually following or doing as Christians, and to do it freely in a way that nobody even our own life could hinder us. So, I think, when Jesus says: unless the wheat falls and dies; or whoever hates his or her life will preserve it, He wants to show us how absolute and how radical are the demands of discipleship. Jesus implies that to be his disciple is to relativize everything including your own life.  Jesus is very clear and honest and he spares no words to tell us that it would cost us dearly to follow after him. As it was the case in our story about the man lost in the desert, to get fresh water, or to gain all, one must be willing to give all.

It is a call to die to ourselves. We have to be forgetful of ourselves. We have to let go. If we don’t surrender to Jesus, then we will not be fruitful disciples. The grain of wheat falling to the ground and dying gives up everything that it is in order that new life and fruitfulness may come forth. If we are to be disciples, then we must open and empty ourselves of all that is selfish, self-centered, all that we cling to. The image of the grain of wheat is an image of total surrender and total commitment.

As we approach the end of Lent on this Fifth Sunday of Lent, it is not too late for us to again look at ourselves and see how far we have gone. As this guy wrote on the jug, believe me it works. You have to give everything away before you can have a refill of good water. May this Lenten period continue to be for us an occasion for great decisions in our Christian life.