Jesus is the seed of new life

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Today’s gospel reading (John 12:24-26) is a parable about the seed. Jesus tells us, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” For a plant to prosper, it must die. In the process of dieing, it produces seeds for new life. If these seeds fall to earth, they will produce many new plants. This message was a foretelling of the pending fate of Jesus. He would have to die on the cross and be buried in the earth before he could rise from the dead and become our savior. Jesus is the ultimate seed of new life. He knew that our salvation over sin was through his death on the cross. Jesus defeated sin by dying on the cross. We too are called to “die” to ourselves so we can “rise” in the new life of the Holy Spirit. In this paradox, death leads to life. So what does this really mean? It means that we must kill those things which are opposed to the will of God. We must experience self denial and sacrifice before we can enjoy the resurrection in the Kingdom of Heaven. We must be willing to take our sins to the cross. If we die to our sins and those things that cause us to sin, we will become fruitful in God. Jesus blesses those who sacrifice. We must die through mortification before we can yield a most blessed harvest.

A Simple Prayer Most Heavenly Father, I offer up my sins and my sinful ways. Let me die to those ways which kill my soul. Give me new life in your ways.

Yours in Christ Michael Marcon