Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?” He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
“You will die in your sins.”
That’s a grim promise.
But Jesus is reading the hearts of the men standing before him. They do not see Jesus as theway to God; as the way to happiness; or as the way to anything good.
Rather, he’s in the way.
***
Jesus is in the way of their religion.
He’s in the way of their egos.
He’s upsetting their plans, flipping tables, and turning their belief system upside down. He dines with tax collectors, forgives sinners, and breaks the Sabbath.
He’s in the way.
***
Like the scribes and Pharisees, do I ever feel challenged by Jesus? Does he stretch me beyond my comfort zone or get in the way of my future and my choices?
***
Everyone must decide for themselves who Jesus is.
He’s either the way to a fuller life…or he’s in the way.
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, 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. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.
“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Once upon a time, in a world before COVID, four pizzerias opened up on the same block in New York City.
Determined to win the lion share of customers, the first pizzeria posted a sign on their door promising, “The best pizza in the city!”
The second upped the ante, promising, “The best pizza in the country!”
The third promised, “The best pizza in the world!”
But the fourth pizzeria simply promised, “The best pizza on the block.”
That pizzeria remains in business today. The other three closed. New Yorkers appreciate the realism.
***
Jesus offers that same type of realism. Sometimes we need to swallow hard and difficult truths in order to follow him, becoming the best version of ourselves.
So, what truths does he tell?
“The greatest among you must be your servant.” … “The one who humbles himself will be exalted.” … “Forgive and you will be forgiven.”
And, in today’s Gospel, “Die in order to live.”
“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,” Jesus says, “it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
What does he mean?
A surface level reading of this passage seems grim – one must die in order to live. Perhaps we can consider his words from a different angle: one must give in order to live.
“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and gives itself away, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it gives itself to the earth, then it bears much fruit.”
This mysterious truth – offering oneself for the good of others – is written into all of creation.
***
For example, the sun does not shine on itself; it gives its light away, warming and brightening the earth.
Trees do not eat their own fruit; they offer it for others. Meanwhile their leaves cast shadows, offering others shade from the noonday heat.
Rivers do not drink their own water; flowers release their fragrance; birds chirp to our delight.
Living for others is a rule of nature.
***
***
The same truth applies to humanity. We were created to love and serve one another. The more we do, the happier we become.
Consider this in the context of parenting.
The more time we spend with our children, the happier we – and they – become.
Children remember the number of their soccer games you attend; the number of books you read to them at night; the affirmation they feel when you say you love them or are proud of them; and even the night you hold them tight after their first teenage breakup.
The more time you spend with your family, the happier you become.
***
The same is true in marriage.
The happiest couples live in a world of “we,” not “me.”
You may remember that famous quote from Romeo and Juliet. One evening while standing on her balcony, a young Juliet gazes down upon Romeo and says, “Romeo, the more I give to you, the more I seem to have.”
The more I give, the more I have.
It’s that same law of nature Jesus is speaking about in today’s Gospel. It’s in denying herself – or, better said, it’s in giving herself to Romeo – that Juliet finds her happiness.
She lives in a world of “we,” not “me.”
The same truth applies to priesthood; to friendship; to faith; and to any other relationship in life. The more we give ourselves away, the happier we become.
***
***
It’s a truth Christ embodied throughout his life.
He’s spent the last three years in ministry healing the sick, serving the poor, and forgiving those caught in sin. Now the time has come for Jesus to offer himself on the cross.
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,” he says. Jesus has nothing left to give but his very own Body and Blood.
“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies – if it gives itself away – then it produces much fruit.”
***
How do I give myself away in my marriage? As a parent? A priest? A sibling? A friend?
How am I a gift to others?
***
Four pizzerias opened within arm’s reach of each other. One promised the best pizza in the city; another the best pizza in the country; another the best pizza in the world.
The fourth simply promised, “The best pizza on the block.” That pizzeria remains open. New Yorkers appreciate the realism.
Similarly, Jesus is upfront about what it takes to follow him.
Like the sun shining brightly, a tree in full bloom, or a grain of wheat driven into the ground, we fulfill our nature when we give ourselves away.
Jesus said to the Jews: “If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John’s. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life.
“I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Has anyone ever said to you, “I’ve read the bible, but cannot believe it?”
***
I’ve often wondered why two people can read the same text but come to very different conclusions. Being ordained a priest, for example, was a life-changing decision. The Word of God transformed my life!
Meanwhile, someone else could try reading the same bible and be put to sleep! Why is that?
***
In the Gospel, Jesus says to the religious authorities, “You do not have the love of God within you.”
Studying the Torah was considered an honorable thing. Some scholars dedicated their entire lives to memorizing passages, interpreting the Law, and to acting it out. They dressed in noticeable clothing, prayed publicly, and held prominent positions in society.
They knew the bible, but Jesus says they didn’t believe. Knowing scripture was like memorizing mathematical equations; the words never seeped from their minds into their hearts.
***
Perhaps other “non-believers” face a similar problem today.
There’s a huge difference between knowing what Jesus says, and putting into practice. For example, we know that Jesus tells us to forgive others their trespasses.
But it’s hard to believe in a loving God if we ourselves have a hardened, unforgiving heart.
It’s hard to believe in the possibility of eternal life, if we do not value human life here on earth.
It’s hard to believe in a God who washes our feet, if we ourselves never get our hands dirty.
***
Why do people read the bible and have varying reactions?
There may be a variety of reasons. But one is certainly what we find in today’s Gospel – having a closed heart.
May we open ourselves to the Lord and his Word, allowing it to seep from our minds into our hearts.
