John 12: 20-26
Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ 22Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Very 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. 25Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.​​
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Reflection:
​We planted sunflowers again this year. From one seed came a plant which produced 22 flowers. In a few weeks, this plant will die. The photo below shows some are blooming and some now producing seeds for food for birds and people as well as seeds for new sunflowers.
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Jesus uses an analogy his listeners understand of a single grain of wheat. One head of wheat contains 50 kernels or seeds. When one falls 50 more wheat plants can appear, each containing 50 seeds. If they all germinate a farmer could now potentially have 2,500 plants and so on. As we know, Jesus is not just referring to the physical wheat plants. He is aware He soon will lay down his life for the sins of everyone, Greeks and Jews. God is giving all the opportunity to know earthly life with God and eternally. We are to share this with others by the way we live and in our conversations. Jesus talks of two types of people. I picture the first is one whose hand is gripping their way of living, selfishly holding it tight. The other individual is not “hating”, as we think of that word, but rather his hands are willing to share with God his or her time, talents, possessions in order to bless others.
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Do you sense your hands are in a grip or open position? Or, are they somewhere in between the two?
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Can you see God at work in spaces around you where you where He may invite you to serve others? What might those seeds of service produce?
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As summer ends you may be a bit sad to see flowers droop,but let that be a reminder to reflect on where God is asking you to lay down some seeds.