Unless a Grain of Wheat...

In John Chapter 12 we encounter Jesus at the height of his career. He has just raised Lazarus who had been dead four days in the tomb. When he enters Jerusalem for the last time, crowds gather to sing and wave palm branches in celebration. In today's Gospel we see that even the Greek-speaking Jews who have traveled a great distance to Jerusalem have heard about him and are trying to see him. Everybody is talking about him, and many desire to crown him King of Israel. It is at this moment, when Jesus has so many eating from the palm of his hand, that he announces how he, the Son of Man, will be glorified: "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it will yield a rich harvest. Whoever loves his life loses it, but whoever hates his life will save it for eternal life." To say that this is not what the crowd is expecting Jesus to say would be an understatement. Yet Jesus is showing us the secret to new life in Christ: We must die to ourselves every day, so that Christ will live anew within me.