When
Jesus Spoke about a seed that is planted in the ground and then dies, He was
referring primarily to His own death. He would pour out His life for others on
the cross. At first, His death would look like a tragedy, but in the end it
would be a triumph. It would look like defeat but would really be a victory.
Jesus’ death would ultimately be the triumph of the resurrection power of God’s
self-giving love over the forces of sin, evil, and death. This is why
Christians say, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” We
often call this proclaiming “the mystery of faith.”
This
mystery is unique to Jesus. We cannot do what He did. But Jesus invites us to
share in a different part of the mystery. Like a seed that is planted in the
ground and dies, we are invited to die in order to live. This is the gospel
secret expressed by Jesus. If we want to become alive to ourselves, to others,
to the world, to God, to Jesus, and to the Spirit, we must let go. We must lay
down our lives for God and for others in order to be raised to life.
Let
me be clear. When Jesus spoke like this, He was not trying to lay heavy burdens
on our lives. He was describing reality. Richard Rohr says that God always
comes to us disguised as reality. Jesus was describing the reality of how life
works. … We can embrace it or fight it. When we embrace it, we are transformed.
-- Trevor Hudson in Invitations
of Jesus
#3630
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