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.
We are seeds that must be broken open in love. To that end, we must not be so attached to life in this world that we refuse to contribute our life to the soil of new and hopeful growth. We must not be so attached to the present form of life that we refuse to allow the shell of our seed to be broken open in order that our life might be shared. Nevertheless, this is not a suicide mission. The seed falls in hope, and is planted in hope. It dies, in a sense, but with the hope of a resurrection. It sees beyond its present state as a grain to the fruit it hopes to obtain.
Whoever loves his life loses it
To love life in this sense is to forget that we are seed, to lose sight of our true purpose. Thus we try to reinforce our shell, and to fortify our connection to the plant of life in this world. But all such efforts only go so far. To a certain extent life in this world can nourish the seed so that it falls full of life and ready to share it. But pushed beyond that limit it puts the purpose of the seed at risk. Our mission is to bear fruit. But our egos fear the necessary surrender that makes this mission possible. We need Christian hope to see beyond our fearful ego to the hope of the resurrection. Then we will be like Jesus himself, "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame" (see Hebrews 12:2).
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
We are called to hate, not the goodness of our God given life, but the way that our fallen world makes us tend toward sin and selfishness, and that it makes us want to choose self-preservation, self-protection, and perpetual pleasure and entertainment here and now over the higher call of the Gospel.
He loveth his life in this world, who indulges its inordinate desires; he hateth it, who resists them. It is not, who doth not yield to, but, who hateth. For as we cannot bear to hear the voice or see the face of them whom we hate; so when the soul invites us to things contrary to God, we should turn her away from them with all our might.- Saint John Chrysostom.
There are many impulses that are worth hating because they cause us to sow sparingly. Fear, such as prevented the man with one talent from even putting it in the bank is one such impulse (see Matthew 25:14-30). But there is a certain kind of self-pity that can be problematic as well, a woe-is-me attitude that only gives with an attitude of sadness. It may stem from a false narrative about ourselves that must be rejected. Perhaps we see ourselves only as victims, even victims of the harsh command of God. But in any case, it is an impulse that fails to recognize that blessings we have been given and the mercy we have received. It does not avail itself of the joy that is ours as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, joy that can in turn make us "a cheerful giver". We need not fear our insufficiency. Nor can we allow ourselves to think of ourselves as victims when God stands ready to do so much for us and through us.
Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you,
so that in all things, always having all you need,
you may have an abundance for every good work.
Every grace. All things. Always. Abundance. Every good work. How can this promise not inspire us and bring a smile to our faces as we begin to seek out those good works already prepared in advance for us by God (see Ephesians 2:10)?
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