Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish 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. Very 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. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour. “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say – ‘ Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.”
John 12:20-23
Jesus said, “where I am, there also will my servant be.” Jn 12: 26 Jesus is there… on the earth of our human existence as Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle said during my ordination. He fell into our turmoil, pain, sorrow and death. But he is also there in the joys, and beauty of life. Jesus, like a grain of wheat, fell into the earth and died so that he may bear an abundant harvest. Jesus gave us a beautiful image of himself in this Gospel passage for it captures the very reason why and how he came into our existence. It also captures the very essence of discipleship and of servitude. He came not to glorify himself according to how man defines glory nor he came to be glorified by people but to express his love for everyone. “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Jn 12:23″ To be glorified means to fall into the earth and die and bear abundant fruits. The fruit of death is the salvation of many and the freedom from slavery to sin.
Like a grain of wheat we must fall into the earth. We must be planted into the ground so that we can grow roots, stalks, leaves and blossom to bear fruit. It may sound easy but it’s more complicated than that. In order for the seed to germinate properly and grow, it must be planted deep enough but not too deep, shallow enough but not too shallow. On the one hand, a seed that is planted too deep may germinate but will soon die because it is deprived of the sun that allows the leaves to produce photosynthesis. On the other hand, a seed that is planted too shallow will also germinate but it will not last because it is not rooted firmly on the ground.
A seed that is planted too deep is like a person who is very much indulged in life. Everything he does is for this life. He is a person who is overwhelmed by tangible realities. He could be the most productive person you will ever meet or he could the opposite. He could be the person who holds the gun to protect the lives of many or he could be the enemy. He could be the man on the street shouting for change and social action. He could be a teacher who teaches that everything can be answered concretely by reason. He could be a doctor who tries to save the life of a dying man. Or he could be the family of that dying man who couldn’t let go and accept death as part of our reality. He holds on to the earth and puts his trust too much on the earth that he forgets that there is God who after all created everything that is good. He is trapped in the pragmatic reality and is in denial of eternal reality. Yes… Jesus is on this earth walking with us, but do we even notice him?
A seed that is planted too shallow is like a person who has a very little sense of reality if not none at all. He floats in ecstasy and swims in eternity. He is like a man who goes to church every morning and prays and attends mass daily. He speaks of how God works in his life. He claims to hear even the voice of the saints, of angels, and of God. He tells stories of how the Blessed Mother appeared to him. He carries with him a bundle of prayer booklets and holy cards and a rosary that was given by the pope. He appears to be someone who has been in the holy of holies and his movements are extraordinarily gentle. However, pious he may be, he lacks the charity that comes with sanctity. He will not lift a finger to help the poor. He reacts impatiently to someone who accidentally prayed the Lord’s Prayer wrongly. He praises God in Latin but would not greet his neighbor in the language they both speak. He meets Jesus in the church but would not see Him in people. He holds on to the hands of God and puts his trust only God but he forgets than even God has placed His trust in humanity. He is trapped in eternal reality and he ignores us, God’s created physical reality. Yes… Jesus is also in eternity but we forget that we are not there yet.
Jesus wants us to live on this earth because he is here but with a realization that we are not for this earth. We must be planted firmly in the reality of life but loose enough so that we can let go of it when it is time. Let us fall into the earth deep enough to learn our place in this world but shallow enough to learn our place in heaven. Our life on earth is an anticipation of a greater reality, an anticipation that we nonetheless, need to embrace.
Like a seed we must fall into the earth and die so that others might live through us. Let us not ask God to take away the harsh realities of life that comes from discipleship but let us ask God to give us the strength to face danger. Let us glorify ourselves by serving God in other people and in His creation. Let us meet Jesus, on this earth, on the face of poverty, homelessness, tragedy, suffering and trials. Let us also meet Him in the face of a child’s gentle smile, in people’s helping hands, in the art, in the setting of the sun and in the restful night.
Where is Jesus? He is there on the earth… waiting.
