Daily Lesson for March 31, 2015

Today's daily lesson comes from John chapter 12 verses 20 through 14:

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 

After ten years of pastoral ministry I have now walked through into the valley of death's shadow with well over a hundred people. One thing is sure to me, the people who die well -- I mean those who do not fight and struggle against it, but who are ready to die, and die with courage, peace, and hope, and even with beauty -- are those who have practiced dying all along the way of life.

The Buddhist tradition teaches the importance of detachment from persons, places, things, and ideas in order to arrive at a higher plane of consciousness. Improper attachment is actually about the ego and the life it enjoys living. Ultimately, we will be stripped of all the attachments to this world; those who accept this fact with the most grace are those who know come to understand along the way that they are not the whole world and the world is not the whole them.

In the last week of Jesus' life, some Greeks came and asked to see Jesus but Jesus did not see them. The reason?  It would have gone on and on, with foreigners coming to see this miracle man said to be the Christ. But it could not go on and on.  Jesus' time had come; the hour of his departure was at hand.

How could he make such a choice to know when enough was enough and death was finally to be surrendered to?  He could because he was not attached to his own life; for he had been surrendering his life all along. He had died many, many times over; and now he was prepared for the final death.

And the Greeks? Jesus knew he could teach them more in their seeing him die than he could in his dying to see them. There is always one more person to see , thing to do, day to live. But enough is enough; we cannot be attached forever. Jesus had died all along; and he would die yet finally. And he trusted that his death would speak more about the power of life now than even  his living. Or as he put it, the seed planted would produce more fruit on earth in death than even in life.

This is a mystery to behold.

Hymn of Promise for reflection:
In the bulb there is a flower; in the seed, an apple tree;
In cocoons, a hidden promise: butterflies will soon be free!
In the cold and snow of winter there’s a spring that waits to be,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

There’s a song in every silence, seeking word and melody;
There’s a dawn in every darkness, bringing hope to you and me.
From the past will come the future; what it holds, a mystery,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.

In our end is our beginning; in our time, infinity;
In our doubt there is believing; in our life, eternity,
In our death, a resurrection; at the last, a victory,
Unrevealed until its season, something God alone can see.