Christ the Cornerstone

Say ‘yes’ to God’s will and a life of blessings

“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. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life”
(Jn 12:24–25).

Lent is a good time to reflect on what might be called the hard sayings of Jesus.

As we read or listen to the Gospels, we sometimes encounter teachings that seem harsh, even impossible. The words of Jesus frequently comfort and reassure us, but they can also challenge us to move beyond what Pope Francis calls our “comfort zones” to confront things that are difficult or unpleasant in our personal lives and in the world around us.

Certainly the sayings of Jesus we will hear next Sunday (the Fifth Sunday of Lent) from St. John’s Gospel is an example of the Lord’s paradoxical hard sayings. “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life” (Jn 12:25).

Aren’t we supposed to love all human life including our own lives? And what does it mean to “hate life in this world”? Surely Jesus exaggerates here. At other times, he tells us to love everyone—even our enemies—as we love ourselves. Isn’t there a contradiction here?

The key to understanding the Lord’s words in this passage comes in the preceding sentence: “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” (Jn 12:24). The image of the grain of wheat tells us that Jesus is speaking of the transformative power of God’s creative love. If we allow ourselves to be changed by the grace of God, we can become so much more than we are “naturally.” But if we resist and cling to the way we are, we remain just as we are and fail to “produce much fruit.”

The critical point is that according to God’s plan, dying is never the end. It is always a beginning, a rebirth. This is true of the end of life as we know it, but it is also true of the little deaths we experience throughout our lifetime. If we can surrender to God’s will—in little things and in big things—we can be reborn and, in the process, bear much fruit. The cross is not an obstacle, but a means to the empty tomb. Dying precedes rising.

In just a few days, we will honor St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus. Joseph is a man who had to surrender his will to the will of God. Whatever plans he may have had for his life, including his future marriage, family and career, were completely upended by the revelation that his betrothed wife, Mary, had conceived a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph knew that the righteous thing to do was to “divorce Mary quietly” (Mt 1:19), but that was not God’s will. Joseph was asked to lose his life (as he understood it) and to be reborn as the protector of Mary and Jesus.

Did St. Joseph “hate his life in this world”? That seems too strong a statement unless we consider it in light of the struggle that Joseph must have experienced between his desire to maintain the status quo—life as he knew it—and the demands of this new life with all its uncertainty.

St. Joseph could not have known in advance that the child would be pursued by King Herod’s henchmen, forcing his family to flee for their safety and become homeless refugees in a strange land. But he certainly knew that his normal, comfortable life was over and that his life would never be the same. Ultimately, he rejected his life “in this world” in favor of a new life in accordance with God’s plan.

The Gospels don’t give us the details of St. Joseph’s inner struggles—his death to self—but we know they were real. We also know that Joseph always said “yes” to God’s will and, as a result, his life was blessed beyond his highest hopes and expectations.

Lent is a good time to lose our lives by practicing self-denial and by the performance of good works. If we imitate St. Joseph, we will observe these Lenten customs quietly, without calling attention to ourselves, and we will allow God’s grace to transform us from self-centered people into missionary disciples who follow Jesus on the way to eternal life.

Let’s ask St. Joseph to pray for us and inspire us to be faithful to God’s will. †