He knows not how

FRIDAY 31 JANUARY (Mk 4,26-34)

To understand what Jesus teaches his disciples through the seed that is thrown into the ground and then slowly first it sprouts, then grows, then ripens, then it is reaped and the fruit is collected to be turned into bread, we must necessarily let ourselves be helped by the Gospel according to John: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me” (Jn 12,23-26). The Father is the one who sows his seed, Christ Jesus, into the field of the world. Jesus falls to the earth, dies, sprouts as a new seed of eternal life and produces much fruit of conversion and salvation. Christ Jesus physically dies, physically rises with a spiritual, glorious, incorruptible and immortal body.

Jesus throws his Apostles into the world. They too, like the Master, must die to themselves, if they want to produce fruit of eternal life. Every day they must be consumed in a spiritual holocaust, in a sacrifice that asks for the renunciation of their will. Then, if it is the will of the Father, they will also pass through physical death, through the testimony given to Christ Jesus with their own blood. Saint Paul sees his life as a daily death for the Gospel: “Moreover, why are we endangering ourselves all the time? Every day I face death; I swear it by the pride in you (brothers) that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. If at Ephesus I fought with beasts, so to speak, what benefit was it to me?” (1Cor 15,30-32). The first death of who wants to produce fruit for the kingdom of God is that of sin, vice and transgression of the Commandments. The second death is that of the personal will. Christ Jesus never knew a single venial transgression and was never from his will not even driven by charity or compassion. The Spirit of the Lord was always the one that moved him to compassion and piety according to the will of his Father. The third death is not sparing yourself in anything to be light of the world and salt of the earth. St. Paul also lived daily this third death: “And so I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God” (At 20,26-27). The fourth death is that of martyrdom for Christ, the seal on the former three deaths.

He said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.” He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Every disciple of Jesus, if he wants to produce fruit for the kingdom of God, must let himself be thrown every day by Christ Jesus into the heart of the Father to be cultivated by the Holy Spirit. His life must be handed over to the Son, so that the Son may deliver it to the Father, so that the Father may hand it over to the Holy Spirit. If the Christian lacks this daily delivery to Christ, Jesus cannot deliver to the Father and the Father cannot entrust the Holy Spirit. The Christian remains immediately a single grain of wheat. He is not in the communion of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Never might he produce a single fruit of eternal life. The way to deliver ourselves entirely to Christ is the Eucharist and Penance devoutly celebrated. We feed on Christ to live for Christ. We free ourselves from every stain of sin with a firm will to be in the image of Jesus.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, ensure that every Christian is this seed of eternal life.