THE WORD 4 ev 1

John 12:23-24 - Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

By now, you pretty well know I grew up in Chicago, but the first place I taught was in rural Michigan, the Saginaw Valley, or what is commonly known as Michigan’s Thumb. That was a neat experience for a city boy. Grandpa grew up on a farm in Austria. Coming to the United States when he was 19,he lived most of his 83 years in Chicago, where he always had a large garden. I was eager to live in a farming community, and he was excited for me to have this opportunity and experience.

Gardening, however, is apparently not hereditary. No, I never have been a very successful gardener. Enjoying what comes from the garden, cooking and even canning fresh garden produce has been great; I’ve always been a good consumer, but not a good producer.

Have you ever seen a wheat field? It is amazing how those tiny grains can produce a field so thick and lush, a beautiful thing to see when it turn colors as harvest approaches. Jesus tells His disciples above that the planting time is at hand for Him, the time when He will fall to the ground and die. Jesus understood where this journey was taking Him, and we will hear more about this during the days of Lent to come.

THE PRAYER: Jesus, thank You for the sacrifice You made on our behalf. Help us to continue planting the seed of Your Word, that Your harvest of souls might indeed be full and beautiful. Amen.