Unless a grain of wheat
Posted by Raphael on February 28, 2009
In the Gospel of John, we find the following passage: “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” (John 12:24). St. Augustine, in his tractate on John’s Gospel, offers the following commentary on the passage:
But the height of His glorification had to be preceded by the depth of His passion. Accordingly, He went on to add, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it die, it brings forth much fruit. But He spoke of Himself. He Himself was the grain that had to die, and be multiplied; to suffer death through the unbelief of the Jews, and to be multiplied in the faith of many nations.
This week, the Diocese of Scranton released the latest edition of the Catholic Light as well as another pastoral letter from Bishop Martino which restates the following points:
Change, especially when it involves loss, can cause much stress and profound pain. This is precisely the “dying” Our Lord is referring to in speaking about the grain of wheat falling to the ground and dying. Saint Paul is talking about the same dying in addressing the Romans. Believing the word of God as expressed by Jesus and Saint Paul will keep before our minds that in Christ our dying leads to life. Truly, I do appreciate the hurt we experience when one familiar, beloved parish church is replaced by another. Let us, however, put our faith to work. It will empower us during these times of change and loss to keep our focus on growth, strength and new life.
Attempts to create a spirituality of church closing are doomed to fail simply because the unnecessary shuttering of parishes is not a spiritual task. As we read in St. Augustine’s tractate, Christ’s statement about the grain of wheat is self-referential. It is not an allusion to profound parish renewal.
