One thing that was clear to me over the weekend is that I am continually being called to die to myself so that my life might bear abundant fruit for God's kingdom. May all of us agree to be "dying seeds" for God's kingdom so that we all might know the joy of Christ's Easter glory!
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Saint John de Brebeuf was a French Jesuit and martyr from
the 17th century. He was
raised in France and it was there that he entered the Jesuit order. He was a good student and he had an ear for
languages. His work as a student (and
later as a teacher) was often hindered, however, because of health problems
that he endured. John would find new
life, however, when his superior would send him to work in their mission in
North America. He spent a couple of
years with the Algonquin tribe in Quebec, but then felt a call to go out into
the yet untapped mission of the Huron nation.
This was a difficult and dangerous mission. Difficult because there had not yet been any
significant contact between the Huron and the European settlers and so John and
his companions had to begin by first learning their culture and language. Dangerous because the Huron were always under
threat of attack from the Iroquois, a rival nation. John and his companions persevered, however,
and eventually over seven thousand persons would convert to Christianity
through their efforts.
All the while, the Huron nation was weakening in its
defenses and the Iroquois were strengthening.
In 1649 the Iroquois launched a fierce attack on the Huron nation. At this point, John and his companions were
well beloved by the Huron and so they urged them to flee their village before
the Iroquois arrived. John and his
companions refused, however, and eventually were captured, horrifically
tortured, and killed.
This moment of the attack was a liminal moment for John and
his companions. It was a moment of
decision; a decision which would have a profound impact on the rest of their
lives and the legacy that they would leave behind. They could have responded to the urging of
the Huron and fled until they could return safely; but instead they stayed with
their beloved Huron to the end.
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus has also encountered a
liminal moment. In it, some Greeks come
forward seeking to see Jesus. When Jesus
hears of this, he says something strange.
He says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” We might expect him to say either “Great!
Show them in.” or “Tell the Greeks that I came for the Jews, so I will not see
them.” The answer that John records for
us in the Gospel, however, is not expected; that is, not unless you understand
what had been prophesied about the coming of God’s kingdom.
You see, in the Old Testament prophecies, it was foretold
that, when the kingdom of God was made manifest, all nations (the Jews and the Gentiles) would “stream towards
Jerusalem” and worship God at his temple.
And so, when these Greeks (that is, Gentiles)
came looking for Jesus, he knew that the time to fulfill his purpose had
arrived. In other words, this seemingly
harmless request was a sign to Jesus that his ministry of preaching and healing
was coming to an end and that he must now go to be killed in order to redeem
mankind. Therefore, the entire speech
that follows those words—“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified”—is an expression of Jesus’ realization of what now must happen.
Jesus reveals something of the drama of this moment when he
says “I am troubled now.” Perhaps he
wasn’t expecting this moment to come so soon and so anxiety over what he will
have to suffer grips him. It’s a liminal
moment for him: a moment of decision. He
knew, however, that to suffer and to die for the salvation of the human race
was the purpose for which he was sent and so, in spite of his anxiety, he
refuses to walk away—or even to plead to be relieved of this burden—and he
prays, rather, that the Father would glorify his name. In other words, instead of trying to protect
himself, he followed his Father’s will until the end.
Each and every one of us has experienced a liminal moment
in one form or another: a moment in which the positive outcome depends on
whether or not we choose to flee from a dangerous or uncomfortable situation or
to endure it until the end. Perhaps,
however, unlike Jesus or saints like John de Brebeuf and his companions, we’ve
failed to choose the difficult path—the path of self-sacrifice and
discomfort—instead choosing self-protection or comfort. If so, then Lent provides us with the
opportunity to ask forgiveness for these failures as well as the opportunity to
choose again to follow Christ—that is, to “hate” our lives so as to preserve
them for eternal life—to be the grain that dies, so as to produce much fruit.
Some years after the death of Saint John de Brebeuf and his
companions a girl was born of Iroquois descent who, in spite of resistance from
her family and others in her village, would convert to Christianity. This girl is the woman we know today as Saint
Kateri Tekakwitha: the first Native American saint. She is the first of the jewels in the crowns
of martyrdom that Saint John and his companions received; demonstrating indeed
that a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die for it to produce much
fruit.
Of course, it is only God who knows what fruit will be
produced when we give our lives completely over to him. Ours, in fact, is not to know the fruit. Rather, ours is to be the seed that agrees to
fall to the ground and die so that an abundant harvest might be produced. My brothers and sisters, Lent is the time to
once again offer ourselves to be those seeds for God and this Sunday marks a
liminal moment in this holy season: for next Sunday we begin Holy Week. Therefore, let us make the decision today to
be dying seeds for God and so to follow Christ, all the way to the Cross; so
that we, too, might come to be glorified with him in his Easter glory: the
glory that we glimpse—even if only obscurely—here in this Holy Eucharist.
Given at All Saints Parish:
Logansport, IN – March 22nd, 2015
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