Message from Fr. Cyrain
A paradox is “a statement that seems to contradict but may nonetheless be true”. An example is the phrase, “the more haste, the less speed.” Or Hamlet’s statement “I must be cruel only to be kind.” We have a couple of these in our gospel passage today. Jesus says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat.” Then he continues, “Those who love their life will lose it, but those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternity.” In short, Jesus is saying that unless we die to ourselves, we do not really live productively. Unless we lose our life, we do not really find it. He is using the paradox to show us the path to genuine happiness.
The profound reminder given to us by the paradox of Jesus comes at a very relevant time. There is an emerging emphasis on the self as the center of our current way of life. We are made to believe the fallacy that satisfaction comes with self-adoration. If the number of selfies taken each day is to be an indication, we may be living in a seriously narcissistic milieu which does not serve our quest for genuine happiness. To find eternal life, we need to undergo constant dying. We need to die to our selfishness, to our ambition to dominate others, to acquire enormous wealth, and be number one.
To do this, of course, is not easy because, earthbound creatures as we are, we tend to attach so much importance to self and its cravings for power, wealth and honor. But in the long run, we find that these do not guarantee happiness, nor is one able to cling to power, wealth and honor forever.
To get a new life in union with Jesus Christ, the old life has to be threshed and buried. We don’t get life and we don’t give life without some dying. Healthy Christian persons are always dying and rising with Jesus. Arrogance dies and humility rises. Complacency dies, and joy in the gospel rises.