Word to the Wise
Monday, August 10, 2009 - St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr
[2 Corinthians 9:6-10 and John 12:24-26]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.
Jesus' use of this image is meant to call attention to what his death and resurrection would accomplish. The emphasis is on bearing fruit. Christian spiritual writers over the centuries, however, have used the image in various ways to describe the process of "conversion." Another powerful image from the early Church says: The blood of martyrs is the seedbed of the Church. Since today is the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, the choice of this gospel passage makes sense. It is the image of ultimate self-giving for others. In preaching retreats for Permanent Deacons or for candidates for the permanent diaconate, I have witnessed this attitude often. It is difficult to see anything productive in martyrdom. For many, it is an unnecessary and regrettable loss of life. Furthermore, in our current climate of fear of terrorism, martyrdom is being associated with fanaticism and destruction, not with bearing fruit. St. Polycarp had to warn early Christians not to turn themselves into the Roman authorities in the hope of becoming martyrs lest the community be wiped out! The term "martyr" has even become part of the psychological way of speaking when it is used in the sense of a "martyr complex" to describe someone who continually claims to be suffering because of their efforts to help others! Such folks are not easy to live with! The positive image of something good coming from either actual physical death or a radical transformation of a person is important in our spiritual heritage. Jesus' own example and that of St. Lawrence and many others through the centuries bears witness to this. Permanent Deacons will particularly find much to think about on this feast! AMEN
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