Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 29 th March 2009

“Sir, we should like to see Jesus” was the request made to Philip by some Greeks who had come to worship. There is a great courtesy in their approach to Jesus. They are not of the same religious outlook or language but have heard of this wonderful person called Jesus and make a pilgrimage to see Him. Jesus hears about them from Philip and Andrew and immediately Jesus begins to talk about the Cross. The Greeks reaction is unrecorded here but it must have become quickly evident that to be around Jesus was not going to be easy. If an easy life is what they were seeking, they had come to the wrong place and the wrong person.

Immediately the Greeks hear that the Cross is the gateway to new life and to Resurrection. The powerful image is given by Jesus of a wheat grain falling on the ground and dying. It must die if it is to ever be more than a single grain. Once it dies it yields a harvest. I remember as a child being given a packet of seeds to plant in the back garden (we had no front garden!) and I was so sad when day after day I went to look at the ground where I had planted the seeds. Nothing appeared for so long. Then, one day I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw a few fragile shoots coming up through the soil. I was over the moon with delight. There was going to be flowers after all and sure enough after a while the ground was covered with blooms just as they had been shown on the seed packet.

The waiting for the shoots to appear takes patience and belief that something is happening beneath the ground even when I can’t see any activity. If I had kept the packet of seeds safely there would never have been flowers to see. To get the flowers I had to ‘lose’ the seeds of the packet. The same is the message of Jesus to us always. If we let go of our lives and let Jesus take charge there will be growth and new life. The trouble is that I am afraid to let go. There is a security in holding on to life as I have always known it. Just a child will hold on to an old blanket or object for security and comfort so I hold on.

Can you imagine the smile on God’s face when he sees my knuckles turn white as I hold on for dear life to the familiar in my life? I am terrified to change in case I end up with nothing. Jesus promises that to lose what you have will gain you everything. I will give you myself He says! The difficulty for Jesus is that unless I let go of all that clutters my life I have no room for him. My security (my comfort blanket) is my alternative to the leap of faith that finds me landing in the arms of Jesus. It is the most difficult leap of all – to leave the familiar and risk putting my hand into that of Jesus and let Him lead me. Where will He lead me? I never know until I feel the power and warmth of His hand leading me.

One thing is certain. Jesus wants to bring us into the fullness of life and love that only He knows. How often the Holy Spirit prompts me to some act of courage for God and I am afraid of the cost in terms of my letting go of the familiar. Imagine if Mary at the Annunciation (that feast was last Wednesday) when told by the angel she was to be Mother of God had said that she had other plans already made with Joseph. Mary could have said that she was most grateful for the offer but decline it. Instead she simply said ‘yes’ and we know that God worked our salvation through her co-operation and readiness to change her plans.

Aidan Troy, C.P. (Aodhán Ó Troighthigh, C.P.)