S
TRENNA
2007
by Pascual Chávez Villanueva
LOVING LIFE
THE STORY OF THE SEED
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit. (Jn 12,24)
Life is the most precious of all gifts; so much so that almost instinctively man tries to preserve it at all costs. Nevertheless life does not become fully significant until someone discovers its meaning and finds an answer to the questions about life itself: who are we, where do we come from, where are we going, what is life, what is death, who is God, who is Man? To a large extent it can be said that all human history is nothing more than an effort to overcome anything that could constitute a threat: vulnerability in the face of the unleashed forces of nature, illness, poverty, exploitation, oppression, marginalisation and, above all, death. And one has to be proud and grateful for the levels that the human race has reached in the scientific and technological fields, but also in general awareness so as to make life for men and women on the earth more human. This explains how, more than ever, people have come to realise the value and the dignity of life, even though it is necessary to immediately add that unfortunately nowadays there exists a real culture of death that expresses itself in the most cruel and tragic manner in war, injustice, violence and the destruction of nature.
A great deal of progress has been made in scientific research aimed at conquering illness and prolonging human life, profiting from a better quality and well-being; but the undefeated challenge continues to be, today as yesterday, death, that seems to make a mockery of every effort physical, moral or spiritual it may be, given that at the end one has to submit to its imperishable power. Precisely on this account, even more paradoxical appears the statement of Jesus, who speaking to the crowd does not hesitate to be very provocative: “If any man would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For, whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it .For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life?” (Mk 8,34-37).
In fact, the whole Gospel is a paradox, a radical turning upside down of the world’s “scale of values”. In its turn, not having a solution to the mystery of the human person the world, deludes it proposing ways to happiness that are rather an escape from the problems than an attempt to discover the meaning of life and the key to open the doors of death. Jesus does not hide that fact that his message is demanding and requires a conversion of mind and heart: a new way of thinking and acting.
Precisely because the greatest problem to be solved is that of death and the fear that goes with it, this question mark absorbs and predominates even to the point of leaving us at the mercy of all kinds of human servitude. Jesus teaches that life is a free gift from God, that we have done nothing to deserve, and explains that the best way to live it is to make a gift of it. This is the real meaning of life and the most appropriate way to pass from death to life. Jesus makes his point from nature, noting and inviting others to note that “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit” (Jn 12,24). Through nature God himself teaches us that the seed that does not die does not reproduce. It is what happens with human life, which, unless it gives of itself, is dead. However, it is not just a matter of a simple parable. Jesus was the first to give to his friends the best thing he had to offer: his very life. He does not give it up because it is of little worth. On the contrary, it is worth a great deal, and since he possesses it fully, he can give it generously, so that all “may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10,10). The image of the Good Shepherd who gives his life for his sheep is perhaps more personal, and illustrates with a more constructive vision the paschal way that he followed and wishes to point out to his own: giving one’s life in order to take it up again. This means overcoming the fear of death and defeating it now through the one force capable of doing so – love. ■
-
