Here’s
a reflection on John 12:24 from Jan Richardson’s The Painted Prayerbook site.
She
writes: “The lectionary texts this week have set me to thinking about how God
works in hidden spaces: in the inner being, in the secret heart, in the earth.
There is work that God needs to do in us in secret; out of sight, away from the
glare of day, removed from public view. Yet God has a penchant for revelation,
for bringing into the open what is within us. God’s inward work is for the
purpose of opening us outward. God draws us deep inside, then draws us back
into the world to bear the fruit that comes when our inner lives are congruent
with our outer ones.”
Blessing
the Seed
(inspired by John
12:24)
Very
truly, I tell you,
unless
a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,
it
remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
~ John 12.24
I
should tell you
at
the outset
this
blessing will require you
to
do some work.
First
you must simply
let
this blessing fall
from
your hand,
as
if it were a small thing
you
could easily let slip
through
your fingers,
as
if it were not
most
precious to you,
as
if your life did not
depend
on it.
Next
you must trust
that
this blessing knows
where
it is going,
that
it understands
the
ways of the dark,
that
it is wise
to
seasons
and
to times.
Then—
and
I know this blessing
has
already asked much
of
you—
it
is to be hoped that
you
will rest
and
learn
that
something is at work
when
all seems still,
seems
dormant,
seems
dead.
I
promise you
this
blessing has not
abandoned
you.
I
promise you
this
blessing
is
on its way back
to
you.
I
promise you—
when
you are least
expecting
it,
when
you have given up
your
last hope—
this
blessing will rise
green
and
whole
and
new.
~
written by Jan L. Richardson, and posted on The Painted Prayerbook. http://paintedprayerbook.com/
