Daily Reading
First Reading
2 Corinthians 9:6-10
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written,
“He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Psalm
Psalm 112:1-2, 5-6, 7-8, 9
Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who fear the Lord,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered forever.
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn is exalted in honor.
Gospel Reading
John 12:24-26
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. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
Reflection
Friends, in today’s Gospel, just after announcing that he is about to be glorified on the cross, Jesus declares, “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.”
A seed can exist for a long time—they have found seeds in the tombs of the pharaohs. But unless the seed falls into the soil and cracks open, nothing further comes of it. Its life is inside, but it’s a life that grows by being given away and mixing with the soil around it. Paradoxically, when you look at a great tree, you simultaneously see none of the original seed and nothing but the original seed, now flourishing.
What does the prince of this world, the devil, tell us? Hang on to yourself. Aggrandize yourself. Stay safe, protected. But Jesus has come to throw out that prince, that principle. He proposes himself as the new prince. His sign is the sign of the cross, the death that leads to transfiguration: “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.”