Laying Down to Live Part 2

As we continue to move closer to what is known as Good Friday, to the recognition and reflection of Jesus being killed through the collusion of empire and religious corruption, we also lean further into what it means to follow Jesus. What is the way of Jesus?

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” (John 12:24-26, bold added)

A picture of planting. Again, the single seed in the kernel giving way for the more, which begins with the single kernel serving the larger purpose through sacrificial love. This is simultaneously a beautiful image, and one that is deeply challenging. A couple thoughts on this.

First, this is not giving up or losing one’s identity, as the identity of being a kernel is crucial for the flourishing on the other side of planting, correct? So it actually begins with the kernel’s truest identity, which certainly could entail the dying or suffering of any and all false identities. That is the humbling of the ego to serve the larger purpose of honoring that which is deepest within… the seed.

Secondly, the word Life is used here three times, yet it is actually two different words in the original Greek language. And yes, this is a big deal.

The first life that needs to be lost and hated, which simply means placed second, is the Greek word psychē (pronounced soo-kay). This word represents the body shown in breathing, the temporal state of life, or the circumstantial aspects of life. This is the day to day elements of being alive. So, do those element of life rule the roost? How do we determine whether a day is good or bad? Often it is the circumstantials, when “things go my way,” or simply the way of comfort and ease. I landed the closest parking spot, the person in front of me in the drive thru paid for my coffee, and then I was selected for the big account at work. Wow God, I am blessed.

Or… the dog peed on my slippers, which I discovered as I wearily rolled out of bed this morning, then the coffee machine wouldn’t work, and my car wouldn’t start. God, what I did I do to deserve this hell?

So the question is, can the circumstantial elements of life be lost or set aside for the larger picture, the much more of life? This is being willing to walk in sacrificial love for the more, sacrificing the one for the many way of being. It’s a deeper knowing. It absolutely feels and acknowledges the difficulty and struggle, it just does not drown in it.

Second use of Life is the Greek word, zōē, which exists outside of time and space, the ongoing way in the age to come.

This is the life behind, under, over, and beyond the circumstantial. This is the awareness that there is always more going on, that this life, this day, is… pure… gift. I can’t believe I have another day, another kiss, another breath, and another invitation to participate in this brilliant thing called life. Zōē is the experience when “time flies,” and “I just got lost in the moment.” That sacred sense which pretty much takes a bite out of your heart in the most profound and beautiful way. Which can come in a simple smile, a small glance of the eye, a recognition of the power of breath, or the wonder in the sight of the Divine’s brilliant creation. Taste. Smell. Touch. Sound. It’s experiencing the Transcendent in the tangible.

It’s all a giant invitation to say yes to the eternal in the now.

It’s when we set aside the temporal for the embracing of the above and beyond, the more behind the moment.

This is the way of Jesus. Laying down to live.

This is the journey Jesus is walking all this week, Jesus’s Passion, which is absorbing and surrendering the psychē in order to embrace the zōē.

And this is deeply challenging, excruciatingly difficult, and eternally rewarding.

And the forever begins today. Right here, in that breath… and that one… and that one. The laying down to live, this is the Grand Invitation.