From the Pastor

“If It Dies…”
(John 12:23-24)

Have you seen the Yoshino cherry (sakura) tree in front of the main office of our church this year? It burst into bloom several days before I wrote this article. And though today the tree is dropping petals with every gust of wind, the blossoms are still going strong! In Japan, where our family used to live, sakura signify both the transient beauty of life and the discipline and dedication of the samurai spirit — no matter how short-lived. I find it interesting that though ornamental cherries are grown from cultivars, sakura grown from a seed actually produce fruit. These tiny cherries are harvested by birds and other creatures who eat the fruit once the blossom petals are spent and have fallen to the ground. Once the flowers are dead and gone, the fruit of the tree remains! What a meaningful symbol for the Life we celebrate every year that coincides — more or less — with the blooming of the spectacular sakura.

Not long before His death, Jesus invoked an image from his own natural surroundings to describe what He was about to accomplish: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,” He said, speaking about His death on a cross. “Truly truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it; and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Jesus did not have cherry trees in mind when He spoke this parable. He envisioned a stalk of wheat or barley with an ear at the top, clustered with tiny kernels. Yet it is hard to miss the connection between sakura and the grain of Jesus’ parable: Jesus recognized the time had come that He HAD to die. He realized the moment had arrived that the brief period of His earthly ministry MUST come to an end. It would end with His enthronement and glorification as King by His heavenly Father on a humble cross. Yet all of it was so that He might bear fruit through His disciples and — one day many years later —through such as you and me. He died so that you and I might not just “live” but enjoy abundant Life (John 10:10)… for all eternity!

“Hating” our lives in this world does not mean neglecting our bodies or despising the gift of physical life God has gifted us. It does not mean living as if simple physical pleasures were no longer important. It simply means recognizing where true and abundant Life comes from. It means being gifted by God to leave behind a legacy of faith that He can use to bless others. And even “if we die”… as people who die in Christ Jesus, all is not over for us. Good Friday and Easter mean we have so much more now AND in the world to come!

So we enjoy the exhilaration of Spring. Images of the dark wintry world springing into colorful life are all around us. What a beautiful reminder of Easter renewal the natural world can be!

The signs of spring mean it is almost time to say it again this year: “Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” I await that glad proclamation together with all of you.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Jonathan