KVOTD = Philippians 4:8. "Start small"= write down daily what good things you are grateful for, list truths in Scripture as you encounter them, etc. NOT ALL AT ONCE or burnout. But CHOOSE ONE EVERY DAY to think about. "like starting a new exercise routine"; build up strength & ability in proper time
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Adam Clarke continues at verse 24.
"Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die — Our Lord compares Himself to a grain of wheat= His death, to a grain sown and decomposed in the ground; His resurrection, to the blade which springs up from the dead grain; which grain, thus dying, brings forth an abundance of fruit. I must die TO be glorified; and, unless I am glorified, I cannot establish a glorious Church of Jews and Gentiles upon earth."
First = THE HULL DECOMPOSES. Etymologically "de-compose" or "to separate into components." When put into the ground-- the dirt of both self-denying humility & the literal grave-- the grain, the person, is "dissolved" into their "constituent parts"??? The actual corpse breaks down from flesh & bone & muscle, then further into elements that reunite with the ground. The body becomes the very dirt. But spiritually, when we enter the grave of suffering and "die to self," as humility makes us "humus" (that pun never gets old) then we, too, see what "we" are made of.
I'm rambling, I'm sorry. But that's a good lesson. Death in any form will always reveal the "bone structure" of a thing. It will always reveal what was theretofore hidden. It will always break things down into their most basic parts. It will always "decompose".
Still, we're losing the true point. Only the HUSK of the seed decomposes. The seed itself contains LIFE, after all-- but without that initial death, without the actual destruction of the outer shell, that life cannot spring forth and transform the seed entire.
Second, on that note, is the blade.
...
"In comparing Himself thus to a grain of wheat, our Lord shows us:
1. The cause of His death - the order of God, Who had rated the redemption of the world at this price; as in nature He had attached the multiplication of the corn to the death or decomposition of the grain.
2. The end of His death - the redemption of a lost world; the justification, sanctification, and glorification of men: as the multiplication of the corn is the end for which the grain is sown and dies.
3. The mystery of His death, which we must credit without being able fully to comprehend, as we believe the dead grain multiplies itself, and we are nourished by that multiplication, without being able to comprehend how it is done."
One: first, another application of the "Law of Life," in that (here?) it can only multiply by a death?
Second: God valued our redemption SO HIGHLY that the only possible equivalent sum was His Own Blood. That is stupefying. Nothing less than an infinitely valuable and wholeheartedly willing sacrifice would give due honor to the cause? Like spending anything less than the "fullest possible price" would have been an affront TO God's own Nature of generous love... AND HIS JUSTICE. Consider the price was so high so that NO ONE BUT GOD could have the glory of redeeming mankind. This is why all the efforts of unbelieving humans to "justify" and even "deify" themselves are utterly preposterous.
Third: EVERY TIME a seed "dies", whether it is planted by man or simply sown by nature, IT IS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPAGATING LIFE. The very REASON a seed exists AT ALL is TO DIE AND THEREFORE MULTIPLY.
Fourth: the place where our faith struggles the most... belief without comprehension. Heck, even with actual food we don't typically "trust" its capacity for nourishment without doing extensive research!! We are often, scarily so, "willingly blind" to the apparent outcomes that prove their own truth UNLESS we have "education as to the details." Yes we can see a seed be planted & grow, and we cannot deny that, as it is an apparent visual fact. But it doesn't take faith to admit literal sight. It DOES take faith to admit that the wheat is nourishing us?? Because it BECOMES PERSONAL, and EVERYTHING THAT INVOLVES "SELF" is cast into a hurricane of doubt & fear & confusion.
Perhaps that's our faith problem with religion, too. We don't trust ourselves TO "believe properly." Oh we want to, but we're so scared that if we're not educated enough, and not intelligent enough, we will be believing a LIE or a total falsehood. Even though Christ IS TRUTH, and speaks pure truth, we are not. We can MISINTERPRET Him.
And buddy let me stop you right there. THAT'S WHY HE GAVE US THE HOLY SPIRIT.
But what if I'm not actually hearing Him either?? What if I'm just delusional or misled? What if its a devil voice pretending to be Him?
Believe me, YOU'LL KNOW. It is impossible to confuse the two if your heart is paying attention.
The problem is, we can debate this for days. We can reason and argue and question as long as we want; it won't get us to the true goal in the end. It won't actually answer the question.
IN THE END, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO FAITH.
AND YOU ONLY GET FAITH BY GRACE.
So stop freaking out. Your worries all stem from the rotten root of ironic self-dependence. You are scared of "not being good enough for God." Newsflash = you're not, and no human will ever be. That's WHY He is so merciful. His Grace is a GIFT.
...
"The greatest philosopher that ever existed could not tell how one grain became thirty, sixty, a hundred, or a thousand - how it vegetated in the earth-- how earth, air, and water, its component parts, could assume such a form and consistence, emit such odours, or produce such tastes. Nor can the wisest man on earth tell how the bodies of animals are nourished by this produce of the ground; how wheat, for instance, is assimilated to the very nature of the bodies that receive it, and how it becomes flesh and blood, nerves, sinews, bones, etc. All we can say is, the thing is so and it has pleased God that is should be so, and not otherwise. "So there are many things in the person, death, and sacrifice of Christ, which we can neither explain nor comprehend. All we should say here is, It is by this means that the world WAS redeemed-- through this sacrifice men ARE saved: it has pleased God that it should be so, and not otherwise."
First: I never actually thought about that, how plants are basically MADE OF ELEMENTS. Heck, ALL things are! Every flower is just a smattering of light & water & soil, shaped into a uniquely colorful bloom, with a perfume nonexistent elsewhere. Its a small miracle. And it's the same with US, with breathing creatures that eat those plants!! I've actually always been fascinated by the mechanics of nutrition-- eating as a phenomenon is actually a special interest of ours, hence our weakness for attacks in that area-- BUT I never realized IT'S A LAW.
..
Second: PARALLELS WITH THE EUCHARIST. The NATURE of the wheat is assimilated into what creature consumes it!!
...
Third: the "simply profound" beauty of the fact that, SINCE God created things a certain way, they ARE that way, and "not otherwise." We can rest in that, and contemplate it.
God does what He pleases, and that's that. Honestly I love that truth. It's a real refuge.
Fourth: it's the same with Jesus. I don't have to comprehend every detail of it-- because I CANNOT. Mortal man ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND IT. We cannot explain it because it is beyond the capacity of a created thing TO explain it. You get the picture. We HAVE to accept it BY FAITH ALONE, once again. And that's both BEAUTIFUL AND LIBERATING.
...
"Some say: "Our Lord spoke this according to the philosophy of those days, which was by no means correct." But, I would ask, has ever a more correct philosophy on this point appeared? Is it not a physical truth that the whole body of the grain dies, is converted into fine earth, which forms the first nourishment of the embryo plant, and prepares it to receive a grosser support from the surrounding soil; and that nothing lives but the germ, which was included in this body, and which must die also if it did not receive, from the death or putrefaction of the body of the grain, nourishment so as to enable it to unfold itself? Though the Body of our Lord died, there was still the germ, the quickening power of the Divinity, which re-animated that Body, and stamped the Atonement with infinite merit. Thus the merit was multiplied; and, through the death of that one Person, the man Christ Jesus united to the Eternal WORD, salvation was procured for the whole world. Never was a simile more appropriate, nor an illustration more happy or successful."
OH MAN SEE I DID NOT KNOW THAT!! I had no idea that the body of the seed-- that "decomposed shell"-- that becomes earth, DOES SO IN ORDER TO FEED THE EMBRYO. What the heck man that's BEAUTIFUL!! So right from the beginning, death is being transmuted directly into life-- the death itself SERVES life!! Then that life, that embryo, gains more nourishment from the dirt... which is-- you guessed it-- made of decomposed things. The seed is nourished by the humble earthy remains of countless leaves and branches and fruits and bones and blood and flesh that have worn down by time and weather into this great soft mass of new growth potential. Once again death itself feeds life... and without it, death would overtake that nascent life... which might one day feed another embryo reaching out into the dirt it left behind. It's all such a strange and lovely dance. It is "just so."
What's infinitely more gorgeous though is HOW THIS APPLIES TO CHRIST in His metaphor. I never thought about it that way before. Yes, He is the "grain that must die"... but if He IS Life, then what exactly is dying for Him? I never considered that. And it's that HE IS THE GERM OF LIFE ITSELF. He cannot die, EVER, by definition. ALL LIFE comes from Him, the very "embryo of all that is." Yet consider our new knowledge with the fact of His actual Death on the Cross: His Body was the SEED SHELL. His Divinity was the GERM. That germ IS LIFE ITSELF. And THAT is WHY the Incarnation was essential for ALL LIFE EVERYWHERE. The germ of a plant CONTAINS LIFE, but Life itself is UNCREATED. The germ of a plant is built FROM THE ELEMENTS-- from light and water, and the dirt made from OTHER forms of Life-- but it itself IS not life. However, that intangible Life NEEDS A "BODY" to carry it, in order to MAKE MORE LIFE BY DYING IN THAT BODY. The germ cannot exist without a seedhull first encasing it. And THAT is what JESUS did. He IS Life Himself, uncreated & sempiternal & undying... but He chose to CREATE A BODY for Himself in order for that infinite Germ TO BE ABLE TO MULTIPLY IN OTHER BODIES. He had to GIVE Himself the MEANS to die first, in order to perfect & fulfill that Law of Life manifest mysteriously in all mortal created things. When Christ took on a Body and led that Body to die, then the Germ that Is Divine Life was given the previously impossible opportunity to BEAR EMBODIED FRUIT in the form of "OTHER CHRISTS", in all the human souls grafted into Him BY FAITH.
And why faith? Because the Life that does not die is not passed on by mortal things. It comes only from Itself, and it IS SPIRIT, for it existed in timeless Being forever before matter was ever created. When we believe that Christ is Life and He MUST become OUR Life, then as God, He unites Himself to us. We cannot explain it. We are not God. We cannot map it out in math or observe it with science. It is beyond all mortal perception. But it IS REAL. I can't ever understand it, but I KNOW that if I eat that Bread of Life, it will change me into itself. It is a Law. God leads us to Truth always, as awestruck children. If we were but simpler, we would grasp it better. We need to stay humble, before He can make us bloom.
...All right I have exhausted my brain. God please bless my rambling, I only wish to honor You with it. You give me such joy and I want to worship You in my words of wonder. That is all. Please don't ever let me speak in pride or presumption. Please increase my faith and dependence on Your Wisdom alone. Amen.
On to the next.
"I am about to give up my life for the salvation of men; but I shall speedily receive it back with everlasting honour, by my resurrection from the dead. In this I should be imitated by my disciples, who should, when called to it, lay down their lives for the truth; and, if they do, they shall receive them again with everlasting honour."
We fear death when it is disconnected from God Who IS Life-- when there is no Faith in us giving hope beyond death. When we have Faith in Christ, we join that everlasting Vine, we are in tune with that Law of eternity. Then death becomes a seed-breaking. When we die for His Truth-- when we die with Life as our end-- then Life continues beyond that death. God gives it back new and thriving and transformed in Spirit. Thus we need never fear to die, even as a martyr, even with great pain & anguish. It cannot stop the final result of Resurrection.
This is why Faith is essential. Without it, the exact same manner of death is empty. It has no germ. Faith alone gives purpose to life and death alike. Faith alone turns death itself into a means of nourishing further life. Without faith, mortal life itself is blind to its own ultimate purpose. We cannot figure it out on our own, just as a colorblind person cannot figure out the hues he has no capacity to perceive.
"Christ is a master in a twofold sense: To instruct men, and to employ and appoint them their work. He who wishes to serve Christ must therefore become not only His disciple or scholar, that he may be taught: but also His servant, that he may be employed by and obey his Master."
I was never taught this twofold definition! We easily think of Christ as Teacher, and readily recognize Him as Lord, yes... but somehow, the title of "Master" as like a craftsman is totally new. But that is indeed what He does! He doesn't just "order us around at a distance" like a human king-- no, Christ was a carpenter on earth, and even now He calls us to His heavenly workbench and teaches us hands-on how to do the work He has appointed to us: we who are effectively His Apprentices!
Likewise, we aren't just students of a teacher, to sit in classrooms learning also "at a distance" before going home to do-- or not do-- the assignments. No, our Teacher is also our Master, who we live WITH, and Who we are bound to obey in whatever tasks He gives us. Just remember, in all these "roles," Jesus is infinitely compassionate and gracious, and He never mistreats or overburdens us. And He isn't just "Master" or "Teacher"-- He is our Brother, too, and our Friend, and our Bridegroom! He doesn't drop one title to take another; no, He is all at once. There is great joy in that.
"Our blessed Lord took upon Himself our weaknesses, that He might sanctify them to us. As a man He was troubled at the prospect of a violent death. Nature abhors death: God has implanted that abhorrence in nature, that it might become a principle of self preservation; and it is to this that we owe all that prudence and caution by which we avoid danger. When we see Jesus working miracles which demonstrate His omnipotence, we might be led to conclude that He was not man were it not for such passages as these. The reader must ever remember that it was essentially necessary that He should be man; for, without being such, He could not have died for the sin of the world."
Yet another pointed reminder that Christ's Divinity does NOT forbid, erase, or prevent His ability to feel emotions. So whenever YOU feel disgust at yours, and try to kill them out of some proud "superhuman" aspirations, you are being an idiot and also a devil. Christ, Who was FULLY GOD, entered FULLY into human life, which INCLUDED feeling tired, hungry, sad, scared, happy, even angry-- even love, that word you cringe at now. How dare you. You poor fool. What happened to you? Why are you so disgusted and afraid of what Jesus Himself was willing and able to feel in unison with all mankind? Are you that disgusted and afraid of your own humanity? You really need to shift your focus from yourself to your Savior, then. Let His humanity redefine yours. Sit with that a while, and let the hope get right down into your bones. Watch how He feels, and let Him feel in you. Don't be afraid; He cannot hurt you. Let Him give you new life, even in this respect, even especially so. Let Him make even that long-hated thing holy in Himself.
...And THAT'S the whole point here. I just keep rereading that opening sentence. That is huge.
Yes, Christ HAD to become really & completely human in order to really & completely take our place on the Cross. His mission of Redemption and Salvation would have been impossible otherwise, because at its heart it was an Atonement, a sacrifice, a total & willing identification with the guilty in order to intercede for & absolve them. But those details are not what I am contemplating here. I am stunned by the LIFE He lived that MADE His Death so meritorious, so holy and beneficial and gracious. His LIFE had to be absolutely perfect, in order to BE sacrificed. And IN that perfect existence, He chose to experience every single one of our weaknesses and sufferings and struggles, yet without any sin to 'merit' them. He was purely innocent, yet He took on the full weight of the curse of Death. And apparently He did this to SANCTIFY our sufferings. I just... wow.
So Jesus really felt our natural human fear of death, notably of an unnatural death, a VIOLENT death, the most sin-spurred possible outcome. And His fear was just that-- NATURAL. In fact it was SPECIFICALLY GOD-INTENDED! He did not create death! He surely didn't create the violence that would lead to it! So of course He put a drive into our instincts that fights to preserve life. It isn't an evil inclination, to want to survive. Life is good; Life is OF GOD, and directly so-- God WANTS us to be prudent and protective of life, in ourselves and others, and to avoid dangers that threaten it. CHRIST FELT THIS SAME DRIVE.
However. Christ also knew that there is a higher Life, and one to which even natural life must surrender itself.
...
But... He felt our fear of death, to sanctify it? How? What did His sharing in that do, to change it forever? Was it His full feeling of it, and THEN His noble choice of Love to still prioritize God's Will above even self-preservation? Was it His awareness that despite its natural terror, His death was not the end of His Life, and despite all His sufferings that very death would be a source of life for others? Was it His humility in not denying His trembling fear, when the proud would have laughed in blinded arrogance instead? Typing them out, I think it was all those things. It was His divine embracing of our weakness in the very process of turning them towards the glory of God. His obedience to The Father's Will, His enduring the Passion, would have held no grace of compassion for us if He had rejected or smothered His very real human fear & pain horror & grief & anguish. He HAD to suffer WITH us, AS us, WHILE DOING GOD'S WILL, to make it possible for us to suffer with HIM in like circumstances, and therefore learn how to direct even those weaknesses towards God's glory. But He had to take them into His Heart, first, for only there can anything be sanctified.
What am I even trying to say. I'm sorry.
When I face the threat of death, now, and I am shaking and scared, Christ offers me the possibility of sanctifying even that through unity with Him. I enter into His Heart. I remember what He did in my place. I feel my terror and I offer it to God; I tell Him exactly how I feel, what I regret, what I dread, what I beg for. But then I echo, "Thy will be done." "Glorify Thy Name." I let Christ speak in me, and in Him, everything changes. My fear and pain are not erased or buried, but they are transformed now, united to His Passion and Cross. They now become a share in His Own sufferings. My weaknesses have allowed me to unite with Christ on this mysteriously holy level, in the very torment that brought me salvation. What an unmerited honor. And yet He is the One truly consoled, as we walk with Him now to Calvary, and neither of us are alone.
But remember-- none of this is possible without Love. Trust, hope, faith, surrender, unity... every virtue that sanctifies our weakness must spring from the same Source that first sanctified them, and He Is Love Himself. THAT'S how He did it. That's all you need to know. It's enough.
""And why should I say, Father, save me from this hour? when for this cause I am come to this hour." ...The sense of our Lord's words is this: "When a man feels a fear of a sudden or violent death, it is natural to him to cry out, "Father, save me from this death!" for he hopes that the glory of God and his welfare may be accomplished some other way, less dreadful to his nature: but why should I say so? seeing that I am come into the world for this very purpose, that I might die this violent death for the sins of mankind, and have almost arrived at [that] hour of My crucifixion."...Christ teaches here a lesson of submission to the Divine will: "Do with Me what Thou wilt, so that glory may redound to Thy Name.""
I think the important takeaway here is that, even though Christ had DECIDED this exact death BEFORE HE WAS EVEN INCARNATED, and KNEW even then what it would entail, AND had been expecting and foretelling it throughout His earthly ministry... even with a settled purpose and will and determination, He was still afraid. He STILL felt fear in His humanity, and although it did not change His mind, He did not spurned or reject that internal suffering. He simply met it with unshakable charity. There is deep consolation in that for us... as well as a terribly profound moral responsibility.
Jesus knew there was only one way God would be glorified in Him, and therefore it must be done, regardless of fear. If we, then, are morally certain of what we must do or not do in order to glorify His Name, then there is no other option. If we know His Will, we must do it. This is the greatest sacrifice, and it requires the greatest love-- because only love can sacrifice.
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