From the beginning of Lent these arrangements of wheat have been here in the sanctuary. The words of Jesus in the gospel today about the grain of wheat dying and bringing forth much fruit gives an insight into the meaning of his death - a death that brings about life. This past week I was part of a Lenten Mission in Malone. I heard and saw stories of wheat dying and producing much. Whether here in Plattsburgh, or wherever you go, you encounter stories that make the wheat image come to life. I met a woman who cared for her infirm mother until she died and now is caring for her dying brother and in the midst of this has a terrific sense of humor. A man dying of cancer cheers up people who come to visit him. A senior woman who gets someone to drive her to a nursing home so she can visit and push the wheelchairs of the residents, many of them older than she is. A parent who gave up a career advancement so the family would not have to be uprooted and move.

Like you, I marvel at their sacrifices of time, energy and resources. Even those who are sick have decided to live out their lives in a chosen way; they have determined how they will be sick and in doing that, they inspire others. These people I met don't make a big deal out of what they have chosen to do. One said, "I don't see it as a big sacrifice, this is the way I choose to live my life." But this doesn't mean at times they don't feel frustrated, exhausted, bewildered and despairing.

When you meet people like this and I know each of us has, there is a golden thread that runs through their lives: they feel privileged to do what they do and it gives them joy - their lives feel deep and filled with meaning. Jesus' words in the gospel come to life, "the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it produces much fruit" for others and for themselves as well. From the outside looking at these people it might seem like unnecessary risk and even foolish sacrifice. But these loving people produce "much fruit" and preserve their lives for "eternal life." When "eternal life" is used in John's gospel it isn't speaking about the future life, as much as the present one: it means we draw from a deep well of life and meaning and we come to know a joy that cannot be obtained by human effort alone. The grain of wheat dies and bears much fruit. The casual observer looking in from the outside will never be able to understand fully what Jesus means, but those who put his saying into practice do understand. Haven't we enjoyed the fruits of sacrifice made for us by others - parents, grandparents, friends, teachers, coaches, neighbors? Those who worked long hours to house and feed us, who gave up their time for us when we were in need?

When the Greeks came asking to see Jesus he replies, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." The "hour" in John's gospel is the time for both his suffering and glorification. We can understand something of what the "hour" means in this gospel if we reflect on our own experiences. A man told me that his "hour" came when he discovered that the insurance company for which he worked was cheating its customers. He took a stand and he lost his job. A teenager says his friends are constantly getting drunk and he does not want to join them. As a result he has lost those friends. Hours are not always sixty minutes. Our hour comes when our integrity is on the line, when we are called on to make sacrifice, when we must make a decision that will cost us. The "hour" often puts our choices at odds with others and we must decide if we will live out and, in a way, die for what we believe.

To forget self, to transcend self - that is what it means to lose oneself, to deny self, to die to self. It is when we forget ourselves that we are most free and most happy. It is in getting out of ourselves, in dedicating ourselves to causes beyond ourselves, that we grow and bear fruit. We may have more years on this earth if we take things easy, if we sit at the fire and watch life go by. We will exist longer. But will we live longer?

What a poor world it would be if everyone put their own personal safety, security and selfish advancement first and last - if no one was prepared to go beyond themselves. It is always because people have been prepared to die to self-interest that the most precious things humanity possesses have been born.

Jesus gave us an example. He gave his life in the service of his heavenly Father and of us. But he did not find it easy. When the actual moment of death, when his "hour" arrived, he was filled with fear. Jesus' life was not taken from him. He gave it - gave it out of love of God and of us. The way of love is the way of the cross, but the way of the cross leads to the resurrection. Those who die to self will find the moment of actual death easy. The hour of death will become an hour of glory. It is by dying that we are born to eternal life.