In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus announces his approaching death and says, “…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.” Jesus must die to bring us abundant life. He then goes on to say that we, too, must die to ourselves or give our lives away (i.e., “hate” our lives) to enter that abundant life. So, as Jesus gives his life away, what has to die in our hearts in order for us to follow him more closely?
The refrain in today’s Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 51), “Create a clean heart in me, O God,” may help us as we reflect on this question. In scripture, the opposite of a “clean” or “pure” heart is a “divided heart.” A clean heart realizes that God is big and good enough to give our entire hearts to, as Jesus did in giving his life away. Perhaps what needs to die in our hearts is anything that keeps us from giving them to God and his ways.
Death and new life are natural processes. We may even have to die for what is good in our hearts to make more room for God and something better. Our Lenten disciplines, including our Disciples Unleashed Lenten Journal, help us prepare for the new life of Easter.