Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24

Not long ago I started again to garden. A friend sent me a hydroponic growing system for Christmas and some heirloom seeds. It is a compact unit with twelve circular spaces for holding seed bearing cones. Inside the unit is water mixed with a small measured amount of plant food, parts A and B. Above the unit is an extendable lid with multicolored lights that produce the light spectrum optimal for growth. A small motor circulates the water to keep it aerated. A combination of seeds, cones, water, plant food, and light has produced many greens. With such success, I added a second unit and have begun to transfer young plants from the hydroponic units to my outdoor garden.

Another part of my new adventures in gardening was to build a couple 8'x4' raised bed boxes. My friend who started me on hydroponics came from her home in St Louis and helped me plant some seedlings from her garden. I had filled those boxes with a combination of rich materials including cow exhaust, mushroom compost, and ash from my substantial burn pile. Wow, did those plants produce. With help.

Jesus says, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain.” So true. But if put into the ground, it bears much fruit. True as well. My black cherry tomatoes, the ones that fell to the ground instead of being harvested, produced more volunteer plants than I had originally planted. But they only did so with help. Seeds need help to die and bear fruit. They need fertile soil. They need water and sun. They often need support and protection from disease and pests and natural elements.

And so it is with you and me. No one dies to self without the loving support and reassurance of others that they are loved for who they are and not only for what they can do. No one bears much fruit without help from others who are to them the rich soil that feeds them, the water and the sun that replenish them, the sturdy stakes that support and protect them.

As we move into March and the planting season, and as we follow Jesus to Jerusalem, let us be mindful that our fruit-bearing depends on each other, that some need us to help them bear fruit by providing them with loving support and encouragement. Jesus does his part going to the cross. It is an act done in love and by love, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and with the assurance of his father’s love for him. It is his father’s love that brings him back from the dead. The fruit his death and resurrection bears is a group effort. As it is for God, so it is for us.

Grace and peace,
Fr. Bill+