by Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2024
First published in Faith on Every Corner (May 2024)
John 12:23-24 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
As a grain of wheat dies
to release seeds of life,
when Man crushed His body
He transcended strife,
sprouting abundance
in dry desert land,
His spirit ascending
to be by God’s hand.
Manna from heaven,
broken on a cross,
redeeming our lives
by ultimate loss;
Crucified, pierced through,
crowned with blood-soaked thorns —
ridiculed, spat at,
while followers mourned;
Never regretting
His path to anguish,
forgiving us all
in His dying wish;
One lone grain of wheat
harvested by Man,
feeding multitudes
beyond our life span.