To read the texts click on the texts: 2 Cor 9:6-10; Jn 12:24-26
The
esteem in which the Church holds Lawrence is seen in the fact that today’s
celebration ranks as a feast. Lawrence is one of those whose martyrdom made a
deep and lasting impression on the early Church. Celebration of his feast day
spread rapidly.
He
was a Roman deacon under Pope St. Sixtus II. Four days after this pope was put
to death, Lawrence and four clerics suffered martyrdom, probably during the
persecution of the Emperor Valerian. The church built over his tomb became one
of the seven principal churches in Rome and a favourite place for Roman
pilgrimages.
After
the Pope was arrested, Lawrence knew that he would be too. As soon as he could
he gave all the money that he possessed to the poor and even sold some of the
Church’s treasures and gave the money he received to the poor. Later, when
asked to show the Emperor the treasures of the Church, Lawrence gathered a
great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons and
put them in rows. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence simply said, “These are
the treasure of the Church.”
The
Emperor was so angry he told Lawrence that he would indeed have his wish to
die—but it would be by inches. He had a great gridiron prepared, with coals
beneath it, and had Lawrence’s body placed on it. After the martyr had suffered
the pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he made his famous cheerful
remark, “It is well done. Turn me over!
The
Gospel text for the feast of St. Lawrence is from the Gospel of John. Jesus
introduces teachings about his death with a brief agricultural parable The seed
imagery recalls the parables of sowing found in the Synoptic Gospels (Mt
13:3-32; Mk 4:3-20, 26-32; Lk 8:5-15). Jesus uses the imagery here to interpret
his own death.
The
significance of this parable for understanding Jesus’ death lies in the
contrast between remaining solitary and “bearing much fruit”. In John, “fruit”
is Jesus’ metaphor for the life of the community of faith. Jesus thus uses the
seed parable to show that the salvific power of his death resides in the
community that is gathered as a result of it (cf. 10:15-16; 11:51-52).
Jn
12:25 is one of the best-attested sayings of Jesus; in addition to this verse,
some form of the saying occurs five times in the synoptic Gospels (Mt 10:39;
16:25; Mt 10:39; Lk 9:24; 17:33). While all of the occurrences share the basic
pattern of an antithetical parallelism that highlights contrasting attitudes
toward one’s life, there are also significant differences among the sayings.
The significant number of variations within the synoptic tradition and between
the Synoptic Gospels and John argues against any theory of literary dependence
and for multiple attestations of this saying in the oral tradition. It also
argues for the authenticity or historicity of the saying. The differences point
to the ways each evangelist adapted this Jesus saying to serve his Gospel.
To
love one’s life is the opposite of Jesus’ own action; it places one outside of
the community shaped by Jesus’ gift of his life (psyche) and leads to the loss
of that life To hate one’s life in “this world” is to declare one’s allegiance
to Jesus (cf. 15:18-19) and so to receive his gift of eternal life (cf. 3:16;
6:40; 10:28; 17:2).
While
the synoptic versions establish a condition for following Jesus (“taking up
one’s cross”), the Johannine version contains both condition and promise. Since
Jesus’ ultimate service is the gift of his life in love, he calls the disciples
to love as he loves and hence to serve as he serves. What it means to be Jesus’
servant will be enacted in the foot washing of 13:1-20.
The
prime reason for the choice of the Gospel text is that Lawrence became like the
grain of wheat that was unafraid to fall into the ground and die. In doing so,
he became like his Lord and master Jesus.
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