Ezekiel 37:12-14 / Romans 8:8-11 / John 11:1-45
Singapore does not have the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter.
So, we may not see snow in our country, or we can go somewhere else where there is snow, if we so desire to see and feel the snow.
Singapore is like perpetual summer, and even during the rainy season, the sun will still appear to heat up the weather.
But because it is like perpetual summer here, then it is like paradise for plant lovers.
Plants and flora will thrive with the abundance of sunshine and rain.
So, Singapore’s reputation as a “Garden City” comes naturally with the local weather.
But with the hot and humid weather, plants are also in danger of drying up and even dying if they are not watered.
It is an amazing experience to grow a plant from a seed.
It is wonderful to see the beauty and the miracle of life even in plants.
But when seeds don't germinate or when plants die for some reason, it reminds us of the truth.
The truth is that life, in all its forms, is fragile. Yes, life is fragile, so we have to handle it with care, and also to handle it with prayer.
Today’s gospel can be summarised in just three words, “life and death”, but there is more to it.
In life, we need to prepare for death. Yet in death, there can also be life.
There is this story of a CEO who planned to retire, and he plans to pick a successor from among the executives.
So, he called the executives together and gave them each a seed, and told them to plant it, and bring it back six months later. The one with the best plant will be the next CEO.
One of the executives by the name of Jim, went home with the seed and told his wife about it and together they planted it in a pot.
They watered it and also put it under the sun and waited with expectation.
At first, the executives inquired about each other’s seeds, and then a few weeks later, they was sharing about the growth of their plants.
As Jim hears their conversations, he was getting worried because there was nothing happening to his seed.
He and his wife watered it, put it under the sun, put fertiliser on it and even prayed over it, but nothing was happening.
As weeks turned into months, the other executives were talking about how beautiful their plants were.
But Jim was getting desperate and despondent, and he thought of himself as a failure. He can’t even make a seed grow.
Jim wanted to just buy a pot of plant to show it when that day comes, but his wife told him to be honest and to accept the truth.
Then came the day for the executives to bring their plants to show it to the CEO.
All the executives brought in their beautiful pots of plants.
All except Jim, who brought along the pot with no plant, and he hung his head low in embarrassment.
When the CEO came in to look at the plants, he was impressed by the variety and the beauty of the plants.
When he came to Jim, and saw his empty pot, Jim was terrified that he would be scolded and even fired.
When the CEO asked Jim what happened, Jim told him the whole story.
Then the CEO asked the executives to be seated, and then he said:
Six months ago, I gave you seeds to plant. But I didn’t tell you they were dead seeds, and so they won’t grow or germinate.
All of you brought in pots of plants that didn’t grow from those seeds.
Only Jim was honest and truthful about this. So, he will be the next CEO.
That is like a fairy tale story, but it is also about truth and honesty.
But a deeper reflection on it is that a dead seed brought up a life of truth and honesty for Jim.
So even in death, there can be life.
Jesus is the Resurrection, and He is the Lord of life.
He rolls away the stone of death and calls us by name to come out of our tombs of fear, of sin, and of a living death.
In Jesus, death is not a hopeless situation.
So, when we feel that all is lost and there is no hope left, let us remember the lobsters and fishes swimming in the tank at the restaurant on the Titanic. They thought it was a dead end.
In Jesus there is hope, there is life.
In Jesus, death will also teach us about the meaning of life and the meaning of love.