Holy Saturday: Buried Seed

“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

LOOK: Untitled by Kwon Young-Woo

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LISTEN: “Before the Fruit Is Ripened by the Sun” | Words by Thomas H. Troeger, 1985 | Music by Carol Doran, 1985 | Performed by Sasha Massey, 2020

Before the fruit is ripened by the sun,
Before the petals or the leaves uncoil,
Before the first fine silken root is spun,
A seed is dropped and buried in the soil.

Before the Easter alleluias ring,
Before the massive rock is rolled aside,
Before the fear of death has lost its sting,
A just and loving man is crucified.

Before we gain the grace that comes through loss,
Before we live by more than bread and breath,
Before we lift in joy an empty cross,
We face with Christ the seed’s renewing death.

Text and tune © 1986 Oxford University Press