Daily Gospel Reflection

The Most Famous Bible Verse

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where each day we are looking for a word, a phrase, or an idea from the gospel reading of the day to anchor our day in the gospel, in the life and teachings of Jesus. Today's reading comes from the Gospel of John 3:13-17. "No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." What jumps out at you today? So just for context, this is in the midst of a conversation that Jesus is having with Nicodemus. Remember, Nicodemus comes to Jesus and he's got questions and he's trying to work out the answer to those questions. And man, my heart always goes out to Nicodemus because he's so close. You can tell he's there, you can tell he sees it, but he's just struggling with doubts and fears and the pressures of society.

What jumps out at you? Jesus obviously is prophesying his death. Son of man will have to be lifted up like Moses lifted up the servant, the serpent, rather, in the wilderness. And then you've got this epic quote, right? Certainly the most famous quote from the Bible in America. Almost every time there's a sporting event on, we see signs with the quote, right? John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believed in him should not perish but have eternal life." So that's the promise. It's the promise of eternal life. Do we want it? I think we do. Do we think about it very often? I don't think we think about it anywhere near enough. I don't think we talk about it anywhere near near enough. I understand nobody's in a hurry to get there, but it should be a beacon to us. It should be a guiding light. It should be something that guides us and that we feel drawn to. And that can't happen unless we do actually reflect upon it. So let's take a few minutes today and find a quiet place and just reflect on eternity. Reflect on heaven. Reflect on God's promises of eternal life. And just allow yourself to rest in that idea. Have a great day and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.