Today's Gospel

Where is Jesus?

Hi, I'm Matthew Kelly, and welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where each day we explore the genius of Jesus in the gospels. Take a few minutes to read the gospel together and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to a word, a phrase, or an idea that we can live out the gospel in our day-to-day. Today's reading is from the Gospel of John 8:12-20. Jesus spoke to them saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The Pharisees then said to him, "You are bearing witness to yourself. Your testimony is not true." Jesus answered, "Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true. For I know where I have come from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true. For it is not I alone that judge, but I and he who sent me. In your law, it is written that the testimony of two men is true. I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me."

They said to him, therefore, "Where is your father?" And Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my father. If you knew me, you would know my father also." These words he spoke in the treasury as he taught him the temple, but no one arrested him because his hour had not yet come. Is there a word or phrase or an idea that jumps out at you today? For me, it's these opening words of Jesus. Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness." I think sometimes you know the world can feel like a dark place. Sometimes maybe you watch the news or you hear about certain things and the world, it can feel a little dark. And I think it's important for us to make the connection. When the world is dark, it's because the world has turned its back on Jesus, because as he says, "I am the light of the world."

You know, if we put Jesus over in the corner, if we turn our backs on Jesus, the world is going to get dark. And if we turn our backs on Jesus, our lives are going to get dark. And so when we feel down, we feel overwhelmed, we feel discouraged, when we feel negative emotion, I think it's important to ask ourselves, where is Jesus at this moment in my life? Where is Jesus? Is he at the center of my heart, or if I pushed him over the side of my heart, or if I tried to evict him from my heart? Where is Jesus in the situation that we're experiencing that is creating the darkness or the discouragement? Where is Jesus? Because He is the light of the world. He is the light of our lives. And when we turn our back on Him, our lives and our world become dark pretty quickly. Have a great day, and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.