September 14 2023: Bible Verse of the Day – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Fourth Sunday of Lent Year B, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Year A, Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter – The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up – John 3:13-21
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
John 3:13-21
13 “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
16 God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
Catholic Readings for Today
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year A
Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
Today’s Bible Verse of the Day Reflections
It is from today’s passage that we get the command from Jesus to always ‘lift up the Son of Man’ by the way of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
The Cross can have different meanings and interpretations from person to person. To Christians, it has a spiritual meaning but for the secular and historical people, it has a tragic and awful meaning.
From the secular and historical perspective, the bad and awful meaning attached to the cross is derived from the story that goes; a long time ago there was a man who was very popular and was loved and hated by many in equal measure. Those who hated this man planned and executed his brutal crucifixion.
We the Christians perceive the Cross, not from a secular point of view, but from a divine perspective. We believe that Jesus Christ was lifted up on the Cross for all to see.
We believe that He died a horrible death on the Cross to atone for our sins. Jesus, ultimately became victorious for He defeated death on that Cross and rose from the dead.
So whenever we see the Cross we see a victorious and glorious throne that deserves to be exalted all the time.
During the time of Moses, after the Israelites sinned and rebelled against God, The Lord sent snakes to punish them.
The serpents bit them and many people died. God instructed Moses to make an image of a snake and lift it up on a pole so that whoever looked upon it might be healed.
Therefore, Just as the Israelites looked upon the lifted serpent in the desert, so must we, now, look upon the lifted-up Jesus on the Cross for our healing.
We suffer from many issues in life such as ill-health, emotional problems, personal, relational, spiritual and financial issues.
Most of these problems are caused by sins of omission or commission. Jesus tells us today that when we, with sincere and repentant hearts, direct our gaze at Him on the exalted Cross, with faith, we shall be healed. We shall live and our problems will be resolved.
Therefore, today, let us spend some time gazing upon the Cross of Christ in our crucifixes. With faith, in that crucifix, you will see the answer to your problems.
Ask Jesus for the solution to your problems for He says, “Ask and you will get, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened for you.”
Prayer: Dear Lord, always give me the grace to gaze upon your Cross. May You help me to experience the victory You won for me on the Cross. May I receive your help all the times I seek it when I look at You. Amen.
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