Jn 8:51-59
[Jesus said to the Jews,] 51“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” 52[So] the Jews said to him, “Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’ 53Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?” 54Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
55You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word. 56Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” 57So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?” 58Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.” 59So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
Whoever keeps my word will never see death. In the movie Braveheart, the hero’s reply to a plea to surrender himself to the king so that his life will be spared is very powerful: Every man dies, but not every man truly lives. If there is one sure thing in this life of uncertainties, it is the fact that we will all die. But not all of us live full, meaningful, and purposeful lives. There are people long dead who are still alive in our hearts, like Ninoy and Cory Aquino. There are people as well who, though alive, seem to be walking dead because their lives are useless or cause other people suffering and pain.
Zen teaching says that, in the end, only three things matter: how deeply we loved, how fully we lived, and how freely we learned to let go. Let us live thus, and we will never die.