T.M. and Today's Reading

Be good, keep your feet dry, your eyes open, your heart at peace and your soul in the joy of Christ.
Thomas Merton

Luke 19:29-48

29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,

30 saying, "Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here.

31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: 'The Lord has need of it.'"

32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.

33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?"

34 And they said, "The Lord has need of it."

35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.

36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.

37 As he was drawing near--already on the way down the Mount of Olives--the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,

38 saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."

40 He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,

42 saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side

44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,

46 saying to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers."

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him,

48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

just for today

"Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation does not come from a voice “out there” calling me to be something I am not. It comes from a voice “in here” calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth by God."
— Thomas Merton

Luke 19:1-28

Jesus and Zacchaeus

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through.

2 And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.

3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature.

4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.

5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today."

6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."

8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold."

9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

The Parable of the Ten Minas

11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

12 He said therefore, "A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.

13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Engage in business until I come.'

14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'

15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.

16 The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.'

17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'

18 And the second came, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made five minas.'

19 And he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

20 Then another came, saying, 'Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief;

21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'

22 He said to him, 'I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?

23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'

24 And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.'

25 And they said to him, 'Lord, he has ten minas!'

26 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.'"

The Triumphal Entry

28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

A question, a quote, and a reading.....

Thanks for praying and for reading along....

Quick question: Do you believe in God with your head... your heart.... or your hands and feet?

"It is only the infinite mercy and love of God that has prevented us from tearing ourselves to pieces and destroying His entire creation long ago. People seem to think that it is in some way a proof that no merciful God exists, if we have so many wars. On the contrary, consider how in spite of centuries of sin and greed and lust and cruelty and hatred and avarice and oppression and injustice, spawned and bred by the free wills of men, the human race can still recover, each time, and can still produce man and women who overcome evil with good, hatred with love, greed with charity, lust and cruelty with sanctity. How could all this be possible without the merciful love of God, pouring out His grace upon us? Can there be any doubt where wars come from and where peace comes from, when the children of this world, excluding God from their peace conferences, only manage to bring about greater and greater wars the more they talk about peace?"
— Thomas Merton (The Seven Storey Mountain)

Luke 18:18-43

The Rich Ruler

18 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

20 You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'"

21 And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth."

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!

25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

26 Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"

27 But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

28 And Peter said, "See, we have left our homes and followed you."

29 And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,

30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life."

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.

32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.

33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise."

34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.

36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.

37 They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."

38 And he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,

41 "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me recover my sight."

42 And Jesus said to him, "Recover your sight; your faith has made you well."

43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Thomas Merton and todays reading

"A man knows when he has found his vocation when he stops
thinking about how to live and begins to live."
— Thomas Merton

Luke 18:1-17

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

2 He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.

3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.'

4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man,

5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'"

6 And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?

8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:

10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayedthus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.'

13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Let the Children Come to Me

15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

An apology, a quote, a prayer request and today's Scripture reading....

I have been remiss in maintaining the reading list due to work, et. al. I must do better... please hold my feet to the fire (metaphorically speaking please!) so that I can stay on top of this....

"Ask me not where I live or what I like to eat . . . Ask me what I am living for and what I think is keeping me from living fully that."
— Thomas Merton (Thoughts in Solitude)

As I asked on Sunday, please be in prayer for myself and family as we discern together God's next steps in this glorious adventure called life..... especially as it relates to the position in Scranton

Luke 17:20-36

The Coming of the Kingdom

20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed,

21 nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."

22 And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

23 And they will say to you, 'Look, there!' or 'Look, here!' Do not go out or follow them.

24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.

25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.

27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot--they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building,

29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all--

30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

31 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back.

32 Remember Lot's wife.

33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.

34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left.

35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left."

37 And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."