nunblog: Read the Bible with Me!

Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! We've been reading the Bible clear through this year. We've reached the New Testament, so read along with me. But first, let us pray:

Father,

When the fullness of time had come, you sent your Word in the One who said, “Whoever sees me, sees the Father.” No revelation can surpass this, until Jesus comes again in glory.

Open my mind today to the gift of life and truth your Word offers me through the Church. By your Holy Spirit, grant me wisdom and strength to put this Word into practice and to become, myself, a presence of Jesus for people who are looking for you.

Jesus, eternal Word and Son of the Father, live in me with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Today's chapters are Luke 20-22.

We begin with a final great parable. The parable of the vineyard workers (we read Mark's version last Wednesday) includes the death of the "beloved son" at the hands of trusted workers. Unlike the three predictions of the passion (which were followed by prophecies of resurrection), this is not a prophecy about what is going to happen to Jesus, but a prophetic warning to his hearers while there is still time for them to repent. The reminder that not even Jerusalem and its glorious Temple will remain standing for another generation is another call to repentance. Our faith cannot be based on anything we see or can trust with a merely human faith: it can only be based on God and his word.

Start reading here.

For additional background

I am happy to recommend this volume of The Four Gospels in an edition directed to young readers and their parents. The text of all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in the New Revised Standard Translation is accompanied by FAQs that a middle-school reader might ask (or, to be honest, anybody reading the Gospels for the first time). The footnotes were prepared by a team of Scripture scholars for parents and guardians, making the book ideal for family Bible reading.