Day 1 (Monday)

1 Maccabees Excerpts 2 (2:1-2, 6-7, 14-48, 61-68)

Last time we saw the summary of the history of Jerusalem and the surrounding area during the first century or so of Hellenistic rule, and the intense persecutions that came upon them during the reign of the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. He had taken Jerusalem and installed a garrison in the fortress there, and had desecrated the Temple, establish a pagan altar for sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering and placing pagan idols in the Temple itself. He was requiring pagan sacrifice from all the Jews, and a great many people were either compromising and accepting this worship, or being punished with death if they refused. Some others fled into the wilderness, living as outlaws until they were caught. Into this situation, we have the introduction of the family of a certain Levite, Mattathias.

1 Maccabees 2:1-2, 6-7, 14-48, 61-68

2 In those days Mattathias son of John son of Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein. 2 He had five sons… John, Simon, Judas Maccabeus, Eleazar, and Jonathan. 6 He saw the blasphemies being committed in Judah and Jerusalem, 7 and said, “Alas! Why was I born to see this, the ruin of my people, the ruin of the holy city, and to live there when it was given over to the enemy, the sanctuary given over to aliens… …14 Then Mattathias and his sons tore their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned greatly;

Pagan Worship Refused

15 The king’s officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the town of Modein to make them offer sacrifice. 16 Many from Israel came to them; and Mattathias and his sons were assembled. 17 Then the king’s officers spoke to Mattathias as follows: “You are a leader, honored and great in this town, and supported by sons and brothers. 18 Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the people of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the Friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts.”

19 But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice: “Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to obey his commandments, every one of them abandoning the religion of their ancestors, 20 I and my sons and my brothers will continue to live by the covenant of our ancestors. 21 Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances. 22 We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left.”

23 When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein, according to the king’s command. 24 When Mattathias saw it, he burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him on the altar. 25 At the same time he killed the king’s officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. 26 Thus he burned with zeal for the law, just as Phinehas did against Zimri son of Salu.

27 Then Mattathias cried out in the town with a loud voice, saying: “Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!” 28 Then he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the town.

29 At that time many who were seeking righteousness and justice went down to the wilderness to live there, 30 they, their sons, their wives, and their livestock, because troubles pressed heavily upon them. 31 And it was reported to the king’s officers, and to the troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that those who had rejected the king’s command had gone down to the hiding places in the wilderness.

32 Many pursued them, and overtook them; they encamped opposite them and prepared for battle against them on the sabbath day. 33 They said to them, “Enough of this! Come out and do what the king commands, and you will live.” 34 But they said, “We will not come out, nor will we do what the king commands and so profane the sabbath day.” 35 Then the enemy quickly attacked them. 36 But they did not answer them or hurl a stone at them or block up their hiding places, 37 for they said, “Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly.” 38 So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died, with their wives and children and livestock, to the number of a thousand persons.

39 When Mattathias and his friends learned of it, they mourned for them deeply. 40 And all said to their neighbors: “If we all do as our kindred have done and refuse to fight with the Gentiles for our lives and for our ordinances, they will quickly destroy us from the earth.” 41 So they made this decision that day: “Let us fight against anyone who comes to attack us on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our kindred died in their hiding places.”

Counter-Attack

42 Then there united with them a company of Hasideans, mighty warriors of Israel, all who offered themselves willingly for the law. 43 And all who became fugitives to escape their troubles joined them and reinforced them. 44 They organized an army, and struck down sinners in their anger and renegades in their wrath; the survivors fled to the Gentiles for safety. 45 And Mattathias and his friends went around and tore down the altars; 46 they forcibly circumcised all the uncircumcised boys that they found within the borders of Israel. 47 They hunted down the arrogant, and the work prospered in their hands. 48 They rescued the law out of the hands of the Gentiles and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the upper hand.

Then Mattathias died, and left the war effort in the hands of Judas Maccabeus. On his deathbed, he reminded them of all the heroes of the past: Abraham, Phinehas, Caleb, David, Elijah, the Three Youths, and Daniel, and urged them as follows:

61 “And so observe, from generation to generation, that none of those who put their trust in him will lack strength. 62 Do not fear the words of sinners, for their splendor will turn into dung and worms. 63 Today they will be exalted, but tomorrow they will not be found, because they will have returned to the dust, and their plans will have perished. 64 My children, be courageous and grow strong in the law, for by it you will gain honor.

65 “Here is your brother Simeon who, I know, is wise in counsel; always listen to him; he shall be your father. 66 Judas Maccabeus has been a mighty warrior from his youth; he shall command the army for you and fight the battle against the peoples.[d] 67 You shall rally around you all who observe the law, and avenge the wrong done to your people. 68 Pay back the Gentiles in full, and obey the commands of the law.”

Under Judas’ leadership, they won a number of victories, and eventually a great victory that drove out the Greeks at the Battle of Emmaus. After this victory, they went and cleansed and rededicated the Temple (this is the origin of the feast of Hannukah), and then they made war against their enemies all around, regaining independent control of most of the territory of the old kingdom of Judah. Judas eventually died in battle when most of his army ran away, and in the aftermath of his death, his brother Jonathan took up the kingship (and the high priesthood as well), and made alliances with Sparta and with Rome. This alliance with Rome was the legal excuse for Rome’s sovereignty over Judaea at the time of Christ.

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that, in this catastrophe, while the actions of Mattathias and his sons are praiseworthy in many respects, there are a number of points that should be troubling to us. They are, in theory, being faithful to God, but in the pursuit of that faithfulness, they have abandoned the observance of the Sabbath day if they are attacked. This might be justifiable, but any point at which we begin to compromise our faithfulness to God in order to save our lives, it is vital that we question whether we are actually entrusting ourselves to His care. Certainly, at other points in Scripture, the expectation is that even in weakness, God’s people should not seek military prowess, numbers or alliances, but should trust on the Lord. Therefore, the alliances with Rome and Sparta that come later are deeply troubling, as is the point when the sons of Mattathias make themselves both high priest (an office that is not for them, as they are simple Levites, and not descendants of Aaron) and kings (uniting a role of leadership that God had separated). The determination to “pay back” the Gentiles, to get revenge, etc, is also troubling. In all of this, we can see foreshadowings of the attitudes of the Pharisees, with their external legalism, the Sadducees, with their compromising of the essentials of the Torah, and the Zealots, with their determination to drive out the Romans by any means necessary and to restore the glory of Israel by the strength of their own hands. In short – however much our hearts may be stirred by the victories of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers, we must guard against this. They are not the examples of faithfulness to God that we would like them to be, and it is against their example that the Lord speaks throughout His ministry, and especially and explicitly at the Mystical Supper. This reality, that the Lord is coming in a very different way than the Maccabees, is likely being indicated in the story of the Road to Emmaus at the end of the Gospel of Luke…the Lord is not going to stop in Emmaus, but is going further than that. He is not coming to destroy our earthly enemies, but to abolish the power of sin and death and demonic powers over us.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 2 (Wednesday)

Irenaeus – Against Heresies 13

Last time, we saw St. Irenaeus discuss the way in which the Israelites left Egypt, enriched by their former neighbors as they went. He discussed how important it is that we not judge God for His dispensations, but that we are called to trust God, because He shows Himself to be good and righteous in all that He does, and because we cannot see the end of all things. He also drew an allegorical connection between the Israelites at that time and the Christians of his own time, who had entered the Church carrying the riches of their past with them. This time, we will conclude our summer reading from St. Irenaeus, and see how he approaches the interpretation of Scripture. We are depending, then, on a recent condensation of the work by James Payton; anyone who would like to purchase this book can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Irenaeus-Christian-Faith-Condensation-Heresies/dp/1608996247/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

St. Irenaeus of Lyons – Against Heresies – Book 4 (excerpts 8)

Book 4, Chapter 31.1

When recounting matters of this kind about those who lived long ago, the presbyter [before mentioned] was in the habit of instructing us in this fashion: “With respect to those misdeeds for which the Scriptures themselves blame the patriarchs and prophets, we should not denounce them or become like Ham, who ridiculed the shame of his father and so fell under a curse; rather, we should give thanks to God for them, since their sins have been forgiven them through the advent of our Lord, for he said that they gave thanks for us and gloried in the coming salvation. Again, with regard to those actions on which the Scriptures pass no censure but are simply recorded, we should not become accusers, since we are not more exacting than God and we are not greater than our master. Instead, we should search for types in them, for nothing which was recorded in Scripture without being condemned is without deeper significance?…” (4:31,1)

Book 4, Chapter 32.1

This is the way a presbyter who had been a disciple of the apostles dealt with the two testaments, proving that both were from one and the same God. He maintained that there was no other God besides the one who made and fashioned us, and that the instruction of those who teach that this world of ours was made by angels or by some other power or by another God was baseless. If one turns away from the creator of all things and grants that this creation to which we belong was formed by or through any other than the one God, that person will necessarily fall into a great deal of inconsistency and many contradictions of this kind, for which he will be unable to provide explanations which could be regarded as either probable or true…

…But if anyone believes in the one God who made all things by the Word—as Moses says, “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” [Gen 1:3]; and as we read in the Gospel, “All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being” [John 1:3]; and as the apostle Paul says in like manner, “One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” [Eph 4:6]—that person will first of all “hold fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God” [Col 2:19]. And then every word will also be consistent for him, if he diligently reads the Scriptures in company with those who are presbyters in the Church—among whom we find the apostolic doctrine, as I have pointed out. (4:32,1)

Book 4, Chapter 32.2

That all the apostles taught that there were two testaments among the two peoples, but that one and the same God gave both testaments for the benefit of those who were to believe in God, I have proved from the apostles’ teaching in the third book. The first testament was not given without reason or purpose or accidentally: it was given for the benefit of those whom it subdued to the service of God (even though God needs no service from human beings). It exhibited types of heavenly things, since humankind was not yet able to see the things of God directly. It thus foreshadowed the images of those things which now actually exist in the Church, so that our faith might be firmly established. It contained a prophecy of coming things, so that humankind might learn that God has foreknowledge of all things. (4:32,2)

Book 4, Chapter 33.1

A spiritual disciple, one who has genuinely received the Spirit of God—who was from the beginning and has been present with humankind in all the dispensations of God, announced things future, revealed things present, and narrated things past—such a person indeed judges all others but is himself judged by no one [1 Cor 2:15]. That person judges the nations “who serve the creature rather than the Creator” [Rom 1:25] and with a reprobate mind devote themselves to what has no lasting existence.

That person also judges the Jews, who do not accept the word of liberty and are thus unwilling to go forth free, although they have a deliverer. They pretend to serve God, who needs nothing, by going beyond the requirements of the law, but they neither recognize the advent of Christ, which he accomplished for the salvation of humanity, nor are willing to understand that all the prophets announced his two advents.

In the first, he became a man who experienced suffering and weakness [Isa 53:3], sat upon the foal of a donkey [Zech 9:9], was the stone rejected by the builders [Ps 118:22], was led as a sheep to the slaughter [Isa 53:7], and by the stretching forth of his hands destroyed Amalek [Exod 17:11]. In this first advent he gathered into his Father’s fold, from the ends of the earth, the children who had been scattered abroad [Isa 11:12], and he remembered his own who had died and descended to them so that he might deliver them [1 Pet 3:19–20].

But in the second he will come on the clouds [Dan 7:13], bringing on the day which burns like an oven [Mal 4:1], striking the earth with the rod of his mouth [Isa 11:4], slaying the unrighteous with the breath of his lips, having a winnowing fork in his hands and clearing his floor and gathering the wheat into his granary, but burning the chaff with unquenchable fire [Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17]. (4:33,1)

952 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note how St. Irenaeus records the teachings of “a certain presbyter,” who was a direct disciple of the Apostles, and is probably St. Polycarp, his own teacher in the Faith. That teacher had instructed him in how to interpret the Scriptures, and especially in refraining from judging the figures in Scripture, instead drawing lessons from their experiences that relate to our own life, or more particularly, recognizing a prefigurement and prophecy of the Lord’s coming in the events of the Old Testament. This guidance is critically important to understand, as these essential guidelines are followed with remarkable consistency by the Fathers of the Church throughout the centuries, and often strike us in the modern day as strange, as we see stories recounted by the Saints without pointing out the errors being made by the Patriarchs. Because we no longer understand this point, no longer seem to follow this so strictly, but it is good to remember that it is not for us to judge those whom God has forgiven, lest we ourselves face a worse end.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 3 (Friday)

John 16:16-33 (Sorrow Will Turn into Joy, Peace for the Disciples)

Last time we saw the Lord speak further to His disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit, and what His work will be among the nations of the world. This was a challenging passage, and we offered some thoughts on how it might be understood as reflecting the dramatic change that the world experiences with the Incarnation, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of the Lord. At any rate, this week we will finish our reading of the Gospel of John, with the Lord’s last words to His disciples before His great High-Priestly prayer, which we read back in week 28 this past March.

Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

16 “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”

19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? 20 Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.”

“22 So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

Peace for the Disciples

25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”

29 His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33 I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”

512 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out how this is the last thing the Lord says before He prays for the Disciples, and for the entirety of the Church throughout the ages, in the great High-Priestly prayer which mirrors the Anaphora prayers of the Divine Liturgy. Thus, although the context for this is the end of the Lord’s public ministry, as He goes to His Passion, He is giving to His disciples clear and explicit assurances that this is not the end, and is rather counseling them and teaching them and instructing them with the task that He is giving to them, as He sends them out to proclaim the Gospel and bear His presence and glory into all the world. This is the promise and the call that we share in, that we are to follow Him, and that as we take up our Cross in obedience to Him, we will indeed have sorrow, but our sorrow will truly be turned into joy everlasting.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 1 (Monday)

1 Maccabees 1:10-24, 29-36, 41-64

Last time, we saw Ezra the priest lead the people in purifying themselves, laying aside all those who had lead them into sin and pledging themselves once more to God. This time, we will see what happened in the centuries after Ezra (who was present sometime between the 450’s and the 390’s BC). Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem and the surrounding area along with the rest of the Persian Empire in 333 BC, and after his death, the region came under the power first of the Hellenistic kingdom of Egypt, until 200 BC, and then under the power of the Seleucid Empire until 167 BC. These are the dates in question in the story we will read today, summing up 150 years of history. We recommend the entire book of 1 Maccabees to anyone who is interested in understanding better what the people were expecting Jesus to do, but will read only selections here at the end of Year 4. We will pick up the story with Antiochus, of the Seleucid Empire.

Antiochus Epiphanes and Renegade Jews

10 From them came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus; he had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one hundred thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.

11 In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, “Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us.” 12 This proposal pleased them, 13 and some of the people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. 14 So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, 15 and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.

Antiochus in Egypt

16 When Antiochus saw that his kingdom was established, he determined to become king of the land of Egypt, in order that he might reign over both kingdoms. 17 So he invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and with a large fleet. 18 He engaged King Ptolemy of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were wounded and fell. 19 They captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt.

Persecution of the Jews

20 After subduing Egypt, Antiochus returned in the one hundred forty-third year. He went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force. 21 He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils. 22 He took also the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink offerings, the bowls, the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold decoration on the front of the temple; he stripped it all off. 23 He took the silver and the gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures that he found. 24 Taking them all, he went into his own land…

The Occupation of Jerusalem

…29 Two years later the king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large force. 30 Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him; but he suddenly fell upon the city, dealt it a severe blow, and destroyed many people of Israel. 31 He plundered the city, burned it with fire, and tore down its houses and its surrounding walls. 32 They took captive the women and children, and seized the livestock. 33 Then they fortified the city of David with a great strong wall and strong towers, and it became their citadel. 34 They stationed there a sinful people, men who were renegades. These strengthened their position; 35 they stored up arms and food, and collecting the spoils of Jerusalem they stored them there, and became a great menace, 36 for the citadel became an ambush against the sanctuary, an evil adversary of Israel at all times… …

Installation of Gentile Cults

…41 Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, 42 and that all should give up their particular customs. 43 All the Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath. 44 And the king sent letters by messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah; he directed them to follow customs strange to the land, 45 to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane sabbaths and festivals, 46 to defile the sanctuary and the priests, 47 to build altars and sacred precincts and shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and other unclean animals, 48 and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They were to make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, 49 so that they would forget the law and change all the ordinances. 50 He added, “And whoever does not obey the command of the king shall die.”

51 In such words he wrote to his whole kingdom. He appointed inspectors over all the people and commanded the towns of Judah to offer sacrifice, town by town. 52 Many of the people, everyone who forsook the law, joined them, and they did evil in the land; 53 they drove Israel into hiding in every place of refuge they had.

54 Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege on the altar of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding towns of Judah, 55 and offered incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets. 56 The books of the law that they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire. 57 Anyone found possessing the book of the covenant, or anyone who adhered to the law, was condemned to death by decree of the king. 58 They kept using violence against Israel, against those who were found month after month in the towns. 59 On the twenty-fifth day of the month they offered sacrifice on the altar that was on top of the altar of burnt offering. 60 According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised, 61 and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers’ necks.

62 But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. 63 They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. 64 Very great wrath came upon Israel.

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note that this is a very ugly situation, and seems likely to be the “troubled time” spoken of in Daniel 9:25. We should also note the faithfulness of many of those who are being martyred here; many of these martyrs are commemorated as saints in the Orthodox Church, and a particular family, whose martyrdom is described in 2 Maccabees 7, is remembered on August 1st. What we should note as well is this phrase, the “desolating sacrilege,” sometimes also translated as the “abomination of desolation,” when the enemies of God’s people erect a pagan altar on top of the altar of burnt offering. This is what the Lord is referring to when He warns His disciples to flee from Jerusalem when they see the abomination of desolation, in Matthe 24:15; it is an expected repetition of this desecration of the Temple and its worship, as occurred in 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed by Titus.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 2 (Wednesday)

Irenaeus – Against Heresies 12

Last time, we saw St. Irenaeus go through some consideration of the life of Jacob, providing a series of allegorical readings and morals from the events of his life, and connecting them to the Gospel of the Lord. Strikingly, he did not level any criticism of Jacob for the events of his life, and as we see Irenaeus continue with his series of allegorical readings from the Old Testament this week, we will continue to see him refraining from this, and instead connecting the events of the Old Testament to the life and ministry of the Lord. He explains why he is doing so in next week’s reading, so we should pay attention to this method. (We have been depending on a recent condensation of the work by James Payton; anyone who would like to purchase this book can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Irenaeus-Christian-Faith-Condensation-Heresies/dp/1608996247/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons – Against Heresies – Book 4 (excerpts 7)

Book 4, Chapter 30.2

Those who criticize and find fault because by God’s command the people [of Israel], just before they departed, accepted all sorts of vessels and clothing from the Egyptians [Exod 3:21–22; 11:2] and then left—vessels and clothing from which the tabernacle was prepared in the wilderness—show that they are ignorant of the righteous way God deals with humanity. As a presbyter has remarked, if God had not directed things this way in the exodus which served as a type, no one could now be saved in the ultimate exodus—that is, in the faith in which we have been established, and by which we have come out from among the number of the Gentiles.

In some cases a small but in other cases a large amount of property, acquired from the mammon of unrighteousness, comes to the service of the Church. From what source do we derive the houses in which we dwell, the garments in which we are clothed, the vessels we use, and everything else we need for everyday life, if not from those things which, when we were Gentiles, we acquired by avarice or received from our heathen parents, relations, or friends who obtained them unrighteously? Indeed, even now we acquire such things when we are in the faith. For who sells and does not wish to make a profit from the one who buys? Or who purchases anything, and does not wish to obtain good value from the seller? Or who carries on a trade without desiring to earn his livelihood by it?

And with regard to those in the royal palace who believe [cf. Phil 4:23], do they not derive the utensils they employ from the property which belongs to Caesar? And does not each of these Christians give to the poor according to his ability? The Egyptians were debtors to the Jewish people, not just in regard to property, but also for their very lives, because of the kindness of the patriarch Joseph long before. But in what way are the heathen debtors to us, from whom we receive both gain and profit? Whatever they amass with labor we make use of without labor, though we are in the faith. (4:30,1)

Book 4, Chapter 30.2

… So how did the Israelites act unjustly, if out of many things they took a few, when they might have possessed much property if they had not served them [the Egyptians]? They might then have gone forth wealthy; whereas they received only an insignificant payment for their heavy servitude and went away poor.… (4:30,2)

Book 4, Chapter 30.3

If we and they were compared, who would seem to have received their worldly goods in the fairer manner? Would it not be the Jewish people from the Egyptians, who were indebted to the Jewish people, rather than we who receive property from the Romans and other nations, who are under no similar obligation to us? Moreover, because of the Romans’ accomplishments the world is at peace, and so we walk on the highways without fear and sail where we will.…

It is for this sort of thing that the Lord said, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged” [Matt 7:1–2]. By this he did not mean that we should not find fault with sinners, or that we should consent to those who act wickedly; instead, he intends that we should not pronounce an unfair judgment on the dispensations of God, who has ordained all things so that they turn out for good [Rom 8:28], in a way consistent with justice.…

We are shown to be righteous by whatever else we do well, since we thus redeem, as it were, our property from strange hands. But when I say, “from strange hands,” this is not as if the world were not God’s possession. We have gifts of this sort and receive them from others in the same way as the Israelites of old received them from the Egyptians who did not know God. By these gifts we erect in ourselves the tabernacle of God, for God dwells in those who act uprightly, as the Lord says: “Make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth” [Luke 16:9].… (4:30,3)

Book 4, Chapter 30.4

… The whole exodus of the people out of Egypt, which took place under divine guidance, was a type and image of the exodus of the Church which would later take place from among the nations. In the fullness of time, he led it out from this world to be his own inheritance. Moses the servant of God could not bestow it, but Jesus the Son of God gives it. And if anyone devotes close attention to what is stated by the prophets about the end and to what John the disciple of the Lord saw in the Apocalypse [Rev 15–16], he will find that the nations are to receive the same plagues universally as Egypt then did particularly. (4:30,4)

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Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note how, in the first place, Irenaeus is engaging with criticisms that are made of the Scriptural text, and both defending what happens in the Scripture, pointing out how it was only right that those who had been slaves should leave Egypt with some payment for their work, and then connecting that example with the experience of the Faithful in the Church in the present day. In the second place, we see him say clearly something about our inclination to judge God’s dispensation and commandments, urging that we should not do so. We don’t have sufficient information to judge God, nor do we have any right to judge Him. As we learn more about the situation, God is always vindicated. Something along these lines is expressed in Psalm 50: “that you may be justified when you speak, and blameless when you are judged,” and the same point is expressed at more length at the end of the book of Job.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 3 (Friday)

John 16:4b-15 (Work of the Spirit)

Last time we saw the Lord speak to His disciples about His love for them, and His commandment to them that they love one another as He has loved them. He then goes on to tell them that the world will hate them and persecute them, as the world hates and persecutes Him, and that they will suffer greatly. He tells them (and us) this so that when it happens, we will not be surprised or troubled, but will know that He is with us even in those darkest of moments.

The Work of the Spirit

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

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Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note that the passage in verses 8-11 is troubling and confusing, and should explain that the word translated “prove” in this case is much more complicated. The dictionary definition includes “cross-examine, question, accuse, convict, disgrace, put to shame, test, refute, correct, put right, and expose. Such difficult passages are a good opportunity to try the different shades of meaning in the place, to see how they might help us to understand. I think that, in this case, the meanings “correct” or “expose” are best. I would expand this as follows: the Holy Spirit will correct the world concerning sin, because they have not believed in Jesus, and concerning righteousness, because Jesus has been correcting them in this regard, but He is now going to the Father, and will not be seen, so the Spirit will continue that work of guiding the world to righteousness, and the Holy Spirit will correct/expose the world concerning judgment, because the ruler of the world is judged, and his power for judgment and condemnation is stripped from him, and the Holy Spirit will correct and reprove and expose where the Devil has done so before. Something along those lines might help this make a bit more sense.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 1 (Monday)

Ezra 9:5-15; 10:1-17, 44b (Ezra’s Prayer, People’s Response, Removal of Foreign Wives)

Last time, we saw Ezra arrive at Jerusalem, and hear that a great many of the people of God who have been working there to rebuild the Temple have also taken wives from the people of the land, the worshippers of demon gods and practitioners of abominable religious rituals. He is shocked and appalled at this news, and sat down in public mourning until the evening. This time we will see what he does when the evening comes.

Ezra’s Prayer

5 At the evening sacrifice I got up from my fasting, with my garments and my mantle torn, and fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 and said,

“O my God, I am too ashamed and embarrassed to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors to this day we have been deep in guilt, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been handed over to the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as is now the case.

8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, who has left us a remnant, and given us a stake in his holy place, in order that he may brighten our eyes and grant us a little sustenance in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves; yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to give us new life to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judea and Jerusalem.

10 “And now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land unclean with the pollutions of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations. They have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’

13 After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you destroy us without remnant or survivor? 15 O Lord, God of Israel, you are just, but we have escaped as a remnant, as is now the case. Here we are before you in our guilt, though no one can face you because of this.”

The People’s Response

10 While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him out of Israel; the people also wept bitterly. 2 Shecaniah son of Jehiel, of the descendants of Elam, addressed Ezra, saying, “We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this.”

“3 So now let us make a covenant with our God to send away all these wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4 Take action, for it is your duty, and we are with you; be strong, and do it.” 5 Then Ezra stood up and made the leading priests, the Levites, and all Israel swear that they would do as had been said. So they swore.

Foreign Wives and Their Children Rejected

6 Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God, and went to the chamber of Jehohanan son of Eliashib, where he spent the night. He did not eat bread or drink water, for he was mourning over the faithlessness of the exiles. 7 They made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, 8 and that if any did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all their property should be forfeited, and they themselves banned from the congregation of the exiles.

9 Then all the people of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. All the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the heavy rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have trespassed and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. 11 Now make confession to the Lord the God of your ancestors, and do his will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”

12 Then all the assembly answered with a loud voice, “It is so; we must do as you have said. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of heavy rain; we cannot stand in the open. Nor is this a task for one day or for two, for many of us have transgressed in this matter. 14 Let our officials represent the whole assembly, and let all in our towns who have taken foreign wives come at appointed times, and with them the elders and judges of every town, until the fierce wrath of our God on this account is averted from us.” 15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levites supported them.

16 Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of families, according to their families, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter. 17 By the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women.

And the remainder of the chapter enumerates all of the people who had married foreign women, and concludes that “they sent them away with their children” (verse 44).

1049 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note that, on the one hand, this process feels heartless and cruel to us, with the separation of husbands from their wives and children from their fathers, and it is very easy to find fault with Ezra, or even with God, for requiring this. There are two points that we must remember as we do so. The first is that there is actually a normal, standard way for a foreign woman to become a part of the household of faith, by forsaking the worship of her ancestral gods and submitting herself to the law that God had given to Moses. The second is an extension of the first; since there is a normal way for a “gentile” woman to become part of the Covenant, then if we are speaking of “foreign wives,” this term refers explicitly not to an ethnic reality, but to a cultural one; these women have not joined themselves to the household of the covenant, but are rather functioning as a sort of fifth column within the house of Israel…and they are raising their children in the same way. It is for this reason that they must be sent away. If they are willing to become worshippers of the one true God, then they can stay…but if not, then this practice must end.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 2 (Wednesday)

Irenaeus – Against Heresies 11

Last time, we saw St. Irenaeus speak at some length and in detail about the Eucharist, and how the Church offers it, and ought to offer, and what it all means. This time, we will continue with some allegorical readings of the Old Testament. We have been depending on a recent condensation of the work by James Payton; anyone who would like to purchase this book can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Irenaeus-Christian-Faith-Condensation-Heresies/dp/1608996247/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons – Against Heresies – Book 4 (excerpts 6)

Book 4, Chapter 21.3

Furthermore, if anyone examines Jacob’s life, he will find it full of symbolic significance. In the first place, at his birth he took hold of his brother’s heel [Gen 25:26] and so was called Jacob (that is, the supplanter—one who holds, but is not held, struggling and conquering), grasping in his hand his adversary’s heel—that is, victory. This is why the Lord was born, the type of whose birth he showed ahead of time, about whom John says in the Apocalypse, “He came out conquering and to conquer” [Rev 6:2]. Next, Jacob took the rights of the firstborn when his brother despised them, just as the younger nation received Christ when the older one rejected him, saying, “We have no king but the emperor” [John 19:15].

In Christ all this is fulfilled: the latter people who believe in him have snatched away the blessings of the former from the Father, just as Jacob took away the blessing of Esau. Because of this Jacob suffered the plots and persecutions of his brother, just as the Church does from the Jews. The twelve tribes—the race of Israel—were born in a foreign country; Christ was also born in a strange country, to generate the twelve-pillared foundation of the Church. Various colored sheep were allotted to this Jacob as his wages; the wages of Christ are human beings, who from various and diverse nations come together into one cohort of faith, as the Father promised him, saying, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession” [Ps 2:8].

And since from the multitude of his children the prophets of the Lord afterwards arose, it was necessary that Jacob beget children from the two sisters, even as Christ did from the two laws of one and the same Father. Similarly, Jacob had children by the handmaids, indicating that Christ would raise up children of God, both from those who are free and from those who are slaves, granting all of them in the same way the gift of the Spirit, who brings us to life.… For with God nothing is without purpose or due significance. (4:21,3)

Book 4, Chapter 22.1

Now in the last days, when the fulness of the time of liberty had arrived, the Word himself “washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion” [Isa 4:4] when he washed the disciples’ feet with his own hands [John 13:5]. This was the goal of the human race, inheriting God: that as in the beginning through our first parents we were all brought into bondage, becoming subject to death, so at last through the last Adam all who from the beginning were his disciples, being cleansed and washed from the defilement of death, should come to life in God—for he who washed the feet of the disciples sanctified the entire body, and rendered it clean.… (4:22,1)

Book 4, Chapter 22.2

It was not only for those who believed on him in the time of Tiberius Caesar that Christ came; nor did the Father direct his providence only for those who are alive now; but for all those who from the beginning, according to their capacity, in their generation have feared and loved God, have practiced justice and piety towards their neighbors, and have earnestly desired to see Christ and hear his voice. Therefore, at his second coming he will first awake from their sleep in death all persons of this description and will raise them up—as well as the rest who will be judged—and give them a place in his kingdom. For truly “God is one” who directed the patriarchs toward his dispensations and “justifies the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith” [Rom 3:30].… (4:22,2)

Book 4, Chapter 26.1

Anyone who reads the Scriptures attentively will find in them an account of Christ and a foreshadowing of the new calling, for Christ is the treasure hidden in the field [Matt 13:44]—that is, in this world (for “the field is the world” [Matt 13:38]). The treasure hid in the Scriptures is Christ, who was pointed out by types and parables. His human nature could not be understood before the things predicted took place (that is, the advent of Christ).… Every prophecy, before its fulfilment, is enigmatic and ambiguous, but when its time of fulfillment has arrived and the prediction has come to pass, then the prophecies have a clear and certain exposition.

For this reason, to this day when the law is read to the Jews, it is like a fable to them, since they do not embrace the explanation of all things which accords with the coming of the Son of God in human nature. But when it is read by Christians, it is a treasure, hidden indeed in a field but brought to light and expounded by the cross of Christ; it thus enriches human understanding, manifests the wisdom of God, declares his dealing with humankind, forms the kingdom of Christ ahead of time, preaches by anticipation the inheritance of the holy Jerusalem, and proclaims beforehand that those who love God will be greatly privileged to see God.

They hear his word, and from the hearing of his discourse they will be glorified so greatly that others will be unable to behold the glory of their countenance, as was said by Daniel: “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” [Dan 12:3]. This is what happens to those who rightly read the Scriptures. This is the way the Lord himself taught his disciples after his resurrection from the dead, arguing from the Scriptures, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer … and then enter into his glory, … and that repentance and forgiveness of sins be proclaimed in his name to all nations?” [Luke 24:26,47].… (4:26,1)

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Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that we are given here a very helpful set of examples of an allegorical reading of several episodes in the Old Testament. These allegorical readings to not replace or negate the literal sense of the story, but they do reveal to us some of the ways in which what happened in the Old Testament prefigures and foreshadows and sometimes outright prophesies the coming of the Lord. Moreover, as we will see Irenaeus say explicitly in a few weeks, it gives us a way to read the Old Testament without getting bogged down in judgment of those who have gone before us in the Faith, which can be a dangerous thing for our spiritual well-being.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 3 (Friday)

John 15:12-27; 16:1-4a (Jesus' Commandment, World's Hatred)

Last time we saw Jesus promise very clearly to send the Holy Spirit to His disciples, and then outline to them the basic principle by which they should live, recognizing that their life flows from Him, as He is the vine, and they are the branches. This basic truth of their (and our) existence is to be the guiding principle of their life in community. That their (and our) life flows from the Lord in Whom we live and move and have our being has a direct logical consequence, which the Lord will lay out in today’s reading.

A New Commandment

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

The World’s Hatred

18 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.

22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’

26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

16 “I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. 3 And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. 4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.

464 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that what the Lord is telling His disciples is effectively the fundamental and guiding principle of the Church, that they are to love one another as they have seen the Lord love them. This is the final rebuttal of their former expectations, and He is immediately replacing that expectation with a new commandment. Along with this, He warns them that the world will reject them, as it has rejected Him, and that all the suffering that they will experience is simply part of the truth to which He calls them, to follow Him and to submit to the same rejection that He has experienced, because in this way, the world will be called to Him, and also the world will sort itself according to the essential, binary question, of whether they welcome and love the Lord, or reject Him. In all of this, He is preparing His disciples (and us) for what it will mean for us to take up our cross and follow Him.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 1 (Monday)

Ezra 7:1-14, 25-28; 9:1-4

Last time, we saw the history of the return of the remnant of the people of God (descendants of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi) to Jerusalem, where they laid the foundations of the Temple and began the work of rebuilding it as they renewed the order of worship and sacrifices there on the site. We saw, too, that even when the Temple was completed, God did not return to dwell in the Temple, but the people were, as it seemed, trying very hard to be faithful to God. This time, we will see Ezra the Priest come from Persia to join them, and what work he has to accomplish there among them.

The Coming and Work of Ezra

7 After this, in the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of the chief priest Aaron— 6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses that the Lord the God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.

7 Some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants also went up to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 They came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 On the first day of the first month the journey up from Babylon was begun, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the gracious hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel.

The Letter of Artaxerxes to Ezra

11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to the priest Ezra, the scribe, a scholar of the text of the commandments of the Lord and his statutes for Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven: Peace. And now 13 I decree that any of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom who freely offers to go to Jerusalem may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the law of your God, which is in your hand…

The letter continues by outlining the substantial resources that the king is sending along with Ezra, all of it out of the king’s treasury, and further directing that the priests and the temple shall be exempt from taxes. He then continues:

25 “And you, Ezra, according to the God-given wisdom you possess, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River who know the laws of your God; and you shall teach those who do not know them. 26 All who will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on them, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of their goods or for imprisonment.”

27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king to glorify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, 28 and who extended to me steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

Then there is an enumeration of all the people who came with Ezra from Persia; this is the entire content of chapter 8.

Denunciation of Mixed Marriages

9 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and in this faithlessness the officials and leaders have led the way.” 3 When I heard this, I tore my garment and my mantle, and pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice.

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that the problem with the intermarriages is not one of ethnic purity, but of faithfulness to God’s covenant. It was because of the initial failure to drive out the people living in the Promised Land, and the eventual adoption of their customs and religious practices (including the burnt sacrifice of living children and other unspeakable practices, up to and including ritual sexuality and cannibalism) that God had delivered the people of Judah into the hands of the Babylonians. For Ezra to return to Jerusalem and find that the newly reinstated people of God are continuing to do precisely the thing that had seen them judged previously is a matter of shock and grief for him; we will see next time what needs to be done to remedy the situation.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 2 (Wednesday)

Irenaeus – Against Heresies 10

Last time, we saw St. Irenaeus speak about sacrifices to God in both the Old Testament and the New, and especially begin to speak about the Eucharist. We were reading from Book 4, Chapter 18, and will read a little bit again of what we read last time. We have been depending on a recent condensation of the work by James Payton; anyone who would like to purchase this book can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Irenaeus-Christian-Faith-Condensation-Heresies/dp/1608996247/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=. However, Payton has truncated elements of St. Irenaeus which are not relevant to his Reformed tradition, but which are profoundly relevant to us, so we will draw from the unabridged version of St. Irenaeus, bringing together elements from Book 4 and from Book 5. (Note: This quotation was taken from an un-cited post on a friend’s Facebook wall, and I have been unable to identify the translator. I have confirmed that the reading is an accurate translation, however, and have provided the remainder of the book so we can see how St. Irenaeus wraps up his thought.)

St. Irenaeus of Lyons – Against Heresies – Book 4 (& 5) (excerpts 5)

Book 4, Chapter 18.5, expanded

How can they say that the flesh, which is nourished with the body of the Lord and with His blood, goes to corruption, and does not partake of life? Let them, therefore, either alter their opinion, or cease from offering the things just mentioned. But our opinion is in accordance with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn establishes our opinion. For we offer to Him His own, announcing consistently the fellowship and union of the flesh and Spirit. For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity… (Book 4, Chapter 18.5)

Book 5, Chapter 2a

Vain above all are they who despise the whole dispensation of God, and deny the salvation of the flesh and reject its rebirth, saying that it is not capable of incorruption. For if our mortal flesh is not saved, then neither did the Lord redeem us by his blood, nor is the cup of the Eucharist the communion of his blood, and the bread which we break the communion of his body. (Book 5 Chapter 2a)

Book 5, Chapter 2b

For blood is only to be found in veins and flesh, and the rest of human nature, of which the Word of God was indeed made partaker; it was with his own blood that he redeemed us. So also his apostle says, “In whom we have redemption by his blood, and the remission of sins.” For since we are his members, and are nourished by his creation – for it is he who causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall – he declares that the cup, which comes from his creation, is his own blood, and he makes it the nourishment of our blood. He assures us that the bread, which comes from his creation, is his body, and he makes it the nourishment of our body. (Book 5, Chapter 2b)

Book 5, Chapter 3a

For when the mixed cup and the baked bread receive the word of God, and become the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ, and by these our flesh grows and is confirmed ­– how can they say that flesh cannot receive the free gift of God, which is eternal life, since it is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord, and made a member of him? (Book 5 Chapter 3a)

Book 5, Chapter 3b

As the blessed Paul says in the Epistle to the Ephesians that we are members of his body, of his flesh and his bones. He does not say this about a merely spiritual and invisible man, for spirits do not have flesh and bones, but about that dispensation by which the Lord became a real man, consisting of flesh, and nerves, and bones: That flesh which is nourished by the cup which is his blood, and grows by the bread which is his body. (Book 5 Chapter 3b)

Book 5, Chapter 3c

A cutting from a vine planted in the ground bears fruit in its own time. A grain of wheat, falling into the ground and there dissolving, rises with great increase by the Spirit of God who sustains all things, The wisdom of God places these things at the service of man and when they receive God’s word they become the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ. (Book 5 Chapter 3c)

Book 5, Chapter 3d

In the same way also our bodies which are nourished by it, and then fall into the earth and are dissolved therein, will rise at the proper time, for the Word of God will raise them up to the glory of God the Father. It is he who freely grants to this mortal immortality, and gives to the corruptible the gracious gift of incorruption, for the strength of God is made perfect in weakness…
…in order that we may never become puffed up, as if we had life from ourselves, and exalted against God, our minds becoming ungrateful;
(Book 5 Chapter 3d)

Book 5, Chapter 3e

But learning by experience that we possess eternal duration from the excelling power of this Being, not from our own nature, we may neither undervalue that glory which surrounds God as He is, nor be ignorant of our own nature, but that we may know what God can effect, and what benefits man receives, and thus never wander from the true comprehension of things as they are, that is, both with regard to God and with regard to man. And might it not be the case, perhaps, as I have already observed, that for this purpose God permitted our resolution into the common dust of mortality, that we, being instructed by every mode, may be accurate in all things for the future, being ignorant neither of God nor of ourselves? (Book 5 Chapter 3e)

Irenaeus of Lyons, “Irenæus against Heresies,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 528.

846 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note how Irenaeus connects the Eucharist with the Incarnation and with the Resurrection, not just the Lord’s Resurrection, but our own Resurrection, and connects all of these things with our intrinsic and fundamental relationship with God, with His purpose in creating us as He has, and with the end toward which we are striving. Even the point about the reason that God has permitted us to be subject to death is striking, not that God has created death, but that He has transformed even this evil thing that we have brought upon ourselves to an instrument of instruction and restoration for us.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?

Day 3 (Friday)

John 14:25-31; 15:1-11 (Promise of the Holy Spirit continued)

Last time, we saw the Lord revealing the mystery of the Holy Trinity to His disciples, showing to them how He is caring for them, expressing the love of the Father so that even as He seems to leave them, so that the world will no longer see Him, He will nonetheless remain with them always, and will furthermore send the Holy Spirit to them, so that they will never be forsaken.

Promise of the Holy Spirit, continued

25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’

If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.

Jesus the True Vine

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6

Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

438 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out first how the Lord shows them that He is not forsaking them as the time of His ministry with them comes to an end, but rather is telling and showing them what their task is to be after His Resurrection. What He says to them in the second half of the selection continues this theme, both encouraging them, and reminding them that when troubles and difficulties come, that is part of the process by which they are being pruned to bear fruit. What is fascinating is the transition that we see, the line “Rise, let us be on our way,” as this reminds us of the context, that Jesus and His disciples are finishing their meal and are going to the Garden of Gethsemane, so what follows from that point is said as they are walking.)

2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?

3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?

4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )

5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?