Day 1 (Monday)

3 Kingdoms 3:1-28 (Solomon’s Prayer and Wisdom)

Over the past several months, we have read much of the book of Leviticus, and then we shifted forward to read the Prophecy of Jonah in the weeks immediately preceding Pascha. As we move forward, we will return to the story of the kingdoms of Israel following the death of King David and the crowning of his son Solomon, which we read in June of last year. We had seen Solomon crowned by the faithful servants of his father David, and then after David’s death we saw him deal out justice to those who had committed evil in the days of King David, or who had sought to seize the kingdom for themselves. As we begin this story (spoiler alert), we should expect to see David’s descendants, and the others who reign on the thrones of Judah and Israel sometimes do well, but more often fall into the same faithlessness that we have seen throughout the entire history of God’s people, from Mt. Sinai onward. What we are seeing is, fundamentally, the problem which the Lord comes to remedy in His Incarnation, death, and Resurrection, as His people discover that they are actually rubbish at observing His commandments to them.

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

3 Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt; he took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David, until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. 2 The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.

3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. 4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?”

10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. 14 If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life.”

15 Then Solomon awoke; it had been a dream. He came to Jerusalem where he stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. He offered up burnt offerings and offerings of well-being, and provided a feast for all his servants.

Solomon’s Wisdom in Judgment

16 Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. 19 Then this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine.” So they argued before the king.

23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; while the other says, ‘Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 So the king said, “Bring me a sword,” and they brought a sword before the king. 25 The king said, “Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other.” 26 But the woman whose son was alive said to the king—because compassion for her son burned within her—“Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!” The other said, “It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.” 27 Then the king responded: “Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother.” 28 All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.

Reading 1 – 837 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 Solomon begins well, and begins by asking the Lord for help. Specifically, he asks for wisdom, in order to faithfully lead and care for the people entrusted to his kingship. The Lord grants his request (which God will often do, especially when our prayer is made in humility and in harmony with the Lord’s commandments), and gives him many blessings as well. What we should keep in mind, however, is that all those additional blessings of wealth and honor do not seem to help Solomon; in fact, they will be at war with his wisdom, and he will not prove able to bear them well. But that is in the future; for the time being, Solomon is doing well, and we have the story of the two mothers as an example of his wisdom.)

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)

St. Epiphanios on Holy Saturday

As we proceed through this Paschal season, we will take the next several weeks to read a Sermon for Great and Holy Saturday from St. Epiphanios, Archbishop of Salamis on Cyprus. St. Epiphanios lived in the 4th century, and was the overseer of the Church in Cyprus for the final 40 years of his life, and was considered unimpeachably Orthodox throughout his life. The one point in which he is somewhat controversial to later centuries is an incident in which he opposed the use of an embroidered curtain in one of the churches, and he has been embraced as an early proponent of Iconoclasm by some. We should rather read this incident, however, as reflecting an exacting sobriety on his part, on the one hand, and on the other indicating that such images of Christ or one of the saints were indeed in common use at his time, even though he opposed their use. At any rate, in the text which we will read today and for the next several days, we are given a beautiful look at the manner in which the Christians of the late 300’s understood the Lord’s death and resurrection.

Taken from: https://www.holycross.org/blogs/spiritual-articles/sermon-of-st-epiphanius-of-cyprus-for-holy-saturday?srsltid=AfmBOoqRnYr9wzHApFWK7jG2EMpD4anZhkU0MV5nwz-EQ4zcjd9hxqRq

A Sermon of our Father among the Saints, Epiphanius, Archbishop of Cyprus on the Burial of the divine Body of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, on Joseph of Arimathæa and Nicodemus, and on the Lord’s Descent into Hell, which occurred in wondrous manner after his saving Passion.

What is this? Today, great silence in the earth. What is this? Great silence and great stillness. Great silence, for the King sleeps. The earth feared and was still[2] when God fell asleep in the flesh. God died in the flesh, and Hell trembled. God slumbered a short spell, and woke up out of Hell those of times past who were sleeping.

Where now are yesterday’s commotions, the cries, the clamourings against Christ, O ye transgressors? Where are the mobs, the riots, the troops, the weapons and the spears? Where the kings, the priests, the judges worthy of judgment? Where the torches, the swords, the unruly shouts? Where the crowds, the jeers, the insolent guards?

Truly in verity and verily in truth, the peoples imagined vain and futile things.[3] They stumbled at the cornerstone Christ[4] and were broken. They crashed themselves against the solid Rock, but their waves scattered into foam. They struck against the indestructible Anvil, but were themselves shattered. They lifted up the Rock upon the Tree, but it fell down and crushed them. They bound the great Samson, Sun, and God[5], but he loosed the age-old bonds, and destroyed the Philistines and transgressors. The divine Sun set beneath the earth, and brought about deep darkness for the Jews.

Today is salvation for those on earth, and those of ages past beneath the earth. Today is salvation for the world, both seen and unseen. Twofold is the Master’s coming today, twofold the dispensation, twofold the love of man, twofold the descent, and likewise the condescension, twofold the visitation unto men—from heaven to earth, and from earth to under the earth.

God draws nigh, Hell’s gates open wide. O ye of times past who are fallen asleep, rejoice! Ye that sit in darkness and the shadow of death, receive the great Light![6] The Master is with his slaves, God with the dead, the Life with mortals, the Guiltless with the guilty, the unwaning Light with those in darkness, the Liberator with the captives, the One far above the heavens[7] with those in the lowest depths.

When Christ was on earth, we believed on him; now that Christ is among the dead, let us go down with him. Let us learn the mysteries there, let us come to know the wonders of the hidden God hid beneath the earth, let us learn how the preaching appeared even to those in Hades. What then? Did God save all without exception when he appeared in Hell? Not so, but there too, only those who believed.

Yesterday, he displayed the things of economy: today, those of sovereignty; yesterday, the things of infirmity: today, those of authority; yesterday, the things of humanity: today, those of divinity. Yesterday, he was slapped: today, he strikes Hell’s household with the thunderbolt of his Godhead. Yesterday, he was bound: today, he binds fast the tyrant with unbreakable bonds. Yesterday, he was condemned: today, he grants freedom to the damned. Yesterday, Pilate’s minions mocked him: today, Hell’s porters shudder to see him.[8]

Come then, listen to the lofty tale of Christ’s Passion, listen and praise him, listen and glorify him, listen and proclaim God’s great wonders: how the Law retreats, how Grace flourishes; how the types[9] pass away, how the truth is preached; how the shadows[10] recede, how the Sun fills the world; how the Old Covenant expires, how the New Covenant is established; how old things are passed away[11], how new things blossom forth.

Two peoples were present in Zion at the time of Christ’s Passion, that of the Jews and that of the Gentiles; two kings, Pilate and Herod; two high priests, Annas and Caiaphas; that there might likewise be two Passovers—one that was ending, and Christ’s, just beginning. Two sacrifices were accomplished that evening, since two salvations were at work—of the living, that is, and of the dead.

The Jew bound a lamb and slew it in sacrifice, while the Gentile sacrificed God in the flesh. The one looked to the shadow, while the other ran to the Sun and God. The Jews bound Christ and sent him away, while the Gentiles eagerly took him in. The one brought in sacrifice an animal victim, while the other offered the body of God; the Jews made remembrance of their passing over from Egypt, while the Gentiles made proclamation of their deliverance from error.

And where did these things take place? In Zion, the city of the great King[12], where he wrought salvation in the midst of the earth[13]—Jesus, that is, the child of God, known in the midst of two living things[14]: acknowledged[14] to be the Life from Life engendering life in the midst of the Father and the Spirit, the two Living Beings; born in a manger in the midst of angels and men; set as a cornerstone in the midst of the Jews and the Gentiles; preached alike in the midst of the Law and the Prophets; seen on the mountaintop in the midst of Moses and Elias; acknowledged to be God by the wise thief in the midst of two thieves; sitting as eternal Judge in the midst of this life and the next; and working today a twofold life and salvation in the midst of the living and the dead. Twofold life, I repeat; twofold birth, which is to say, rebirth; listen, then, to the facts of the twofold birth, and applaud the wondrous works.

An angel announced the birth of Christ to Mary, Christ’s mother, and an angel announced the rebirth of Christ from the tomb to Mary of Magdala. By night was Christ born in Bethlehem, and again by night was he reborn from the dead in Zion. In a cave of stone was Christ born, and in a cave of stone was Christ reborn. He received swaddling-bands when he was born, and he is wrapped in swaddling-bands here as well. He received myrrh at his birth, and he receives myrrh and aloes at his burial. There—Joseph, supposed spouse of Maria; here—Joseph of Arimathea. His birth was in Bethlehem, laid in a manger for his crib, while here, the place where he lay[15] as in a manger, was in a crypt. Shepherds first preached the glad tidings of Christ’s birth, and the shepherds of all men, Christ’s disciples, first preached the glad tidings of Christ’s rebirth from the dead. There, the angel cried “Hail!” to the Virgin, and here, Christ the Angel of great counsel[16] cried out “All hail!” to the women.

Reading 1

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note the essential point of St. Epiphanios’ sermon, that the Lord’s death reflects a moment of profound stillness, and profound tension, between a great number of dualities, but most of all between the Old Covenant and the New, between the darkness and obscurity of the time before the Lord’s death and resurrection, and afterward. He is, effectively, painting for us a picture in words of the Lord’s death as the foundation stone of the entire Creation, as the Lord truly rests on the Great and Holy Sabbath Day, and in that rest, perfects and completes and restores the Creation to the goodness of which we hear in the book of Genesis.)

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)

Acts 19:11-27 (Sons of Sceva, Riot in Ephesus)

Last time, we saw St. Paul leave Corinth, return to Antioch, and then re-visit the Churches in Syria, Cilicia, Galatia, and the interior of Asia Minor before arriving in Ephesus, where he remained for two years, caring for the Church there. We noted especially that, soon after his arrival, he found some disciples of John the Baptist, and having baptized them in a Christian baptism, he laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit with the same signs that had accompanied the first Pentecost and the Gentile Pentecost with Cornelius, showing the Paul, too, is an Apostle. This time we will see his time in Ephesus begin to draw to an end.

The Sons of Sceva

11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that when the handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, their diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. 13 Then some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit said to them in reply, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.

17 When this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, everyone was awestruck; and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. 18 Also many of those who became believers confessed and disclosed their practices. 19 A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

The Riot in Ephesus

21 Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, “After I have gone there, I must also see Rome.” 22 So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia.

23 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. 24 A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. 25 These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, “Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. 26 You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.”

Reading 35 – 427 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 in this passage, we see an early example of the miracles that the Lord works through physical objects, as the napkins that are blessed by St. Paul become the means by which the Lord heals people. We also see, however, that the power of the Lord is not a magical or mechanistic power, as the sons of Sceva find to their great pain; one must be in right relationship with the Lord to use His name against the demons. It is for this reason that the people destroy their magic books, as the example of the sons of Sceva makes very clear that the Way of the Lord is not one of techniques, passwords, or incantations, but rather of a transformation of life that leaves no room for hedging one’s bets.)

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)

Proverbs 28:1-28; 29:1-27 (Further Wise Sayings of Solomon)

As we begin the final third of Year 5, we will pause for one more week from our normal narrative readings, and return once again to the Book of Proverbs. This book, written by a father seeking to provide good guidance to his son, and then including other proverbs from the Wise, directs all of us to walk the narrow path of faithfulness, avoiding the common temptations and holding fast to the Lord in all things. It is a good reminder of the essential responsibilities of parents to their children, and of children to their parents.

Further Wise Sayings of Solomon

28 The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
2 When a land transgresses
it has many rulers;
but with men of understanding and knowledge
its stability will long continue.
3 A poor man who oppresses the poor
is a beating rain that leaves no food.
4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
but those who keep the law strive against them.

5 Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.
6 Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
than a rich man who is perverse in his ways.
7 He who keeps the law is a wise son,
but a companion of gluttons shames his father.
8 He who augments his wealth by interest and increase
gathers it for him who is kind to the poor.

9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer is an abomination.
10 He who misleads the upright into an evil way
will fall into his own pit;
but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.
11 A rich man is wise in his own eyes,
but a poor man who has understanding will find him out.
12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory;
but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
14 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord always;
but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor;
but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

17 If a man is burdened with the blood of another,
let him be a fugitive until death;
let no one help him.
18 He who walks in integrity will be delivered,
but he who is perverse in his ways will fall into a pit.
19 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,
but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

21 To show partiality is not good;
but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.
22 A miserly man hastens after wealth,
and does not know that want will come upon him.
23 He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
than he who flatters with his tongue.
24 He who robs his father or his mother
and says, “That is no transgression,”
is the companion of a man who destroys.

25 A greedy man stirs up strife,
but he who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.
26 He who trusts in his own mind is a fool;
but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
27 He who gives to the poor will not want,
but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.
28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves,
but when they perish, the righteous increase.

Chapter 29
29 One who is often reproved, yet remains stubborn,
will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
3 A child who loves wisdom makes a parent glad,
but to keep company with prostitutes is to squander one’s substance.
4 By justice a king gives stability to the land,
but one who makes heavy exactions ruins it.

5 Whoever flatters a neighbor
is spreading a net for the neighbor’s feet.
6 In the transgression of the evil there is a snare,
but the righteous sing and rejoice.
7 The righteous know the rights of the poor;
the wicked have no such understanding.
8 Scoffers set a city aflame,
but the wise turn away wrath.

9 If the wise go to law with fools,
there is ranting and ridicule without relief.
10 The bloodthirsty hate the blameless,
and they seek the life of the upright.
11 A fool gives full vent to anger,
but the wise quietly holds it back.
12 If a ruler listens to falsehood,
all his officials will be wicked.

13 The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.
14 If a king judges the poor with equity,
his throne will be established forever.
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a mother is disgraced by a neglected child.
16 When the wicked are in authority, transgression increases,
but the righteous will look upon their downfall.

17 Discipline your children, and they will give you rest;
they will give delight to your heart.
18 Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint,
but happy are those who keep the law.
19 By mere words servants are not disciplined,
for though they understand, they will not give heed.
20 Do you see someone who is hasty in speech?
There is more hope for a fool than for anyone like that.

21 A slave pampered from childhood
will come to a bad end.
22 One given to anger stirs up strife,
and the hothead causes much transgression.
23 A person’s pride will bring humiliation,
but one who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.
24 To be a partner of a thief is to hate one’s own life;
one hears the victim’s curse, but discloses nothing.

25 The fear of others lays a snare,
but one who trusts in the Lord is secure.
26 Many seek the favor of a ruler,
but it is from the Lord that one gets justice.
27 The unjust are an abomination to the righteous,
but the upright are an abomination to the wicked.

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 these sayings express the truth that those who give themselves over to sin, selfishness, greed, injustice, etc, are not warring against some arbitrary and irrelevant rule that God has set out, but are rather making war against reality itself. The wise, conversely, even if they seem to suffer loss or be foolish according to the short-term analysis, are those who are living according to what is actually true. Injustice, then, will simply never be able to acquire a permanent gain; as verse 7 of chapter 28 says, those who build up their wealth by imposing interest on the poor are simply building up money that someone else will spend. In the same way that crime doesn’t pay, rebellion against God doesn’t profit anyone at all.)

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)

Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Orthros Prayers

There are twelve prayers that the Priest prays at the beginning of the Orthros service. In all of them, he prays for himself and for all the people, and gives thanks to God for the rest of sleep and for the opportunity to wake up and offer worship and thanksgiving and prayers to God. It is important to understand that the Orthros service is the service that the Church does at sunrise; it begins when it is still dark, and continues as the sun comes up. These twelve prayers, then, reflect what we can and should think and feel and say to God as we wake up and begin our day. These three prayers specifically talk about how, as we rise from our beds, we turn our words and actions and lives toward the Lord, asking for His guidance and blessing on everything that we do, and His mercy and forgiveness upon our failures and sins.

SEVENTH PRAYER

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have raised us from our beds and gathered us together for this hour of prayer, give us grace by the opening of our mouths and accept our thanksgivings, in the measure of our ability. Teach us your statutes, because we do not know how to pray as we ought, unless you, Lord guide us by your Holy Spirit. Therefore we beg you, if we have sinned in any way until the present hour in word or deed or by thought, voluntarily or involuntarily, remit, forgive, pardon. For if you should regard iniquities, Lord; Lord, who will stand? For there is redemption from you. You alone are holy, a helper, a mighty defender of our life, and in you is our praise at all times.
Blessed and glorified be the might of your Kingdom, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

EIGHTH PRAYER

Lord our God, who have driven from us the sloth of sleep and called us together with a holy summons to lift up our hands and to give you thanks for the judgements of your justice, accept our supplications, our requests, our thanksgivings, our nocturnal worship; and give us, O God, the grace of faith unashamed, sure hope, love without pretence. Bless our comings in and our goings out, our deeds, works, words, desires, and grant that we may meet the beginnings of the day praising, singing, blessing the loving-kindness of your ineffable goodness.
For blessed is your all-holy name and glorified is your kingdom, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

NINTH PRAYER

Light in our hearts, Master, lover of humankind, the unsullied light of your divine knowledge, and open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of the proclamation of your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of your blessed commandments, so that having trampled down all the desires of the flesh we may pass over to a spiritual way of life, thinking and doing all things that are well-pleasing to you.
For you are our sanctification and to you we give glory, to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should point out how the 9th Prayer here is also used in the Divine Liturgy, and is the prayer that the Priest prays immediately before the reading of the Gospel. The Faithful can tell that the priest is reading this prayer by watching for the offering of incense during the Epistle Reading. This is a prayer that we can all use, however, as we prepare to read Scripture, and it indicates to us that one of the disciplines we should develop in ourselves as we begin each day is to actually read from the Scriptures, and especially from the Gospels. It is a good and blessed discipline to read a short passage, perhaps just an individual story or saying, from one of the Four Gospel accounts every day; in this way, we will move through the Gospels all through the course of our lives, always having some word or action of the Lord to comfort us, to instruct us, or to sustain us through the course of our days.)

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)

Acts 18:18-28; 19:1-10 (Paul’s Return to Antioch, Ministry of Apollos, Paul in Ephesus)

Last time, we saw St. Paul arrive in Corinth and remain there for a year and a half, teaching and instructing and building up the Church there, and functioning effectively as their bishop. During that time, there was substantial upheaval, with conflict between the Jews of the city and those Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ; somewhat unusually, the governor of the city refused to get involved, either to persecute the Christians, or to defend them against the mob actions of those opposing them. This time, we will see St. Paul leave Corinth and return to Antioch, and where he goes from there.

Paul’s Return to Antioch

18 After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow. 19 When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, but first he himself went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay longer, he declined; 21 but on taking leave of them, he said, “I will return to you, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

Ministry of Apollos

24 Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately.

27 And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.

Paul in Ephesus

19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied— 7 altogether there were about twelve of them.

8 He entered the synagogue and for three months spoke out boldly, and argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 When some stubbornly refused to believe and spoke evil of the Way before the congregation, he left them, taking the disciples with him, and argued daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

Reading 34 – 508 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 in this account, we see a great deal of St. Paul’s life summed up quite succinctly. He leaves Corinth and passes through Ephesus on his way back to Jerusalem, which he passes through briefly before returning to Antioch. He stays there for a little while, and then effectively retraces the path of his previous journey, going overland to all the Churches he had established in Asia Minor, this time going into Phrygia (where he had been forbidden to go the previous time), as well as ministering to the Churches he had established himself in Galatia. He ends up in Ephesus, where he stays for over two years, and during that time, he encounters some people who are apparently “disciples”, but haven’t yet received the Holy Spirit. Then, importantly, we see St. Paul baptize them in the name of Jesus, more than the baptism of John the Baptist, and then lay hands on them, upon which point they receive the Holy Spirit. This is one of the signs of St. Paul’s apostolic rank, and is therefore important.)

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)

Jonah 3:1-10; 4:1-11 (Repentance of Nineveh, Jonah is Angry and is Corrected)

Last time, we saw Jonah called to preach to Nineveh, but instead run away, going to Joppa and taking ship in the opposite direction. We saw the Lord bring a storm upon his ship, and Jonah admit to his shipmates that he was the cause of the storm, directing them to throw him into the sea to save themselves. They did so, and God sent a great fish to swallow Jonah, and from the depths of the belly of the fish, Jonah cried out in repentance, asking for the Lord’s deliverance, and after three days, God caused the fish to spew Jonah out onto dry land. This time, we will see Jonah obey God and go to Nineveh, and what will result from that.

Conversion of Nineveh

3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across.

4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. 6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

7 Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. 8 Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Jonah’s Anger

4 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3 And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. 6 The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush.

7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah Is Reproved

9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

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 in the story of Jonah, we see three elements of the Gospel prefigured and prophesied. First, in Jonah we see not just a sign of resurrection, but also an instance of one bound in what might as well be death crying out to God for help, and God coming and delivering him from that bondage, and thus, Jonah is not just a sign of the Lord’s Resurrection, but also a sign of all those who were bound in Hades that were delivered by the Lord in His Resurrection. So those are the first two elements; the third is Jonah’s discontent about the mercy granted to the people of Nineveh. There is something similar in his reaction and that of the people of God at the time of St. Paul, as they see Gentiles entering the Church without submitting to the full requirements of the Torah, without being humiliated and suffering in the same way that their nations had caused the Hebrews to suffer. But in both cases, the Lord will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy, and it is our part, all of our part, simply to rejoice in the mercy that we have received from God.)

2) What do we learn about God in this reading?

3) What do we learn about human beings in this reading?

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)

St. Cyril of Jerusalem – Catechetical Homily 14:19-21

Last time we read chapters 15-18 of St. Cyril’s 14th Catechetical Homily, on the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Lord’s Sitting at the Right Hand of the Father. We saw St. Cyril addressing the objections and criticisms of those who deny the Resurrection of the Lord, and specifically those of the Jews, and using the story of Jonah, which was the Lord’s own sign offered to those of His people who demanded a sign even before His Passion, as a means of doing so. This time, we will see him continue his reflection on the Lord’s descent into death, and proclaim the Lord’s glorious Resurrection.

Chapter 19

Death was panic-stricken on seeing a new visitant descending into the nether world, One not subject to the bonds of the place. Why, O you porters of hell, were you terrified on seeing Him? What unaccustomed fear seized upon you? Death fled away and his flight convicted him of cowardice. The holy prophets ran forward, and Moses the Lawgiver, and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; David also and Samuel; Isaia and John the Baptist, who bore witness to Him when he said: “Art thou he who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

All the Just, whom death had swallowed up, were ransomed; for it was fitting that the King who had been heralded should be the Redeemer of His noble heralds. Then each of the Just said: “ ‘O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?’86 For the Conqueror has ransomed us.”

Chapter 20

Jona fulfilled a type of our Savior when he prayed from the belly of the fish and said: “I cried for help from the midst of the nether world.” He was in fact in the fish, yet he says that he is in the nether world. In a later verse he manifestly prophesies in the person of Christ: “My head went down into the chasms of the mountains.”88 Yet he was still in the belly of the fish. What mountains encompass you? But I know, he says, that I am a type of Him who is to be laid in the sepulchre hewn out of the rock. While he was in the sea Jona says: “I went down into the earth”; for he typified Christ, who went down into the heart of the earth.

Foreseeing also the deceit of the Jews, who persuaded the soldiers to lie by saying to them, “Say,” that they “stole him away,”90 Jona says: “They that observe lying vanities have forsaken their own mercy.” For He who showed them mercy came, was crucified and rose again, when He had shed His precious blood for the Jews and the Gentiles. But they say: “Say,” that they “stole him away,” “observing lying vanities.” Concerning His Resurrection Isaia says: “He who brought from the earth the great shepherd of the sheep.”92 He has added the word ‘great,’ lest He be esteemed merely equal in honor with the shepherds before Him.

Chapter 21

Therefore, since we have the prophecies, let our faith be firm. Let them fall, who fall from disbelief, for they will it so; but you have taken your stand upon the rock of faith in the Resurrection. Even to this day the Manichaeans say that the Resurrection of the Savior was imaginary and not real, paying no heed to Paul, who writes: “Who was born according to the flesh of the offspring of David’; and afterwards: “by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Again his words are directed against them when he says: “Do not say in thy heart: Who shall ascend into heaven? or, Who shall descend into the abyss? that is, to bring up Christ from the dead.”94 In like manner, by way of confirmation he has written elsewhere: “Remember that Jesus Christ rose from the dead”; and again: “and if Christ has not risen, vain then is our preaching, vain too is your faith. Yes, and we are found false witnesses as to God, in that we have borne witness against God that he raised Christ whom he did not raise.”

96 Subsequently he says: “But as it is, Christ has risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” “And he appeared to Cephas; and after that to the twelve”98 (for if you disbelieve one witness, you have twelve witnesses); “then he was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once” (if they disbelieve the twelve, let them heed the five hundred); “after that, he was seen by James,”100 His own brother, and first bishop of this diocese.

Since so famous a bishop was privileged to see the risen Christ, as his disciple, do not disbelieve. But you may say that His brother is a biased witness; thereafter “he was seen by me,” Paul, His enemy; can testimony be doubted when it is proclaimed by an enemy? “I formerly was a persecutor,”102 but now preach the glad tidings of the Resurrection.

Leo McCauley, “Foreword to Catecheses 13–18,” in The Works of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, ed. Bernard M. Peebles, trans. Leo P. McCauley and Anthony A. Stephenson, vol. 64, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1970), 41–46.

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 St. Cyril is doing many things at once. He is connecting the prophecy of Jonah to the death and resurrection of the Lord. He is affirming the Church’s ancient belief that the righteous from the Old Testament were waiting for the Lord in Hades and rejoiced to see Him come to shatter the ancient gates and bars and take dominion even over death itself. He is confessing that the Lord’s Resurrection is confirmed by many witnesses, and thus, in all ways, he is preaching the essential truth of the Lord’s Resurrection as the cornerstone of our Faith and our Salvation and our Life. Therefore, let us say together with Him (but not quite yet): Christ is Risen!)

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)

Acts 18:1-17 (Paul in Corinth)

Last time, we saw St. Paul arrive in Athens, and being deeply troubled by the idolatry that he saw everywhere in the city, he began to preach not just in the local synagogue, but even in the street, speaking the Gospel to anyone that would listen. Eventually some of the philosophers were intrigued, and gave him a space on the Areopagus to speak more fully, and there he proclaimed the “Unknown God” to them, and spoke of the Resurrection. Most of those listening dismissed him at that point, but some of them, notably Dionysios the Areopagite, whose name is very important in later times within the Church. This week, we will see where St. Paul goes next.

Paul in Corinth

18 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers. 4 Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. 6 When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue.

8 Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. 9 One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” 11 He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. 13 They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law.” 14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews; 15 but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.” 16 And he dismissed them from the tribunal. 17 Then all of them seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things.

Reading 33 – 431 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 happens in this chapter is a matter of some importance; for the first time since his time in Antioch, St. Paul is staying for a prolonged period of time in one of the cities where he has preached the Gospel. That it is Corinth, a city substantially given over to wickedness (and renowned for this, in fact) is striking; Paul is not looking for easy labors, but is remaining in the place where there is a profound ongoing need for oversight and pastoral care. In this place, too, we see him explicitly tell the people in the synagogue that he is innocent of their rejection, and will now go to speak the Word to the Gentiles. Finally, the mention of Aquila and Priscilla as specifically Jews who had lived in Rome but had been expelled by Claudius is important; it reflects an event in history that is attested elsewhere, and which also provides the background for St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. The point being that the Jews were expelled from Rome, but not necessarily the Gentile Faithful, and thus, when eventually the Jews (including Jews who followed Christ) were allowed to return to Rome, there was a strong temptation to proceed with two separate congregations. The Epistle to the Romans can be read as an urgent plea by St. Paul that they should continue together as one body.)

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)

Jonah 1:1-17; 2:1-10 (Jonah Tries to Run Away from God, Prays from the Belly of the Fish)

Last time, we read from the prophecy of Jeremiah, as the prophet speaks of the restoration of the people of God after the time of exile and judgment, and rather clearly prophecies the Lord’s coming and the consolation of the New Covenant. This time, we will see one of the prophets who spoke to Israel before the northern kingdom was led away into captivity by the Assyrian Empire, both because he gives us a glimpse of the reality experienced by the northern kingdom toward the end of its existence, and more particularly because he serves as a sign and foreshadowing in himself of the Lord’s resurrection. We are speaking, of course, of the prophecy of Jonah.

Jonah Tries to Run Away from God

1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.

4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. 6 The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.”

7 The sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.

11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.

14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

17 But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called to the Lord out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
3 You cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.

4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
how shall I look again
upon your holy temple?’
5 The waters closed in over me;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head
6 at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the Pit,
O Lord my God.

7 As my life was ebbing away,
I remembered the Lord;
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
8 Those who worship vain idols
forsake their true loyalty.
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”
10 Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.

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 understanding of the time was that the depths of the sea were strongly associated with the grave, with Sheol, the place of the dead, and thus the clear understanding of anyone reading this is that Jonah is not just crying out from inside a sea-beast’s belly, but actually crying out to the Lord from the depths of Hades. His prayer, then, becomes a prototypical image of the prayer of the righteous in the grave, waiting for the salvation of the Lord. And in being spewed out back onto dry land, we see a foreshadowing of the Resurrection itself. Next time, however, we will see Jonah actually go about his prophetic work, albeit with an ill will toward the people to whom he is preaching.)

2) What do we learn about God in this reading?

3) What do we learn about human beings in this reading?

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)

St. Cyril of Jerusalem – Catechetical Homily 14:15-18

St. Cyril of Jerusalem was the Nicene (and therefore Orthodox) bishop of Jerusalem from 350 – 386 AD. His time in oversight of that vital Church was one of great upheaval and tension, and he experienced at least three periods of exile from his see, the last for 11 years, during the reign of the Arian emperor Valens. At some point in his episcopate in Jerusalem, probably early on, he delivered a series of catechetical lectures to the catechumens who were preparing for baptism during the Lenten period. These sermons were delivered in the Church of the Resurrection, established on the sites of the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection by Constantine. The excerpts we will read today and next week are from Homily 14, on the Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord. We read these in connection with our Day 1 readings, as St. Cyril is reflecting on the Resurrection in light of the story of Jonah.

On the Resurrection, Ascension, and Sitting at the Right Hand

Chapter 15

The Sacred Scriptures do not convince the unheeding Jews, who disregard all that is written, and impugn the Resurrection of Jesus; it is best to meet them thus: Why do you assert that Eliseus and Elia raised the dead, but deny the Resurrection of our Savior? Is it because we have no living witnesses of what we assert? Well, produce witnesses of those earlier events. But that was written about? So is this. Why do you accept one and reject the other?

Hebrews wrote the earlier history; the Apostles also were all Hebrews. Why, therefore, do you disbelieve Jews? Matthew, who wrote the Gospel, wrote it in the Hebrew tongue; and Paul the preacher was a Hebrew of the Hebrews; and the twelve Apostles were of Hebrew stock; besides, fifteen Bishops of Jerusalem in succession were appointed from the Hebrews. Why do you accept your own accounts but reject ours, though these too were written by Hebrews among you?

Chapter 16

But it is impossible, someone will say, for the dead to rise. Eliseus twice raised the dead, both when he was alive, and after his death. We believe that when a dead man had been cast upon the corpse of Eliseus he rose again on contact; but Christ has not risen from the dead? When the dead man touched Eliseus he rose again, though Eliseus who raised him remained dead as before; but in this case the Dead of whom we treat rose, and many dead who did not even touch Him rose.

For “many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose; and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection, they came into the holy city” (manifestly the city we are in), “and appeared to many.” Eliseus indeed raised a dead man, but he did not conquer the world; Elia raised the dead, but demons are not driven out in the name of Elia. We do not speak ill of these prophets, but we praise their Master more. We do not belittle their marvels to magnify our own, for their miracles are ours also; but from their deeds we win credit for our own.

Chapter 17

They further object: A dead man recently deceased was raised by the living; but show us that it is possible for a man dead and buried for three days to rise again. The testimony we seek is supplied by the Lord Jesus Himself in the Gospels, when He says: “For even as Jona was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Now when we study the story of Jona the force of the resemblance becomes striking. Jesus was sent to preach repentance; so was Jona. Though Jona fled, not knowing what was to come, Jesus came willingly, to grant repentance for salvation. Jona slumbered in the ship and was fast asleep amid the stormy sea; while Jesus by God’s will was sleeping, the sea was stirred up, for the purpose of manifesting thereafter the power of Him who slept. They said to Jona: “What are you doing asleep? Rise up, call upon your God! that God may save us”; but the Apostles say: “Lord, save us!”80 In the first instance they said: Call upon your God, and in the second, Save us.

In the first Jona said to them: “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, that it may quiet down for you”; in the other Christ Himself “rebuked the wind and the sea, and there came a great calm.”82 Jona was cast into the belly of a great fish, but Christ of His own will descended to the abode of the invisible fish of death. He went down of His own will to make death disgorge those it had swallowed up, according to the Scripture: “I shall deliver them from the power of the nether world, and I shall redeem them from death.”

Chapter 18

Here let us pose the question: Is it more difficult for a man dead and buried to rise again from the earth, or for a man in the belly of a fish, where he has come into contact with the extreme heat of a living creature, to suffer no corruption? Everyone knows that the heat of the belly is so intense that even bones that have been swallowed are decomposed. How was it possible for Jona to be three days and three nights in the belly of the fish without suffering corruption? How could Jona live for three days without breathing our air, since according to man’s nature we cannot live without breathing it? The Jews answer: “The power of God went down with Jona when he was tossed about in the depths.”

But if the Lord granted His servant life by sending His power with him, can he not grant it to Himself? If one is credible, the other is credible; if one is incredible, the other also is incredible; to me both are equally credible. I believe also that Christ rose from the dead. I have many testimonies of this, from the Sacred Scriptures, and from the power of the risen Christ working to this day. He descended alone into the nether world, but ascended therefrom with a numerous company; for He went down to death, “and many of the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose” by His power.

Leo McCauley, “Foreword to Catecheses 13–18,” in The Works of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, ed. Bernard M. Peebles, trans. Leo P. McCauley and Anthony A. Stephenson, vol. 64, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1970), 41–46.

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 this entire passage is written to counter supposed refutations of the Resurrection of our Lord that were current in his time; he was speaking to catechumens, who would certainly have heard objections to and criticisms of the Church’s teachings in the course of their time as catechumens, and still more as the season of celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection approached. Thus he gives this argument, which provides us with a chance to see how this Father of the Church reflected on the Old Testament, both the stories of Elisha/Eliseus and the story of Jonah. Most importantly, we see him following the Lord Himself as He interprets the story of Jonah as being a prophecy and sign of His own death and resurrection.)

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)

Acts 17:16-34 (Paul in Athens)

Last week we saw Paul leave Thessalonica and Beroea, followed by those from the synagogue in Thessalonica who had opposed him out of jealousy. He therefore left his companions, Silas and Timothy and (presumably) Luke in Beroea, while he went on to Athens. Here in the city we will see him preach one of his more famous, although not necessarily his most successful sermons.

Paul in Athens

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities.”

(This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) 19 So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.

22 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 23 For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 26 From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28 For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’

29 Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. 30 While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

32 When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 At that point Paul left them. 34 But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Reading 32 – 506 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 this is apparently the first time that St. Paul overtly preaches in public to a crowd of non-Jews. He had, of course, preached the Gospel to Gentiles who were listening in the synagogue, and had preached to the jailor in Philippi. But here, he stands up in the synagogue and disputes with the Athenian philosophers, and they give him room to explain in public what he is preaching. He begins by saying that he is simply preaching to them a god who they had once known, and perhaps have intuited the existence of, and so far they are somewhat intrigued. But when he speaks of the resurrection of the dead, then that is a bridge too far for many (but not all) of those who hear him. It is perhaps because of this and other encounters that St. Paul elsewhere speaks of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord as foolishness to the Greeks (1 Corinthians 1:23). The other point worth noting is that, in verse 28, he quotes two pagan poets, both of whom are speaking about a god, but NOT the one true God. This shows us both that St. Paul is at least somewhat educated in Greek literature, and not only in the Torah, but also that he is willing to make use of that literature to preach the Gospel, to claim the beauty and wisdom of the heathen Greeks in service of the one true God of Israel, our Lord Jesus Christ. This coopting of Greek wisdom sets the stage for the next several centuries of the life of the Church, as the entire Greek mind and language are baptized and consecrated to the truth of the Gospel in the writings of the Fathers, the accounts of the martyrs, and the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils.)

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?