Day 1 (Monday)

4 Kingdoms 19:1-37 (God Delivers Judah from Sennacherib’s Threat)

Last time, we met King Hezekiah, who reigned in Judah at the time of the fall of Israel to the Assyrian Empire. Hezekiah was righteous and faithful to the Lord beyond any king before or after him, according to our chronicler, and turned to the Lord in every circumstance. Assyria, however, is not content simply to demand tribute from Judah, however, but comes and demands that Jerusalem and all the surrounding country surrender, and accept the same relocation that came to Israel at this time. When we left off last time, the Assyrian general, the Rabshekah, was outside Jerusalem demanding that the people surrender themselves to Assyrian rule. As we read on, we will see what comes of this.

Hezekiah Consults Isaiah

19 When King Hezeki′ah heard it, he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eli′akim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezeki′ah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rab′shakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.”

5 When the servants of King Hezeki′ah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’”

Sennacherib’s Threat

8 The Rab′shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah; for he heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 And when the king heard concerning Tirha′kah king of Ethiopia, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezeki′ah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to Hezeki′ah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. And shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations which my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharva′im, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’”

Hezekiah’s Prayer

14 Hezeki′ah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezeki′ah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezeki′ah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord the God of Israel, who art enthroned above the cherubim, thou art the God, thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. 16 Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear; open thy eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennach′erib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Of a truth, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, 18 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone; therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, I beseech thee, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou, O Lord, art God alone.”

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezeki′ah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennach′erib king of Assyria I have heard. 21 This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

“She despises you, she scorns you—
the virgin daughter of Zion;
she wags her head behind you—
the daughter of Jerusalem.
22 “Whom have you mocked and reviled?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and haughtily lifted your eyes?
Against the Holy One of Israel!
23 By your messengers you have mocked the Lord,
and you have said, ‘With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
to the far recesses of Lebanon;
I felled its tallest cedars,
its choicest cypresses;
I entered its farthest retreat,
its densest forest.
24 I dug wells
and drank foreign waters,
and I dried up with the sole of my foot
all the streams of Egypt.’

25 “Have you not heard
that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
what now I bring to pass,
that you should turn fortified cities
into heaps of ruins,
26 while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
are dismayed and confounded,
and have become like plants of the field,
and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops;
blighted before it is grown?

27 “But I know your sitting down
and your going out and coming in,
and your raging against me.
28 Because you have raged against me
and your arrogance has come into my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
and my bit in your mouth,
and I will turn you back on the way
by which you came.

29 “And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same; then in the third year sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 30 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; 31 for out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord will do this.

32 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. 33 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, says the Lord. 34 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”

Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death

35 And that night the angel of the Lord went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennach′erib king of Assyria departed, and went home, and dwelt at Nin′eveh. 37 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adram′melech and Share′zer, his sons, slew him with the sword, and escaped into the land of Ar′arat. And Esarhad′don his son reigned in his stead.

Reading 14 – 1146 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 a few helpful explanatory points. Last time we saw the Assyrian king Sennacherib campaigning in Judah, and sending three high officials with a detachment to threaten Jerusalem and attempt to reduce it without a siege. When that fails, hearing that the king of Ethiopia has marched against him, he sends another threatening letter, probably because he wants to wrap up his campaign in Judah quickly in order to turn his attention to this threat from beyond Egypt. But the answer of the Lord to those threats is the death of a great many of Sennacherib’s soldiers, which forces him to lift the siege and depart. This siege, and its surprising end without the conquest of Jerusalem, is again independently corroborated by Assyrian records, although they attribute it to the payment of a large tribute by Hezekiah. Herodotus wrote of this event that the reason for the lifting of the siege was that the Assyrian army was overrun by mice, which modern scholars have suggested might mean plague. Regardless of the explanations provided by those outside the household of faith, Jerusalem was not destroyed by the Assyrians, despite their fearsome reputation, and the prophetic writers of 4 Kingdoms attribute this deliverance to the Lord, just as He promised in His word spoken through Isaiah the prophet. Finally, as a matter simply of fun, it is worth noting that there is a famous poem from the 1800’s written describing this event; we include a link to this here: https://englishhistory.net/byron/poems/the-destruction-of-sennacherib/)

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)

Gregory the Theologian – On Theology and the Office of Bishops – 2

Last time we began a new sermon of St. Gregory the Theologian, talking about the work of theology and the role of the bishop in the Church. St. Gregory began by urging anyone undertaking to speak about God to begin with purification and repentance, and to approach in humility…but still to approach, taking Zacchaeus as a model and guide. This time, having laid his groundwork of preparation, St. Gregory will proceed with his argument.

ORATION 20 – On theology and the office of bishops – Part 2

5. Now that we have cleansed our theologian with our sermon,18 come, let us talk a little about God too, drawing our inspiration from the Father himself and the Son and the Holy Spirit who form the topic of our sermon. I pray that I may be like Solomon and avoid eccentricity in what I think and say about God. For when he says, For I am the most simple of all men, and there is not in me the wisdom of men,19 he presumably does not mean that he is guilty of a lack of discernment. How could he?

Did he not, after all, ask God for this understanding above everything else20 and obtain wisdom and insight and largeness of mind in richer and greater abundance than the grains of sand?21 How does one so wise and blessed with such a gift call himself the most simple of all men? Clearly, because his understanding is not his own but the fullness of God’s understanding working in him. This is also why, when Paul said, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,22 he of course was not speaking of himself as dead, but meant rather that he had attained a life beyond the ordinary by partaking of the true life, the one bounded by no death.

Hence we worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, distinguishing their individual characteristics while maintaining their divine unity; and we neither confound the three into one, thus avoiding the plague of Sabellius, nor adopt the insanity of Arius and divide them into three entities that are unnaturally estranged from one another. Why must we violently swing in the opposite direction, attempting to correct one distortion with another, much as one might try to straighten a plant that leans completely to one side, when we can, by moving directly to the center, stay within piety’s pale?

6. Now when I speak of the center I am talking about truth, the only object worthy of our consideration as we reject both the evil of contraction and the greater absurdity of division. We ought not, on the assumption that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the same, adopt language that from a fear of polytheism contracts its reference to a single individually existing entity, keeping the names but stripping them of any distinction; we may just as well call all three one as say that each by definition is nothing, for they would hardly be what they are if they were interchangeable with one another.

Nor, on the other hand, ought we divide them into three substances that are either foreign, dissimilar, and unrelated (which is to follow what is well called the insanity of Arius), or lack order and authority and are, so to speak, rival gods. In the first instance we are locked into the narrow position of the Jews, who restrict deity only to the ungenerated; in the second, we plunge into the equal but opposite evil of positing three individual sources and three gods, something even more absurd than the first case.

We must neither be so partial to the Father that we actually strip him of his fatherhood, for whose father would he in fact be if his son were different in nature and estranged from him along with the rest of creation? Nor, by the same token, should we be so partial to Christ that we fail to preserve this very distinction, his Sonhood, for whose son would he in fact be if there were no causal relationship between his Father and himself?

Nor again should we diminish the Father’s status as source, proper to him as Father and generator, since he would be the source of small and worthless things were he not the cause of deity contemplated in Son and Spirit. It is our duty then both to maintain the oneness of God and to confess three individual entities, or Persons, each with his distinctive property.

7. The oneness of God would, in my view, be maintained if both Son and Spirit are causally related to him alone without being merged or fused into him and if they all share one and the same divine movement and purpose, if I may so phrase it, and are identical in essence. And the three individually existing entities will be maintained if we do not think of them as fusing or dissolving or mingling, lest those with an excessive devotion to unity end up destroying the whole.

And the individual properties will be maintained if, in the case of the Father, we think and speak of him as being both source and without source (I use the term in the sense of causal agent, fount, and eternal light); and, in the case of the Son, we do not think of him as without source but the source of all things. But when I speak of “source,” do not think of time or imagine something midway between Creator and created, or by a false interposition split the nature of beings that are coeternal and conjoined.

For if time were older than the Son, it would clearly be the first product of the Father’s causal activity, and how can one who is in time be the creator of all time? And in what sense is he in fact the Lord of all23 if he is preceded by and subject to the lordship of time? The Father, then, is without source: his existence is derived neither from outside nor from within himself. In turn, the Son is not without source if you understand “Father” to mean causal agent, since the Father is the source of the Son as causal agent, but if you take source in the temporal sense, he too is without source because the Lord of all time does not owe his source to time.

Gregory Nazianzus, Select Orations, ed. Thomas P. Halton, trans. Martha Vinson, vol. 107, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2003), 107–116.

Reading 2 – 985 words

Footnotes:

18 There is a play on words between theologian (θεολόγος) and sermon (λόγος).

19 Prv 30:2 LXX.

20 1 Kgs 3:9–14.

21 1 Kgs 4:29 (LXX 2:35a and 5:9).

22 Gal 2:20.

23 Rom 10:12.

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 St. Gregory is effectively providing his listeners with a basic explanation of the essential theology of the Holy Trinity, of how it is that we must speak about God, based upon what He has revealed to us of Himself. It is important for us here to remember that St. Gregory is preaching this in a strongly majority Arian city, as Constantinople was at the time, and is working hard to avoid requiring his listeners to use any particular term which might be controversial and might therefore push them away from the truth of the Orthodox Faith. He is, as I understand it, something of a minority report in this matter; he is determined to be as conciliatory as possible, and is therefore not using the term Homoousios (consubstantial/of the same Essence), or at least not yet. But he still clearly holds to the essential truth of Nicaea, the essential truth that the Church has held from the beginning, and what he is doing is EXPLAINING what Homoousios means, while carefully avoiding turning his listeners away by using the term. This therefore serves us as a beautiful summary of the Trinitarian Faith of the Church.)

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 26:19-32 (Paul Tells of his Preaching, Urges Agrippa to Believe)

Last time we saw St. Paul giving an account of his life to King Agrippa (Herod Agrippa II), bringing the king up to the point in his life that the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Effectively, although Agrippa is simply consulting with Festus about an administrative curiosity (this Roman citizen who is also a Jew, but is hated by the leaders in Jerusalem, who has therefore appealed to Caesar, without any clear charges being laid against him), Paul is making use of the opportunity to preach Christ to one of the most important and powerful men in the region. This gives us an insight, as well, to what Paul would have intended to do when he met Caesar himself; to preach Christ to him! We will see how he continues, then, from the point of his encounter with Christ.

Paul Tells of His Preaching

19 “After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: 23 that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

Paul Appeals to Agrippa to Believe

24 While he was making this defense, Festus exclaimed, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!” 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth. 26 Indeed the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?” 29 Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains.”

30 Then the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them; 31 and as they were leaving, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the emperor.”

Reading 48 – 343 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 Agrippa here, almost like Herod Antipas, his uncle, who had arrested John the Baptist and then ordered him executed, has an interest and understanding of the things of which Paul is speaking. Perhaps even more so than Herod Antipas, he seems drawn to Paul’s preaching, although he too declines to actually submit himself and follow Christ. But Paul does not hesitate to preach to him; on the contrary, he praises him for his understanding. But Agrippa gets up and leaves at this point; St. Paul remains only a curiosity to him, and he recedes into history.)

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)

4 Kingdoms 18:1-37 (Hezekiah’s Reign in Judah, Sennacherib Invades Judah)

The last couple weeks, we’ve read from the book of 2 Chronicles, where we saw the life of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah. He was righteous, and was pleasing to the Lord, and the Lord was with him throughout his life, despite some mistakes that he made. The biggest mistake was the alliance that he made by means of the marriage of his son to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Because of this, his son and grandson did not follow him in faithfulness, and his son died after reigning for only eight years, and his grandson was killed after ruling for only one year, along with the rest of Ahab’s family while visiting them in Israel. When he died, Athaliah murdered all the descendants of Jehoshaphat except one, an infant named Joash, who was protected by one of the priests. When he grew older, the priests and army commanders overthrew Athaliah and placed Joash on the throne. He was righteous in his youth, and evil during his maturity, and the kings who followed him during the final days of Israel followed the pattern of his life, which is to say, some were better, and some much worse. The worst so far was Ahaz, who sacrificed one of his children to the demon gods of the nations, made an alliance with the Assyrians, and changed the altar of sacrifice at the Temple to match the pagan altar of the Assyrians (4 Kingdoms 16). When he died, however, his son Hezekiah succeeded him, and he was righteous in a way that we have not yet seen.

Hezekiah’s Reign over Judah

18 In the third year of Hoshe′a son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezeki′ah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechari′ah. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Ashe′rah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had burned incense to it; it was called Nehush′tan.

5 He trusted in the Lord the God of Israel; so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went forth, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria, and would not serve him. 8 He smote the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.

9 In the fourth year of King Hezeki′ah, which was the seventh year of Hoshe′a son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmane′ser king of Assyria came up against Samar′ia and besieged it 10 and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezeki′ah, which was the ninth year of Hoshe′a king of Israel, Samar′ia was taken. 11 The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded; they neither listened nor obeyed.

Sennacherib Invades Judah

13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezeki′ah Sennach′erib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 And Hezeki′ah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.” And the king of Assyria required of Hezeki′ah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 And Hezeki′ah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezeki′ah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the doorposts which Hezeki′ah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.

17 And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab′saris, and the Rab′shakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezeki′ah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 18 And when they called for the king, there came out to them Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the secretary, and Jo′ah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

19 And the Rab′shakeh said to them, “Say to Hezeki′ah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this confidence of yours? 20 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? On whom do you now rely, that you have rebelled against me? 21 Behold, you are relying now on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.

22 But if you say to me, “We rely on the Lord our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezeki′ah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? 23 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders upon them. 24 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.’”

26 Then Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, and Shebnah, and Jo′ah, said to the Rab′shakeh, “Pray, speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand it; do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the Rab′shakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?”

28 Then the Rab′shakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezeki′ah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand. 30 Do not let Hezeki′ah make you to rely on the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ 31 Do not listen to Hezeki′ah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat of his own vine, and every one of his own fig tree, and every one of you will drink the water of his own cistern;”

32 “until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live, and not die. And do not listen to Hezeki′ah when he misleads you by saying, The Lord will deliver us. 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharva′im, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samar′ia out of my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the countries have delivered their countries out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

36 But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Jo′ah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezeki′ah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of the Rab′shakeh.

Reading 13 – 1357 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 first what the text says about Hezekiah, that he was more righteous and faithful than any king we have seen so far, even Jehoshaphat, and perhaps even David. Second, he should note that Hezekiah was also not cursed with too much success along with his faithfulness; he instead humbled himself before the king of Assyria, and sent him the precious things from the Temple, the things that he had himself set up there in the Temple. But when the king of Assyria did not keep his agreement, and came to conquer Jerusalem anyway, at that point he leaned entirely upon the Lord. We will see next week how the Lord cares for Hezekiah and his people. In the meantime, we provide also a few explanatory points. What we see here is part of the Assyrian campaign in Judah, which is well documented (if in somewhat boastful terms) in Assyrian annals independent of Scripture). Rabshekah is the title of the Assyrian chief steward, as Tartan is the Vizier and Rabsaris is the high chamberlain. So basically, Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, has sent three high officials with part of his army to threaten Jerusalem and attempt to reduce it without battle. This is the point of the threats that are made here.)

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)

Gregory the Theologian – On Theology and the Office of Bishops – 1

Last time we finished the homily of St. Gregory the Theologian on the Feast of Theophany, from the year 381, when he was the new bishop of Constantinople. We will wrap up this fifth year of the Religious Education Initiative by reading another homily delivered around the same time, probably a few months before the Theophany homily. In this one, we will see similar themes addressed, but somewhat more directly and concisely than in the other.

ORATION 20

On theology and the office of bishops.1

WHEN I AM CONFRONTED with the longwindedness so prevalent today among the instant experts and ordained theologians, who think that they have only to wish it and they are wise, I yearn for the supreme wisdom and, like Jeremiah, I seek out a wayfarers’ lodging place2 and feel the need to withdraw by myself.

Nothing appeals to me more than, by blocking out my senses, severing all ties with the flesh and the world, placing myself beyond the reach of human concerns except for the unavoidable, and communing with myself and with God, to live the life that transcends visible nature, ever containing within myself the reflections of the divine, their purity unclouded by the false images here below, and be and ever come to be a spotless mirror, as it were, of God and the divine, capturing light with light and the brighter through the more dim until we reach the fount of those rays that penetrate human existence and we finally attain the blessed goal, our mirrors shattered by the reality of truth.

For whether one were to pursue the study of philosophy in depth and gradually dissociate the noble and luminous element of the soul from the slough of darkness to which it is tied, or were to meet with a propitious God, or were successful in both respects and were to devote himself wholeheartedly to the contemplation of reality on high, it would only be with difficulty that he could gain mastery over the world of matter that drags him down. But before we rise above it as far as possible and sufficiently purify our ears and minds, I think it is dangerous either to accept the responsibility for other souls or to take up theology.

2. And so that you will not think me an inveterate worrier but may actually commend me for my prudence, I shall explain how I come to be apprehensive on this score by citing the testimony of Moses himself when he heard the words of God.3 A great number had been summoned to the mountain, including Aaron and his two sons who were priests. The rest were all bidden to worship from afar. Only Moses was to approach. The people were not to go up with him.

Now shortly before this, lightnings and thunder and trumpets and the mountain wrapped in smoke4 and dire warnings and similar terrors kept the others down below. It was truly a great thing for them simply to hear God’s voice, and this only after they had been thoroughly purified. But Moses went up and entered the cloud and spoke with God and received the Law, for the multitude the Law of the letter, for those above the multitude the Law of the spirit.5

3. I am familiar, too, with the stories of Eli6 the priest and, shortly after him, Uzzah.7 The one paid the penalty for his children’s outrageous behavior in desecrating the sacrifices, and this despite the fact that he had refused to endorse their impiety but had on the contrary administered to them many a rebuke on many occasions. Uzzah, on the other hand, dared merely to touch the ark, which had been jostled from its place by the ox, and, though he managed to save it, he himself perished. In this way did God preserve the sanctity of his ark.

I know, too, that the multitude could not touch even the walls of the sanctuary with impunity8—it was for this reason that other, exterior walls were required—and that the sacrifices themselves could only be consumed by deserving persons and at a sanctioned time and place. No one so much as dreamed of entering the Holy of Holies and looking upon or touching the curtain or the mercy seat or the ark.

4. So, knowing these things, and that no one can be worthy of our great God, who was both victim and high priest, unless he first presents himself to God as a living sacrifice,9 or rather, becomes a living holy temple of the living God,10 how could either I myself blithely launch into a discussion about God or countenance anyone who, without further ado, does the same? That is not a commendable ambition; the attempt is fraught with peril.

In fact, this is why one must first purify oneself and then enter into converse with the pure if we are not to share the fate of Manoah and, when we have beheld a vision of God, declare, We are destroyed, dear wife; we have seen God;11 or, like Peter, urge Jesus to leave the boat because we are unworthy of so great a presence;12 or, like the centurion in the Bible, seek healing but decline to receive the healer. So long as anyone of us is a centurion, with more than his share of wickedness and still in the service of Caesar, the universal ruler of creatures that creep on the ground, let him likewise say, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.13

But when I see Jesus, though I am small in spiritual stature, like the famous Zacchaeus, and climb the sycamore,14 putting to death what is earthly in me15 and wasting my lowly body,16 then I shall both receive Christ, who will say to me, Today salvation has come to this house,17 and I shall obtain salvation and live a more perfect life, distributing in virtue what I have garnered in wickedness, be it coin or doctrine.

Gregory Nazianzus, Select Orations, ed. Thomas P. Halton, trans. Martha Vinson, vol. 107, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2003), 107–116.

Reading 1 – 936 words

Footnotes:

1 PG 35.1065A–80C. Because of its content, this homily has been closely linked to Or. 2, 6, 23, and the Theological Orations 27–31. Although it is generally agreed that Or. 20 was delivered at Constantinople in 380, the precise date and occasion of its delivery, as well as its chronological relationship with the Theological Orations (Fall, 380), remain uncertain. One of the difficulties concerns the title and the phrase περὶ … καταστάσεως ἐπισκόπων (“on the office of bishops”), which has been seen as particularly problematic because Or. 20 does not involve the ordination or installation of bishops, the normal sense of κατάστασις in this context. Yet Gregory himself offers a way out of the difficulty at the very end of the first section, where he links the responsibilities of the theologian and bishop: ἢ ψυχῆς ἐπιστασίαν δέξασθαι ἢ θεολογίᾳ προσβαλεῖν οὐκ ἀσφαλές (“it is dangerous either to accept responsibility for other souls or to take up theology”). In Or. 20, Gregory thus develops the theme that one ought not to undertake theology or the episcopacy lightly, but because he does so in a general way, that is, without reference to a specific individual or situation, it is difficult to indentify the precise circumstances of its composition. For a full discussion with bibliography, see Mossay’s introduction in SC 270, pp. 45–53.

2 Jer. 9:2.

3 Ex 19:21–24.

4 Ex 19:16–18.

5 Ex 24:12–15; cf. Rom 2:29, 7:6; 2 Cor 3:6–8.

6 1 Sm 2:12–4:18.

7 2 Sm 6:6–7.

8 Nm 17:13 (17:28 LXX).

9 Rom 12:1.

10 2 Cor 6:16.

11 Jgs 13:22.

12 Lk 5:8.

13 Mt 8:8.

14 Lk 19:2–4.

15 Col 3:5.

16 Phil 3:21.

17 Lk 19:9.

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 St. Gregory is approaching this question, once again emphasizing the enormity of the task when one undertakes to approach any discourse about God. We must prepare ourselves first, we must purify ourselves, which is to say, we must lay aside the things in our lives that are unworthy of the Lord, or at least undertake to do so. But the enormity of the task does not forbid us from approaching; we must simply do so in the right manner, taking Zacchaeus as our example. The Lord comes to us indeed; we must not presume to raise ourselves up to Him in pride, however, but receive Him in repentance and humility.)

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 26:1-18 (Paul Defends Himself before Agrippa, Tells of his Conversion)

Last time we saw the new governor, Festus, tell King Agrippa (Herod Agrippa II, I believe) about St. Paul, and his appear to Caesar, and the enmity which the chief priests and other leaders of the people in Jerusalem had for him, and of the whole situation so far. It seemed clear that Festus was working to recommend himself to Agrippa as a prudent and just governor, but also to be seeking Agrippa’s perspective, so when Agrippa asked to meet with Paul, Festus jumped at the opportunity. This time, we will see St. Paul present his story to Agrippa and Festus and the others present there.

Paul Defends Himself before Agrippa

26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:

2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.

4 “All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, 7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews! 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

9 “Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. 11 By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

12 “With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.’ 15 I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Reading 47 – 505 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 the part of St. Paul’s story which we didn’t see originally in St. Luke’s account of this toward the beginning of the book, that the Lord says to Paul when He appears to Him on the road to Damascus that: “It hurts you to kick against the goads.” Which is to say, the Lord is guiding Paul like a herdsman guides an animal, but if the animal kicks against the stick which the herdsman uses, it hurts itself. Paul is resisting the will of the Lord, and is only hurting himself; the Lord comes to call him to lay aside this resistance and to instead serve the Lord with joy and love and fervor. This image is one which we should all hold in mind; the Lord is doing for us in our lives whatever is necessary for our healing, purification, and salvation. Sometimes it feels like surgery (probably because it is surgery, as the Lord removes from us what is harmful and unsound in our lives). We are inclined to avoid and resist and resent the Lord’s work in our lives. But if we can instead submit to Him, then…well then we can actually begin to live as we were created to live, in communion with the Lord. Like St. Paul, we will still suffer, but…we will be with the Lord!)

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)

2 Chronicles 19:4-11; 20:1-37 (God Brings Victory to Jehoshaphat)

Last time we saw the beginning of the reign of Jehoshaphat, and how he made an alliance with King Ahab of Israel, and as a result was almost caught up and killed himself in the judgment that came upon Ahab. Nonetheless, God spared him, although He sent a prophet to chide Jehoshaphat. We will see this week how his reign continues, and what kind of king he proves to be, and how the Lord delivers him and Judah from destruction.

The Reforms of Jehoshaphat

4 Jehosh′aphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people, from Beer-sheba to the hill country of E′phraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. 5 He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord; he is with you in giving judgment. 7 Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed what you do, for there is no perversion of justice with the Lord our God, or partiality, or taking bribes.”

8 Moreover in Jerusalem Jehosh′aphat appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, to give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. 9 And he charged them: “Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart: 10 whenever a case comes to you from your brethren who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or ordinances, then you shall instruct them, that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and wrath may not come upon you and your brethren. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. 11 And behold, Amari′ah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadi′ah the son of Ish′mael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters; and the Levites will serve you as officers. Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright!”

Invasion from the East

20 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Me-u′nites, came against Jehosh′aphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehosh′aphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Haz′azon-ta′mar” (that is, En-ged′i). 3 Then Jehosh′aphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer and Victory

5 And Jehosh′aphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, art thou not God in heaven? Dost thou not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In thy hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee. 7 Didst thou not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it for ever to the descendants of Abraham thy friend? 8 And they have dwelt in it, and have built thee in it a sanctuary for thy name, saying, 9 ‘If evil comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, for thy name is in this house, and cry to thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save.’

10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Se′ir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 12 O our God, wilt thou not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.”

13 Meanwhile all the men of Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jaha′ziel the son of Zechari′ah, son of Benai′ah, son of Je-i′el, son of Mattani′ah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Hearken, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehosh′aphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Fear not, and be not dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them; behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeru′el. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Fear not, and be not dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

18 Then Jehosh′aphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, of the Ko′hathites and the Kor′ahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Teko′a; and as they went out, Jehosh′aphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy array, as they went before the army, and say,

“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.”

22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Se′ir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Se′ir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Se′ir, they all helped to destroy one another.

24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehosh′aphat and his people came to take the spoil from them, they found cattle in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Bera′cah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Bera′cah to this day.

27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehosh′aphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem, with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehosh′aphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

31 Thus Jehosh′aphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azu′bah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it; he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. 33 The high places, however, were not taken away; the people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers.

34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehosh′aphat, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of Jehu the son of Hana′ni, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

35 After this Jehosh′aphat king of Judah joined with Ahazi′ah king of Israel, who did wickedly. 36 He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships in E′zion-ge′ber. 37 Then Elie′zer the son of Dodav′ahu of Mare′shah prophesied against Jehosh′aphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahazi′ah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

Reading 12 – 1463 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 we here see Jehoshaphat learn the lesson from his ill-fated alliance with Ahab in last week’s reading. Ahab trusted in his own strength, his own cleverness, and his own gods rather than walking in faithfulness to the Lord, and therefore, despite every warning and opportunity, his kingship died in the chariot due to an arrow shot at random by an enemy archer. Jehoshaphat, however, having done the work of faithfulness, abolishing the worship of demon gods and instructing his people, responds differently when enemies attack. Instead of laying a battle plan, he and the people turn to fasting and prayer, and the Lord gives them a plan and sends them deliverance. The repeated sin and mistake that Jehoshaphat makes is in his alliance with the kingdom of Israel. God does not want him to be the enemy of Israel…but he is not supposed to be an ally or economic partner with Israel. He is not to profit from dealings with the wicked, but to put his trust in the Lord. The lessons that we can learn from Jehoshaphat, both the positive and negative together, are valuable.)

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. Gregory the Theologian – On the Holy Lights – 5

Last time, we saw St. Gregory speak about the Lord’s baptism specifically, and what it reveals to us of the divinity and purpose of our Lord Jesus Christ, and also what it shows to us of the Holy Spirit. This time, he will conclude by talking about baptisms in general, and what they mean, and what is done and accomplished by the Lord in His baptism, and what comes to us when we ourselves are baptized.

On the Baptism of Christ (On the Holy Lights) – Part 5

17 Since the feast is about baptism and it is necessary to suffer a little for the one who for us took our form and was baptized and crucified, come let us briefly reflect on the differences among baptisms, that we may come from there purified. Moses baptized, but in water,121 and before this “in the cloud and in the sea.”122 But this was typological, as Paul also thinks123: the sea was a type of the water, the cloud of the Spirit, the manna of the bread of life,124 the drink125 of the divine drink.126

John also baptized, yet no longer in a Jewish way, for he did so not only in water but also for repentance,127 but not yet in a wholly spiritual way, for he did not add the words “in the Spirit.” Jesus also baptized, but in the Spirit.128 This is perfection. And how could he not be God, if I may digress a little, by whom you also become god? I know also a fourth baptism, that through martyrdom and blood, by which Christ himself also was baptized, and it is much more venerable than the others, insofar as it is not defiled by stains afterward.

And I know yet a fifth, that of tears; but it is more laborious, received by one who each night washes his bed and his couch with tears,129 whose bruises also stink with wickedness, who goes in mourning and with a sad face,130 who imitates the turnaround of Manassas131 and the humiliation of the Ninivites that brought them mercy,132 who utters the words of the tax collector in the temple and is justified instead of the arrogant Pharisee,133 who bends down like the Canaanite woman and seeks compassion and crumbs, the food of a dog that is very hungry.134

18 As for me, since I confess that I am a human being, an animal with a changeable and fluid nature, I also accept this eagerly and worship the one who has given it and share it with others, and I advance them mercy that they may obtain mercy. For I know that I myself am “clothed in weakness,”135 and I will be measured as I have measured others.136

But what do you say?137 What do you legislate, you new Pharisee pure in name but not in intention, who trumpet forth to us the principles of Novatus but have the same weakness? You do not accept repentance? You do not give place to lamentations? You do not weep a tear? May you not encounter a judge such as yourself! You do not respect the lovingkindness of Jesus, who has taken our weakness and borne our diseases,138 who has not come to the righteous but to sinners139 that they may repent, who “desires mercy rather than sacrifice,”140 who forgives sins seventy times seven times?141

How blessed your exaltation would be, if it were purity and not pride making laws above what is human and destroying correction by despair. For these are alike evil: both release without self-control and condemnation without pardon; the one loosens the reins completely, while the other strangles by violence. Show me your purity and I will accept your audacity. But in fact I fear that though full of wounds you propose that they are incurable.

You would not accept David repenting, for whom indeed repentance preserved the prophetic gift;142 nor the great Peter who suffered human weakness at the Savior’s suffering.143 Yet Jesus accepted him and by the threefold question and confession healed the threefold denial.144 Or would you not have accepted him even when he was perfected through blood? For this also is part of your craziness.

You would not accept the lawbreaker in Corinth?145 But Paul indeed made love prevail for him when he saw his correction, for this reason: “That such a person might not be swallowed up by excessive sorrow,”146 weighed down by lack of moderation in the reproof. You do not allow young widows to marry owing to the vulnerability of their age? Yet Paul dared to allow it,147 of whom you are quite clearly the teacher, since you have reached the fourth heaven and another paradise and have heard most unspeakable words148 and have encompassed a larger circle for the gospel.

19 But these things were not after baptism, they say: What proof is there? Either prove it or do not condemn. But if it is uncertain, let lovingkindness have the victory. But Novatus, they say, did not accept those who fell during persecution. What do you mean by this? If they did not repent, he acted justly. I myself would not receive those who either do not bow down,149 or not sufficiently, and do not compensate for the evil by correction; and when I receive them, I assign them the proper place. But regarding those who waste away in tears, I will not imitate him.

And what law to me is the inhumanity of Novatus, who did not punish avarice, the second idolatry,150 but condemned unchastity so bitterly, as if he were fleshless and bodiless? What do you say? Are we persuading you by these words? Come, stand with us who are human beings. “Let us magnify the Lord together.”151 Let none of you dare to say, even if he is very confident about himself, “Do not touch me, for I am pure,”152 and, “Who is as pure as I?” Give us also a share in your splendor.

But are we not persuading you? Then we will weep for you. So let them go, if they wish, our way and the way of Christ, but if not, let them go their own way. Perhaps hereafter they will be baptized by fire, the final baptism that is more laborious and longer, that devours matter like hay and consumes all evils like the lightest things.153

20 But let us honor today the baptism of Christ and celebrate well, not feasting with the stomach but rejoicing spiritually. And how shall we feast? “Wash, become pure.”154 If you are “red” with sin but less than blood-red, become “white as snow”;155 but if you are scarlet and complete “men of blood,”156 still, come to be “white as wool.”157 Be entirely purified and be pure, for nothing gives so much joy to God as the correction and salvation of the human being, for whose sake every discourse and every mystery exist, that you may become like “stars in the world,”158 a life-giving force for other human beings; that as perfect lights standing beside the great Light, you may be initiated into the illumination hereafter, illumined with greater purity and clarity by the Trinity, from whom you have now received in measure the one ray of the one divinity, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory to the ages of ages. Amen.

St Gregory of Nazianzus, Festal Orations, ed. John Behr, trans. Nonna Verna Harrison, vol. 36, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2008), 79–97.

Reading 5 – 1169 words

121 Exod 17:6.

122 1 Cor 10:1–2.

123 1 Cor 10:3.

124 John 6:35.

125 1 Cor 10:4.

126 John 6:36.

127 Mark 1:4; Matt 3:2.

128 Matt 3:11; 28:19; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16.

129 Ps 6:6.

130 Ps 38:5–6.

131 2 Chr 33:12–16.

132 Jonah 3:1–10.

133 Luke 18:13–14.

134 Matt 15:22–27; Mark 7:25–28.

135 Heb 5:2

136 Matt 7:2; Mark 4:24; Luke 6:38.

137 From here through paragraph 19, Gregory argues against the Novatianists, a rigorist sect that originated in third-century Rome but still had adherents in Constantinople and Asia Minor at the end of the fourth century. They denied that those who committed certain serious sins after baptism could be readmitted to the church’s communion following repentance. Their founder’s name was actually Novatianus.

138 Isa 53:4.

139 Luke 5:32.

140 Hos 6:6.

141 Matt 18:22.

142 2 Sam 12:13.

143 Matt 26:70–74; Mark 14:68–71; Luke 22:57–60; John 18:17–27.

144 John 21:15–17.

145 1 Cor 5:1.

146 2 Cor 2:7–8.

147 1 Tim 5:14.

148 2 Cor 12:2–4.

149 Isa 58:5.

150 Eph 5:5.

151 Ps 34:3.

152 Isa 65:5.

153 1 Cor 3:12–13.

154 Isa 1:16.

155 Isa 1:18.

156 Ps 5:6; 139:19.

157 Isa 1:18.

158 Phil 2:15.

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 Gregory does two important things here. First, he outlines the various washings, or baptisms, that we see in both the Scripture and in the Christian life, explaining what each does and how each works, and thus laying out for his hearers the path of the Christian life. Second, however, he undertakes a refutation of the rigorism of the followers of Novatus, who refused purification and reconciliation to certain sinners, but showed their hypocrisy by receiving those with money. In all of this, he gives glory to the Lord, Who desires to save all humanity and is gracious and merciful to us in our weakness and infirmity, delivering us from slavery to our enemies and raising us up to life and glory with Him, if we will only receive the gift 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 3 (Friday)

Acts 25:13-27 (Festus Consults King Agrippa, Paul Brought before Agrippa)

Last time, we saw the new governor, Festus, arrive, and after coming to something of an understanding of Paul’s situation, and the larger situation in Judaea, decide to attempt to gain the favor and trust of the chief priests and other leaders of the people by sending Paul back to Jerusalem for trial. At this point, Paul appealed to Caesar, as was his right as a Roman citizen; this time, we will see something of the aftermath, as Festus introduces Paul and his situation to the last king of the Herodian dynasty, King Agrippa II. This provides Paul with another opportunity to tell his story, and we will spend two weeks seeing and hearing what he has to say.

Festus Consults King Agrippa

13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to welcome Festus. 14 Since they were staying there several days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man here who was left in prison by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him and asked for a sentence against him. 16 I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met the accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defense against the charge. 17 So when they met here, I lost no time, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought.”

18 “When the accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the crimes that I was expecting. 19 Instead they had certain points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 Since I was at a loss how to investigate these questions, I asked whether he wished to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges. 21 But when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of his Imperial Majesty, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to the emperor.” 22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he said, “you will hear him.”

Paul Brought before Agrippa

23 So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then Festus gave the order and Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Jewish community petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had done nothing deserving death; and when he appealed to his Imperial Majesty, I decided to send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write— 27 for it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.”

Reading 46 – 437 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 time the only person we hear from is Festus himself, and this gives us an opportunity to see how Luke understands the internal mindset and words and understanding of this Roman governor, one of the last (the third to last, in fact) of the region prior to the great rebellion of the Jews against the Romans. Festus’ account of his own motivations is somewhat different from what Luke says about him last time (that he wished to do a favor for the Jews, in verse 9), and it’s interesting to see him seeking the favor and good opinion of King Agrippa. Next time, of course, we will hear what St. Paul has to say for himself.)

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)

2 Chronicles 16:7-13; 17:1-10, 12-13; 18:1-34; 19:1-3 (Reign of Jehoshaphat, Death of Ahab)

Last time, we read about the final destruction of the kingdom of Israel. Over the past several weeks, we have followed Israel from the time of Jeroboam to its end, and have seen how the Lord sent prophets to Ahab and his descendants, caring for the faithful people of Israel and calling the unfaithful back to Him, so that no one willing to follow the Lord’s commandments was without guidance, even as the nation of Israel declined and fell from the communion with the Most-High God to which they were called.

Meanwhile, we’ve only seen what happened in the southern kingdom of Judah, where David’s descendants are kings, in passing. We saw that Solomon, his son Rehoboam, and his grandson Abijah, all did evil in the sight of the Lord, and we noted that Asa, Abijah’s successor, began his reign in righteousness, as a welcome change from those who had gone before him. Unfortunately, he ended his reign by paying the king of Syria for military assistance against Israel, instead of trusting in the Lord, so that his reign ended poorly. His son Jehoshaphat succeeded him, at the time that Ahab and Jezebel ruled in Israel, and he sought the Lord and served Him, abolishing the high places and destroying the Asherim in Judah, and sending his court officials together with Levites and priests to teach the people from the Torah. So therefore the Lord was with him. He even made peace with Israel, and it is there that we will pick up the story.

Micaiah Predicts Failure

18 Now Jehosh′aphat had great riches and honor; and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. 2 After some years he went down to Ahab in Samar′ia. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ra′moth-gil′ead. 3 Ahab king of Israel said to Jehosh′aphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ra′moth-gil′ead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”

4 And Jehosh′aphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ra′moth-gil′ead, or shall I forbear?” And they said, “Go up; for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 But Jehosh′aphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?”

7 And the king of Israel said to Jehosh′aphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micai′ah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehosh′aphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 8 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micai′ah the son of Imlah.”

9 Now the king of Israel and Jehosh′aphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes; and they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samar′ia; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 And Zedeki′ah the son of Chena′anah made for himself horns of iron, and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” 11 And all the prophets prophesied so, and said, “Go up to Ra′moth-gil′ead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

12 And the messenger who went to summon Micai′ah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 13 But Micai′ah said, “As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” 14 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micai′ah, shall we go to Ra′moth-gil′ead to battle, or shall I forbear?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.”

15 But the king said to him, “How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 16 And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” 17 And the king of Israel said to Jehosh′aphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

18 And Micai′ah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left; 19 and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ra′moth-gil′ead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 20 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ 21 And he said, ‘I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go forth and do so.’ 22 Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; the Lord has spoken evil concerning you.”

23 Then Zedeki′ah the son of Chena′anah came near and struck Micai′ah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” 24 And Micai′ah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” 25 And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micai′ah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Jo′ash the king’s son; 26 and say, ‘Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with scant fare of bread and water, until I return in peace.’” 27 And Micai′ah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”

Defeat and Death of Ahab

28 So the king of Israel and Jehosh′aphat the king of Judah went up to Ra′moth-gil′ead. 29 And the king of Israel said to Jehosh′aphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” 31 And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehosh′aphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him; and Jehosh′aphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, 32 for when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

33 But a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate; therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn about, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” 34 And the batle grew hot that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening; then at sunset he died.

19 Jehosh′aphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. 2 But Jehu the son of Hana′ni the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehosh′aphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. 3 Nevertheless some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Ashe′rahs out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”

Reading 11 – 1157 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 the story about Ahab’s death, which may seem at first glance to show God plotting against Ahab and tricking him, instead shows God’s final offer of mercy to Ahab. This is made clear because, although Micaiah the prophet begins by saying what Ahab wants to hear, Ahab knows that it is untrue, and demands the truth…but when he hears it, he rejects it, although Micaiah has told him exactly what has happened in the high court of heaven. The time for judgment has come for Ahab, so God allows deceiving spirits to work for Ahab’s destruction, giving words of prophecy to the unrighteous prophets, to tell Ahab what he wants to hear. But he also sends Micaiah to tell Ahab the truth. Ahab knows that Micaiah is the only faithful prophet of the Most-High God present that day. He knows which prophet is speaking the truth…but he refuses to listen. And therefore he goes to his death.)

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. Gregory the Theologian – On the Holy Lights – 4

Last time, St. Gregory spoke of the God Who has revealed Himself to us at the Feast of Theophany, affirming, confessing, and proclaiming the truth and glory of the Holy Trinity, the one-in-three and three-in-one, and then proceeded to speak of the Son of God, become man for our sake and for our salvation, revealing the Father to us and calling us to worship Him and enter into communion with Him, to restore us to the place in relationship with God from which we had fallen through sin and error.

On the Baptism of Christ (On the Holy Lights) – Part 4

14 Therefore at his birth we kept festival as was fitting, both I the leader of the feast, and you, and all that is in the world and above the world. With the star we ran, and with the magi we worshipped,72 and with the shepherds we were surrounded by light, and with the angels we gave glory.73 With Symeon we took him in our arms, and with aged and chaste Anna we gave thanks.74 And thanks be to the one who came to his own as a stranger,75 that he might glorify his host.

But now there is another deed of Christ and another mystery. I cannot hold back my joy, I become inspired, and almost like John I announce the good news,76 if not indeed as a forerunner, at least from the desert. Christ is illumined,77 let us flash like lightning with him. Christ is baptized,78 let us go down with him, that we may also come up again with him.

Jesus is baptized. Is this all? Or is it necessary also to attend carefully to the other matters? Who is he? And by whom is he baptized? And when? The pure one, and by John, and at the beginning of his signs.79 What are we to learn and what are we to be taught by this? To purify ourselves beforehand, and to be humble minded, and to preach when mature both in spiritual and bodily stature.

The first lesson is addressed to those who rush to baptism precipitously and do not prepare beforehand or assure the security of their redemption through a disposition toward the good. For indeed if the grace entails release from what is past, for it is grace, now, still more, reverent fear is fitting, lest we return again to our own vomit.80 The next is addressed to those who rise up against those who dispense the mysteries, if in any way they surpass them in rank. The third is addressed to those who are overconfident in youth and consider that every time is appropriate for teaching or presiding.

Jesus is purified, and you despise purification? By John, and you rebel against your herald? He was thirty years old,81 and you, before you have a beard, teach the elders, or believe you can teach, though you are not revered because of age, or perchance because of character? Here one speaks of Daniel,82 or this one or that one, young judges, and the examples are on your tongue. For all the guilty are ready with a defense. But the exception is not the law of the Church, if indeed one swallow does not make a summer, nor one line a geometer, nor one voyage a sailor.

15 Yet as John is baptizing, Jesus approaches, perhaps also to sanctify the baptizer, and certainly to bury all the old Adam83 in the water, but before these things and for the sake of these things to sanctify the Jordan. As indeed he was spirit and flesh, so he initiates by the Spirit and the water. The baptizer does not accept it; Jesus debates [with him]. “I need to be baptized by you,”84 the lamp85 says to the sun,86 the voice87 to the Word, the friend88 to the bridegroom, the one above all born of women89 to the first born of all creation,90 the one who leaped in the womb91 to the one worshiped in the womb, the one who was and will be the Forerunner92 to the one who was and will be made manifest.

“I need to be baptized by you”; add “and for you.” For he knew that he would be baptized by martyrdom or, like Peter, would not have only his feet cleansed.93 “And you come to me?”94 This is also prophetic. For he knew that after the madness of Herod would come that of Pilate,95 so as he himself departed beforehand, Christ would follow.

But what does Jesus say? “Let it be so now”;96 for this is the divine plan. For he knew that shortly he himself would baptize the baptizer. And what is the winnowing fan?97 Purification. And what is the fire?98 The destruction of the chaff and the fervor of the Spirit. And what is the axe?99 The cutting down of the soul that is incurable, even after the manure.100 And what is the sword?101 The cut made by the Word, which divides the worse from the better, and separates believer from unbeliever, and stirs up son and daughter and bride against father and mother and mother-in-law,102 the new and recent against the old and shadowy.

And what is the fastening of the sandal, which you who baptize Jesus cannot undo,103 you who live in the desert even without food,104 the new Elijah,105 the one surpassing the prophets,106 to the extent that you have seen what they prophesied, the mediator of the old and the new covenants? What is it? Perhaps the principle of Christ’s sojourn and the flesh, a matter that is not easy to solve even apart from the loftiest meaning, either for those who are still fleshly and infants in Christ or for those who are like John in the Spirit.

16 But Jesus comes up again out of the water.107 For he carries up with himself the world and “sees the heavens opened”108 which Adam closed for himself and for those after him as he also closed paradise by the flaming sword.109 And the Spirit testifies to [Christ’s] divinity,110 for he ran toward one like himself, as does the voice from heaven,111 for from there comes the one to whom testimony is given. And the Spirit comes as a dove,112 for he honors the body, being seen “corporeally,”113 since it also is God by divinization. And since long ago the dove has been accustomed to announcing the good news of the flood’s end.114

But if you judge divinity by size and weight, and for this reason the Spirit is small to you because he appears in the form of a dove, you who are small-minded about the greatest things, it is time for you also to dishonor the kingdom of heaven since it is compared to a mustard seed,115 and instead of Jesus’ greatness to prefer the adversary because he is called a great mountain116 and leviathan117 and king of those in the waters, while Jesus is named lamb118 and pearl119 and drop120 and the like.

St Gregory of Nazianzus, Festal Orations, ed. John Behr, trans. Nonna Verna Harrison, vol. 36, Popular Patristics Series (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2008), 79–97.

Reading 4 – 1105 words

72 Matt 2:8–11.

73 Luke 2:9–14.

74 Luke 2:28–38. This reference implies that at 380 the encounter with Symeon and Anna takes place at Christmas, not yet at the Feast of the Meeting of Our Lord (February 2nd). Between 381 and 384, according to Egeria, this feast was celebrated at Jerusalem. It spread from there to Antioch (ca. 513–518) and Constantinople (534). See Kenneth W. Stevenson, “The Origins and Development of Candlemas: A Struggle for Identity and Coherence?” in J. Neil Alexander, ed., Time and Community: In Honor of Thomas Justin Talley (Washington, DC: Pastoral Press, 1990), 43–73, 49–53.

75 John 1:11.

76 Matt 3:1; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3.

77 In the early church, “illumination” was another name for baptism.

78 Matt 3:13; Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21.

79 John 2:11.

80 Prov 26:11; 2 Pet 2:22.

81 Luke 3:23.

82 Sus 45–50.

83 1 Cor 15:45.

84 Matt 3:14.

85 John 5:35.

86 Mal 4:2.

87 Matt 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4.

88 John 3:29; Matt 9:15.

89 Matt 11:11; Luke 7:28.

90 Col 1:15.

91 Luke 1:41.

92 Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27.

93 John 13:6–8.

94 Matt 3:14.

95 Matt 14:3–5; 27:26; Mark 6:17; 15:15; Luke 3:19–20; 23:24–25; John 19:16.

96 Matt 3:15.

97 Matt 3:12.

98 Matt 3:10–12.

99 Matt 3:10.

100 Luke 13:8.

101 Matt 10:34.

102 Matt 10:35; Luke 12:53.

103 Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:27.

104 Matt 3:4; Mark 1:6.

105 Matt 11:14.

106 Matt 11:9.

107 Matt 3:16; Mark 1:10.

108 Mark 1:10.

109 Gen 3:24.

110 Matt 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22.

111 Matt 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22.

112 Matt 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22.

113 Luke 3:22.

114 Gen 8:11.

115 Matt 13:31.

116 Dan 2:45.

117 Job 3:8.

118 John 1:29.

119 Matt 13:46.

120 Ps 72:6.

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 everything we have read prior to this has been preliminary, setting the stage for the celebration of the Lord’s baptism by urging repentance, humility and faithfulness, then proclaiming Who God is and confessing the truth of the Incarnation, and now, finally, arriving at the marvel of the Lord’s Baptism. In this passage, he effectively recounts the narrative of the Lord Jesus Christ coming to John the Baptist and asking for baptism, expanding and explaining the dialogue that surrounds the baptism itself, in order to highlight the enormity of what is happening in the Lord’s baptism, and what is being unveiled to us as He enters the water and comes forth from it once again. Especially notable are the three lessons that he identifies in the text, against those who seek baptism cavalierly, those who despise the clergy because of wealth or nobility, and those who presume to teach others without deferring to the authority of the Church.)

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 24:24-27, 25:1-12 (Paul Held in Custody, Appeals to Caesar)

Last time we saw St. Paul in Caesarea, before Felix the governor, being accused of various crimes by the lawyer engaged by the Sanhedrin against him, and then having the opportunity to defend himself against those charges. We see him ably defend himself, so that Felix says he will wait to give judgment until the tribune who had first arrested him comes from Jerusalem. This time, we will see that the tribune doesn’t come, and Paul remains in custody for two years. We will see what follows after this.

Paul Held in Custody

24 Some days later when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak concerning faith in Christ Jesus. 25 And as he discussed justice, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present; when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.” 26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul, and for that reason he used to send for him very often and converse with him.

27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and since he wanted to grant the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Paul Appeals to the Emperor

25 Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem 2 where the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews gave him a report against Paul. They appealed to him 3 and requested, as a favor to them against Paul, to have him transferred to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and that he himself intended to go there shortly. 5 “So,” he said, “let those of you who have the authority come down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them accuse him.”

6 After he had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea; the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 When he arrived, the Jews who had gone down from Jerusalem surrounded him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove. 8 Paul said in his defense, “I have in no way committed an offense against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor.”

9 But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Do you wish to go up to Jerusalem and be tried there before me on these charges?” 10 Paul said, “I am appealing to the emperor’s tribunal; this is where I should be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you very well know. 11 Now if I am in the wrong and have committed something for which I deserve to die, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can turn me over to them. I appeal to the emperor.” 12 Then Festus, after he had conferred with his council, replied, “You have appealed to the emperor; to the emperor you will go.”

Reading 45 – 459 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 no one in this story is concerned with actual justice. Felix is concerned with the money that Paul might give to him, while Festus is concerned with gaining the favor of the Jewish leaders. Thus, over all this time, nothing happens, except that Paul is accused of various things without proof. He defends himself ably, but when Festus appears ready to send him to Jerusalem, where he will certainly be killed by mob, he finally invokes his right as a Roman citizen, and appeals to Caesar. This becomes his ticket to Rome, as we will see in the coming weeks as we move toward the end of the book of Acts.)

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?