Day 1 (Monday)

Psalms 118:105-112; Proverbs 1:1-28

This reading and reflection marks the beginning of the first year of the Religious Education Initiative 5-year cycle. Each week, we will provide three readings for the parish. Everyone is urged to participate; families should participate together, reading the selections Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (or three other days/times, whatever works best for the family). Anyone can take the lead, but we recommend that the father and mother in each household do so to start with. Whoever takes the lead, we strongly recommend that each household take this opportunity to make it a priority to do these readings and reflections as an entire and whole family, all together. Also, since fathers often get left out of religious matters in the home, because of their other responsibilities and obligations outside of the home, wherever possible it is best if the father takes the lead in these readings, either reading the selection and guiding the discussion himself, or delegating the reading to someone else.

As we begin the new Church year, and the first year of our second round of the Religious Education Initiative, we will start with an excerpt from Psalm 118, speaking of the importance of the commandments of the Lord, and then will read the first chapter of the book of Proverbs. This is the introduction to the book, as the wise father begins to give instruction to his son; it is this faithful responsibility that we are all undertaking in our families and households.

Psalm 118:105-112

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
107 I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O Lord, according to your word.
108 Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,
and teach me your ordinances.

109 I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
111 Your decrees are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.

Proverbs 1:1-33

1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

Prologue

2 That men may know wisdom and instruction,
understand words of insight,
3 receive instruction in wise dealing,
righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 that prudence may be given to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 the wise man also may hear and increase in learning,
and the man of understanding acquire skill,
6 to understand a proverb and a figure,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Warnings against Evil Companions

8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and reject not your mother’s teaching;
9 for they are a fair garland for your head,
and pendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.

11 If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood,
let us wantonly ambush the innocent;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive
and whole, like those who go down to the Pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with spoil;
14 throw in your lot among us,
we will all have one purse”—
15 my son, do not walk in the way with them,
hold back your foot from their paths;
16 for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.

17 For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird;
18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood,
they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of all who get gain by violence;
it takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street;
in the markets she raises her voice;
21 on the top of the walls she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
23 Give heed to my reproof;
behold, I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.

24 Because I have called and you refused to listen,
have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 and you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,
27 when panic strikes you like a storm,
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

29 Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 would have none of my counsel,
and despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
and be sated with their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by their turning away,
and the complacence of fools destroys them;
33 but he who listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of evil.”

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should point out that this figure of Wisdom is not simply a metaphorical personification of understanding, but is often viewed in the Church as a prophetic representation of Christ Himself, the Word and Wisdom of the Father. If we take what Wisdom says as being the words of the Lord, it invites some challenging reflections. The Lord is not, as it turns out, distant from us, nor are His ways difficult to know. They are clear for anyone who will listen: the ways of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control, against which there is no law”…effectively, the fruit of the Spirit spoken of by St. Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. For those who reject the good things of the Lord, then, there is no need for punishment, for they will reap the fruit of their own actions. The only thing that is challenging is that Wisdom here says that she will laugh and mock at the calamity which comes upon them, while we see the Lord grieve for the evils that come upon Jerusalem due to that rejection.)

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)

Indiction Hymn, Abba Poemen, Hymn to the Theotokos

September 1st is celebrated in the Orthodox Church as the beginning of the Church Year. On this day, then, the Church rejoices in God’s gifts to humanity, with an emphasis on the harvest, and the seasons, and the very existence of the Creation and of ourselves. These hymns from the Orthros reflects these themes.

Kathisma 1

O Provider of seasons producing fruit * and of rains from the heavens for those on earth, * accept now the fervent prayers that Your servants present to You, * and deliver Your City from every necessity. * And may Your tender mercies be lavished on all Your works. * Therefore we entreat You, bless our comings and goings, * guiding aright the works of our hands for our benefit, * O our God, and bestow on us * forgiveness of our every offence. * For You are the One who brought the universe * from nonexistence into being, as the One who can.

(Another framing of the same hymn)
O God, You give us the seasons and the rains that provide us with food. Accept our prayers and deliver us from every necessity, and be merciful to everyone and everything that You have made. Bless our comings and goings, and guide the works of our hands, and forgive us our sins, for You are the One Who created everything out of nothing, and You alone have the power to sustain us.

Oikos

To God, who made all things in ineffable wisdom, and who preserves all things by His omnific might, we offer our heartfelt praise with reverence, and with trembling we implore Him to grant fruitfulness to the earth, today on the beginning of the year, and to deliver us from every hardship and from enemies, seen and unseen, as we cry out in these good times: “For all Your servants, make fruitful the coming year.”

https://www.agesinitiatives.com/dcs/public/dcs/dcs.html

A Saying from Abba Poemen

Abba Poemen was a monastic saint in the early days of monasticism, and lived out in the Egyptian desert. He was a contemporary with such figures as St. Anthony, St. Macarios, St. Moses the Ethiopian, and St. Pachomios. Their life and sayings were foundational to the lives of many of the most important saints of the Fourth Century, including St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom. Most of what we know of them is preserved in collections of brief sayings; the greatest number of sayings are attributed to this Abba Poemen. (Abba is a word that means “father”). The monastic rule that is still practiced in the Orthodox Church is built on the experience and wisdom of the Desert Fathers. All that introduction is much longer than the word from Abba Poemen that we have today.

Abba Poemen also said:

“Do not give your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.”
From the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, page 178

Hymn to the Mother of God from the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (and from the Kathisma Hymns of the Sunday Orthros in Mode P. 4)

In you, O Lady full of grace, rejoices all creation, the orders of Angels and the human race together. O hallowed temple and rational Garden of Paradise, the pride of virgins, from you did God become incarnate, and our God who existed before the ages became a child. For He made your womb a throne for himself, and your body He made wider than the heavens. In you, O Lady full of grace, rejoices all creation. Glory to you.

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 common themes of these hymns, that the Creation is the gift of God to us, and that the good things of God within the Church are the fulfillment and perfection of that fundamental goodness of the Creation which we are called to take part in. It is easy to become distracted by all the troubles of this life, but therefore is essential that we hold fast to the truth that the Lord has blessed Creation and called it good, and made it good and perfect in Himself, and called us to walk in that holiness and blessedness which He has granted to us)

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

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

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

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

Day 3 (Friday)

Gospel of Luke – Dedication & Announcement of Gabriel to Zechariah

In Year 1 of the REI, we will read the Gospel according to Luke. This Gospel appears to be the third Gospel composed, and it undertakes to provide a more complete story, in a more formal historical manner, of the events of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ that we also see described in the Gospel books according to Matthew and Mark. Luke was an educated man, a physician, and a companion of the Apostle Paul, and also wrote the Book of Acts, which we have just finished reading in Year 5. As we begin, we will see his introduction, and the backstory of the Lord’s birth, beginning with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist to his father as he served in the Temple.

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, 2 just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theoph′ilus, 4 that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechari′ah, of the division of Abi′jah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.

8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechari′ah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechari′ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

14 And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth;
15 for he will be great before the Lord,
and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink,
and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,
even from his mother’s womb.
16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,
17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli′jah,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18 And Zechari′ah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechari′ah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.”

Reading 1
596 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 two things. First, that, while the Nativity of Forerunner is celebrated on June 24, September 5th (in two days, if we read this on Wednesday, September 4th, 2025), is the feast of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, who we see receiving the word of the angel in this passage, and if the Forerunner’s birthdate is accurate, then the events described in this passage would have happened sometime around this season, in early September. These words of the angel to Zacharias are notable and remarkable, because they are the announcement to the legitimate priest serving in the Temple of the fulfillment of the long waiting of the people of God for the coming of the promised Messiah. Zacharias doubts, and questions, but ultimately shows himself faithful to the Lord and eager for His coming, but we know that many of the people do not receive this word. It is nonetheless vital that we recognize that God did not come in secret, but in fact gave His people full notice that the time was fulfilled, that their “warfare was accomplished, that their iniquity is pardoned…speaking words of comfort to Jerusalem” (Isaiah 40:1-2))

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)

Ezekiel 1:26-28; 2:1-5; 8:1-6, 18; 9:1-11; 10:1-22, 11:13-25 (Ezekiel’s Vision of God’s Judgment, God’s Glory Departing the Temple)

Last time we saw the end of the kingdom of Judah, as the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Chaldeans from the Neo-Babylonion Empire of Nebuchadnezzar. The Temple was destroyed, and all the wealth and beauty and the various appointments that Solomon had established for the Temple were removed and taken away, either to be melted down or to be a part of the treasury of Babylon. This time, we will see the visions of the prophet Ezekiel, who was taken away into captivity with the first group that Nebuchadnezzar took away from Jerusalem with Jehoiachin, some eleven years before the final destruction of Jerusalem. Ezekiel’s visions, then, come to him in Babylon, as warnings against the last king of Judah, Zedekiah, and a sign and explanation to those in exile already of what was happening, so that they might repent and turn back to the Lord.

Selections from Ezekiel (1:26-28; 2:1-5; 8:1-6, 18; 9:1-11; 10:1-22, 11:13-25)

[The book of Ezekiel begins with a vision that Ezekiel the priest, who was in exile in Babylon, received in the 5th month of the 5th year of the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, while he stood in the plain by the river Chebar. God showed him the four cherubim, the four living creatures who carried the throne of God. Then the One seated on the throne is described in chapter 1:26.]

26 And above the firmament over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire;[j] and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form. 27 And upward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were gleaming bronze, like the appearance of fire enclosed round about; and downward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him.[k] 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.[l] And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

The Vision of the Scroll

2 And he said to me, “Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak with you.” 2 And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, who have rebelled against me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4 The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them. …

[Then Ezekiel describes the visions that he has at that time, and after. Then, in chapter 8, his visions continue:]

Abominations in the Temple

8 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord God fell there upon me. 2 Then I beheld, and lo, a form that had the appearance of a man;[a] below what appeared to be his loins it was fire, and above his loins it was like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming bronze. 3 He put forth the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.

5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now in the direction of the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

[And then he showed Ezekiel how the people of Israel and Judah were worshipping other gods in the dark, with all the idols of the nations inside their homes and on the inner walls of their rooms, and then he said to Ezekiel: ]

Chapter 8:18 Therefore I will deal in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

The Slaughter of the Idolaters

9 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Draw near, you executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 2 And lo, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, every man with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his side. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar.

3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherubim on which it rested to the threshold of the house; and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his side. 4 And the Lord said to him, “Go through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and smite; your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity; 6 slay old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one upon whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. 7 Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go forth.” So they went forth, and smote in the city. 8 And while they were smiting, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, “Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all that remains of Israel in the outpouring of thy wrath upon Jerusalem?”

9 Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’ 10 As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity, but I will requite their deeds upon their heads.”

11 And lo, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his side, brought back word, saying, “I have done as thou didst command me.”

God’s Glory Leaves Jerusalem

10 Then I looked, and behold, on the firmament that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in form resembling a throne. 2 And he said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the whirling wheels underneath the cherubim; fill your hands with burning coals from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.”

And he went in before my eyes. 3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the house, when the man went in; and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 And the glory of the Lord went up from the cherubim to the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.

6 And when he commanded the man clothed in linen, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 And a cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their wings.

9 And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling chrysolite. 10 And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. 11 When they went, they went in any of their four directions[a] without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheel faced the others followed without turning as they went. 12 And their rims, and their spokes, and the wheels were full of eyes round about—the wheels that the four of them had. 13 As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing the whirling wheels. 14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 And the cherubim mounted up. These were the living creatures that I saw by the river Chebar. 16 And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them. 17 When they stood still, these stood still, and when they mounted up, these mounted up with them; for the spirit of the living creatures[d] was in them.

18 Then the glory of the Lord went forth from the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. 19 And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight as they went forth, with the wheels beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the house of the Lord; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

20 These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces, and each four wings, and underneath their wings the semblance of human hands. 22 And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the very faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. They went every one straight forward.

Judgment on Wicked Counselors

[Then, in chapter 11, God shows Ezekiel the judgment of the wicked counselors of Israel, who had led the people astray, and as Ezekiel watches, a man that he knew, one of the princes of the people, died, and Ezekiel was distraught:] Then I fell down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, “Ah Lord God! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?”

God Will Restore Israel

14 And the word of the Lord came to me: 15 “Son of man, your brethren, even your brethren, your fellow exiles, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ 16 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ 18 And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. 19 And I will give them on heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will requite their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God.”

22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. 24 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the Spirit of God into Chalde′a, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me. 25 And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had showed me.

Reading 18 – 2097 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, in summary, what Ezekiel is seeing is the throne of Yahweh, the God of Israel, carried by the Cherubim, first present within the Temple in Jerusalem, and then leaving the Temple, as the Lord gives warnings to the people, on the one hand, prophesying the judgment that is coming upon them, but also gives promises of restoration, on the other hand, to all who repent or who are faithful in the midst of this darkness. We must note that, although the people were returned to Judaea and rebuilt Jerusalem and the Temple within 70 years of the exile, the presence of the Lord never returns to the Holy Place in the visible way described when Solomon dedicated the Temple. But in the coming weeks, as we see the birth of the Theotokos, and eventually in November with the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, and finally with the Lord’s Meeting with Simeon and Anna in the Temple on the 40th day after His Nativity, on February 2nd, we see the Lord return to the Temple.)

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)

Feast of the Koimisis

Last week we read a selection of the hymns that were sung during the celebration of the Feast of Transfiguration on August 6th. This week, we will read a similar selection of the hymns that are sung for the feast of the Koimisis of the Theotokos on August 15th. This is the final feast of the Church year, and celebrates the Falling Asleep (what Koimisis means) of the Virgin Mary, which is to say, it is the celebration of her death and funeral. Because her tomb was found to be empty when the Apostle Thomas arrived and wished to venerate her body, the Church understands and confesses that her body has been raised and that she has taken her place in the Divine Council of the Lord, and already tastes the fullness of the Resurrection. Therefore this is a true and complete celebration in the fullness of joy, not at all mixed with sadness in the face of her death, because Christ has triumphed over death, and that victory is already revealed to us in her.

Hymns of Koimisis

1st Hymn of the Liti

It was fitting that the eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word should oversee the Dormition of His Mother according to the flesh, this being the final mystery concerning her; so that they might behold not only the Savior's ascent from earth, but also be witnesses of His Mother's translation. Therefore, transported by divine power, from every part of the world, they arrived in Zion. And they ushered her, who is higher than the Cherubim, as she hastened toward heaven. Together with them, we also honor her; and she intercedes on behalf of our souls.

Doxastikon of the Aposticha

When you, O Virgin Theotokos, passed away to Him who was ineffably born of you, present were James, the brother of the Lord and first hierarch, and Peter, the most honorable and preeminent paramount of the Theologians, and the entire holy choir of Apostles. With utterances unveiling secrets of theology, they all extolled the divine and sublime mystery of the dispensation of Christ our God. And when they had buried your body that had generated life and had hosted God, they were filled with joy, O all-lauded Lady. From on high, the all-holy and most venerable host of Angels marveled at the wonder. Out of respect they bowed for you, and they called out to one another: "Lift up your gates, and receive her who gave birth to the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Let us sing hymns of glory and extol her august and holy body, which held the Lord who to us is invisible." And now, we also celebrate your memory and sing aloud to you, O all-lauded Lady: Exalt the Christians' horn of strength and save our souls.

Idiomelon after Psalm 50

When the translation of your immaculate body was being prepared, the Apostles, surrounding your bed, looked at you fearfully. As they gazed at your body, they were overcome by awe. Peter cried aloud to you tearfully, "O Virgin, I see you here, laid out for burial, the life of all, and I am struck with wonder. For in you, the delight of the life to come made His dwelling." Now we pray, O immaculate Lady: Fervently entreat your Son and God, to keep your people safe and sound.

Hymn 3 of the 7th Ode of the 1st Canon
The godly-minded people has convened. * For the glorious tabernacle of God * is conveyed from Zion to * a celestial dwelling * where the sound is clearly heard * of a multitude keeping feast with a voice of speechless joy, * and in exultation * crying out to Christ, saying: Lord our God, * who are glorified, and God * of our fathers, You are blessed.

Hymn 2 of the 7th Ode of the 2nd Canon
With the trumpets of * the Spirit, let celestial * mountains now trumpet forth; * and let the heavenly hills * exult now; and let divine Apostles leap for joy. * For the Queen of all * is going over to her Son, * there to reign with Him forever.

Doxastikon of the Ainoi

At your Dormition that transcended death, O Theotokos and Mother of Life, clouds caught the Apostles up into the air; and, from being dispersed throughout the world, they were reunited before your immaculate body. And when they had buried you with dignity, they lifted up their voices and sang the words of Gabriel, "Rejoice, O unwedded and virgin Mother who are full of grace; the Lord is with you." Along with them, entreat your Son and our God, for the salvation of our souls.

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 the hymns of the Church commemorate BOTH the death and burial of the Mother of God, and also her translation and glorification to a heavenly dwelling-place, where she intercedes without ceasing for the Faithful. These two points are vital in the Church’s understanding of the role of the Virgin Mary. Without question, she died and was buried. But equally without question, her body was not found in the tomb when they opened it, and she is already partaking in the glory and joy of the Resurrection, and in her, the destiny and purpose of the Church, and therefore of all Creation, is revealed, as the fruit of the Lord’s Incarnation is shown forth in her.)

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 28:17-31 (Paul & Jewish Leaders in Rome, Paul Preaches in Rome)

Last time, we saw St. Paul arrive in Rome and placed effectively under house arrest, with one soldier guarding him, but able to write and speak, and to receive visitors. The importance of this will become evident as we begin this final reading from the book of Acts. As we do so, we should also remember the history of the Church in Rome, that all the Jews had been expelled from the city some years before, and eventually allowed to return, and in their absence, the Gentile Christians had continued to worship without their Jewish counterparts. Some scholars argue that the return of the Jewish Christians was the occasion for St. Paul to write his Epistle to the Romans, urging them to continue as a single community, with the Christians (Jewish and Gentile alike) still participating in the readings and prayers at the synagogue on the Sabbath Day, and then to gather on the next day, the Lord’s Day, for the celebration of the Eucharist.

Paul and Jewish Leaders in Rome

17 Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. 18 When they had examined me, the Romans wanted to release me, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to the emperor—even though I had no charge to bring against my nation.”

20 “For this reason therefore I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.” 21 They replied, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you. 22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”

Paul Preaches in Rome

23 After they had set a day to meet with him, they came to him at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. 25 So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah,

26 ‘Go to this people and say,
You will indeed listen, but never understand,
and you will indeed look, but never perceive.
27 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.’

28 Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

Reading 52 – 424 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, here in Rome, as elsewhere in his travels, Paul’s arrival in the city becomes a crisis for all the Jews present there. When he preaches, he calls those who hear him to make a decision and to follow Christ, and his preaching is strong, and at the end of his preaching, a division has been made between those who are willing to follow Christ, and those who reject Him. This is not necessarily St. Paul’s intent; he desires earnestly that all his fellow Jews should receive the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, and be delivered from vanity and confusion and sin and death. But when he preaches, those who have been on the fence have to make a decision, and despite all his efforts, it seems that from this point on, the Christian and Jewish communities in Rome become irreconcilably separate. We should note, as well, that this is not, traditionally, the end of St. Paul’s ministry. Tradition holds that he was released from this imprisonment and eventually traveled to Spain before being brought back to Rome for his martyrdom a few years later. But this is the end of the book of Acts, as well as of our five year cycle of the Religious Education Initiative. Next week, we will start again, with Genesis and with the Gospel of Luke.)

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 23:31-37; 24:1-20; 25:1-21 (Last Kings of Judah)

Last time, we saw the reforming work of Josiah, the last righteous king of Judah, in which he finally overthrew the altars at Bethel which Jeroboam had built for the perverted worship of Yahweh, the God of Israel, in which he made golden calves at Bethel and at Dan, and told Israel that they were the god that had brought the people out of Egypt. This was, of course, a repetition of the great sin with the golden calf at Mount Sinai long before, and was the beginning of the path to the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. This time, however, we will see Josiah’s sons and grandsons utterly fail to follow his example, and will see the southern kingdom of Judah carried off into captivity in its turn.

Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz, Reign of Jehoiakim

31 Jeho′ahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamu′tal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. [Pharaoh Neco removed him and replaced him with his brother Jehoiakim.] 36 Jehoi′akim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebi′dah the daughter of Pedai′ah of Rumah. 37 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. … Chapter 24 In his days Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoi′akim became his servant three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.

2 And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chalde′ans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manas′seh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also for the innocent blood that he had shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. …

6 So Jehoi′akim slept with his fathers, and Jehoi′achin his son reigned in his stead. … 8 Jehoi′achin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehush′ta the daughter of Elna′than of Jerusalem. 9 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.

Capture of Jerusalem

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it; 12 and Jehoi′achin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign, 13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold.

14 He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoi′achin to Babylon; the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war. 17 And the king of Babylon made Mattani′ah, Jehoi′achin’s uncle, king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedeki′ah.

Zedekiah Reigns over Judah

18 Zedeki′ah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamu′tal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoi′akim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence.

The Fall and Captivity of Judah

And Zedeki′ah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

25 1 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it; and they built siegeworks against it round about. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedeki′ah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

4 Then a breach was made in the city; the king with all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, though the Chalde′ans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chalde′ans pursued the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence upon him. 7 They slew the sons of Zedeki′ah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedeki′ah, and bound him in fetters, and took him to Babylon.

8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnez′zar, king of Babylon—Nebu′zarad′an, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chalde′ans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebu′zarad′an the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.

13 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chalde′ans broke in pieces, and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And they took away the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the firepans also, and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and upon it was a capital of bronze; the height of the capital was three cubits; a network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were upon the capital round about. And the second pillar had the like, with the network.

18 And the captain of the guard took Serai′ah the chief priest, and Zephani′ah the second priest, and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city. 20 And Nebu′zarad′an the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land.

Reading 17 – 1366 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note how this account specifies how all the things that Solomon had established in the Temple are taken away by the Chaldeans. This is the end to which all of Solomon’s prayers that God would protect and preserve the house that he had built for the name of the Lord, because Solomon and his descendants were not, in fact, faithful to the Lord. This is not, of course, the end of the story of God’s people. They will return from exile and rebuild the Temple, and there is a whole additional story that is found in the books of Maccabees about how they sought to restore faithfulness, but nonetheless, far too many of the people of God followed after other gods for the 400 years between the return from exile and the Lord’s Incarnation. But this destruction of the Temple and the leading away into captivity is an inflection point in the history of God’s people and their relationship with Him, a clear confirmation that God is not bound to a particular building or place, because He is the True God, the God above all gods, and those who are called by His Name must be actually faithful to Him, or He will give them over to the evils that they have chosen instead of 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 2 (Wednesday)

Feast of the Transfiguration

Over these summer months we have been reading sermons from St. Gregory the Theologian. In these final weeks of August, since we celebrate two great feasts of the Church earlier in the month, we will take the final two weeks of this year to reflect on some elements of the services for the feast of Transfiguration (August 6th) and Koimisis (August 15th). For the Feast of Transfiguration, we should note that, in addition to the hymns we select here, the three readings that are read in the Church during the Great Vespers service are all central texts of the Christian Faith, as Moses encounters God face to face on Mount Sinai in the book of Exodus, and as Elijah has a similar encounter on Mount Horeb, when God was not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire, but in the still small voice. These readings were selected because they showed us the previous times that Moses and Elijah had met the Lord on the mountain, and how those meetings were fulfilled when He was transfigured and revealed His glory to them and to His disciples on Mount Tabor. The hymns will make frequent reference to these realities.

Feast of Transfiguration

Kekragaria Doxastikon
Prefiguring Your Resurrection, O Christ God, You took Your three Disciples with You, Peter, James, and John, and You went up Mount Tabor. As You were transfigured, O Savior, Mount Tabor was covered in light. O Logos, Your Disciples threw themselves to the ground, unable to look at the form which no one can see. Angels served with fear and trembling, the heavens were in awe, and the earth shuddered; for they saw here on earth the Lord of glory.

Idiomelon 2 of the Vespers Aposticha
When David, that ancestor of God, foresaw in the Spirit a long time ago that You, the Only-begotten Son, would visit mankind in the flesh, he invited all creation to celebrate. And he cried out prophetically, “Tabor and Hermon shall greatly rejoice in Your name.” And now, O Savior, as You mount that Mountain with Your Disciples, and as You are transfigured there, You have made our nature that was darkened in Adam to shine brightly again, transforming it into the glory and radiance of Your Divinity. Therefore we cry out to You: O Creator of all, glory to You, O Lord.

Hymn 3 from the 4th Ode of the 1st Canon
Those with whom You spoke in days of old in fiery clouds, darkness, and the slightest breeze, stood before You like servants, Christ our Master, and talked with You: Glory to Your power, O Lord!

Hymn 1 from the 4th Ode of the 2nd Canon
Lightning flashes of divinity proceeded from Your flesh: Therefore the chosen prophets and apostles sang and cried aloud: Glory to Your power, O Lord!

Hymn 2 from the 4th Ode of the 2nd Canon
Master, You preserved the bush unharmed, although it was united to the fire, and You revealed Your flesh shining with divine brightness to Moses who sang and cried aloud: Glory to Your power, O Lord!

Hymn 3 from the 4th Ode of the 2nd Canon
The visible sun was eclipsed by the rays of Your divinity when it saw You transfigured on Mount Tabor, my Jesus. Glory to Your power, O Lord!

Hymn 4 from the 4th Ode of the 2nd Canon
You were revealed as an immaterial fire not burning the material substance of the body, when You appeared to Moses, the apostles, and Elijah, Master: You are One in two perfect natures.

Kontakion of the Feast
Upon the mountain were You transfigured, and Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they were able, O Christ our God; so that when they would see You crucified they might understand that Your Passion was deliberate, and declare to the world that in truth You are the Father’s radiance.

Second Hymn of the Ainoi
O God the Word, who exist before the ages, * who cover yourself with light as with a garment, O Lord, * with Your Disciples as witnesses You were transfigured, * O Logos, shining more brightly than the sun. * Moses and Elias stood by You betokening * that You are truly the Lord of both the dead and living; * and they gave glory to Your ineffable * plan of salvation by becoming man, * whereby You in Your mercy have saved the world, * in Your great condescension, * for it was perishing because of sin.

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 the Church understands the Feast of Transfiguration in multiple ways, as bringing together the Old Testament and the New, as showing the Lord’s dominion over the living, the dead, and the saints reigning in glory all together, bringing them before the Transfigured Lord upon the mountain, where His Divinity is revealed to them blazing through the veil of His humanity. The point of this, then, is simultaneously to express the truth of His Incarnation, the fullness of His Divinity and of His Humanity, and also to emphasize who it is that He is saving by means of His Incarnation, the entirety of humanity waiting upon Him from all ages and times.)

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 27:39-44, 28:1-16 (Shipwreck on Malta, Paul Arrives at Rome)

Last time we saw St. Paul aboard the ship in its last throes, after being driven before the storm for many days. He assured them that, if they trusted the Lord, not one of them would die, and then they ate a meal and threw the remainder of the provisions overboard, in preparation for what Paul had told them would be coming. This time, we will see the wreck of the ship, and the fulfillment of God’s promise to these people through Paul.

The Shipwreck

39 In the morning they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned to run the ship ashore, if they could. 40 So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes that tied the steering-oars; then hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. 41 But striking a reef, they ran the ship aground; the bow stuck and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves.

42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; 43 but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, 44 and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.

Paul on the Island of Malta

28 After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2 The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it. 3 Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.

4 When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They were expecting him to swell up or drop dead, but after they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual had happened to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.

7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and cured him by praying and putting his hands on him. 9 After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10 They bestowed many honors on us, and when we were about to sail, they put on board all the provisions we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

11 Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers as its figurehead. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there for three days; 13 then we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day there a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 The believers from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.

16 When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.

Reading 51 – 589 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 how God’s promise to those aboard the ship was fulfilled, and then how Paul shows forth himself the promise of the Lord from Mark 16:17-18, as he “picks up a serpent with his hand…and it does not hurt him.” Then, we see that even on this small island of Malta, Paul is preaching and healing, and many blessings come to the people of the island through him. Then finally, we see that even in southern Italy and its towns, there are Faithful, followers of the Lord, who give hospitality to Paul as he approaches Rome. And finally, of course, we see Paul arrive in Rome, as his requested audience with Caesar, or Caesar’s representative, is not a matter of pressing imperial business, so he has leisure to live by himself, effectively under house arrest, as it seems, but still free to teach and preach to at least some degree, as we will see more of next time.)

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 23:1-30 (Josiah’s Reformation, Josiah’s Death in Battle)

Last time, we saw the catastrophic rule of Hezekiah's son Mannaseh and his grandson Amon, spanning over fifty years, and then finally saw his great-grandson Josiah succeed to the throne and begin a return to faithfulness to the Lord. This time, we will see the conclusion of this, and how thorougly he repents on behalf of all of Israel, both the northern kingdom and the southern, for the great sins they have committed, destroying all the sites at which the demon gods of the nations had been worshipped, and the altars established by Jeroboam as well. But for all this, judgment is still coming, as we will see.

Josiah’s Reformation

23 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people joined in the covenant.

4 And the king commanded Hilki′ah, the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Ba′al, for Ashe′rah, and for all the host of heaven; he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places at the cities of Judah and round about Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Ba′al, to the sun, and the moon, and the constellations, and all the host of the heavens.

6 And he brought out the Ashe′rah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Ashe′rah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the gate of the city.

9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren. 10 And he defiled To′pheth, which is in the valley of the sons of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts;[a] and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manas′seh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces,[b] and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.

13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ash′toreth the abomination of the Sido′nians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the Ashe′rim, and filled their places with the bones of men.

15 Moreover the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and he broke in pieces its stones,[c] crushing them to dust; also he burned the Ashe′rah. 16 And as Josi′ah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount; and he sent and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is yonder monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things which you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samar′ia. 19 And all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samar′ia, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger, Josi′ah removed; he did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he slew all the priests of the high places who were there, upon the altars, and burned the bones of men upon them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The Passover Celebrated

21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant.” 22 For no such passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah; 23 but in the eighteenth year of King Josi′ah this passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover Josi′ah put away the mediums and the wizards and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilki′ah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.

26 Still the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manas′seh had provoked him. 27 And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.”

Josiah Dies in Battle

28 Now the rest of the acts of Josi′ah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphra′tes. King Josi′ah went to meet him; and Pharaoh Neco slew him at Megid′do, when he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megid′do, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jeho′ahaz the son of Josi′ah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s stead.

Reading 16 – 1276 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 Josiah is remarkable in his repentance and his faithfulness, and his zeal for the Torah, and that it is therefore surprising that he dies in war, and that the end of Judah follows swiftly after this Passover that was celebrated more perfectly than it had ever been celebrated before in all the years since the people of God first entered the Promised Land. The problem, I think, is that the people do not join him in this repentance, and do not turn to the Lord. The corruption from the long reign of Mannaseh had destroyed the memory of faithfulness, and they persist in their evil, even if only in secret, and therefore, for a great many of them, even their faithful celebration of the Passover is only skin deep. Therefore, while the judgment of Judah is delayed due to Josiah's repentance, it is not forestalled. Josiah is therefore granted the hard mercy of a death in battle, so that he can be buried with his fathers in the city of David, the last righteous king to be buried with David and the other faithful rules of Judah. The end will come quickly now.)

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 – 4

Last time we saw St. Gregory reduce the Arian heresy to its ridiculous core, an insistence that words must always mean the same thing, and that begetting must mean the same thing for God as it does for human beings. He showed how idiotic this assertion is, and having exposed the foolishness of the heresy, he affirmed the truth of the Christian confession of the full divinity of the Son of God. This time, he will affirm the same point with regard to the Holy Spirit, and bring his sermon to a close.

ORATION 20 – On theology and the office of bishops – Part 4

We think that the ungenerated existence of the Father—he has always existed, for the mind’s reach does not extend to a time when he did not—is coextensive with the generated existence of the Son. Hence the existence of the Father is concurrent with the generation of his only-begotten Son, who takes his being both from the Father and not after him, except in the sense that the Father is the source, that is, causal agent. I am repeating myself because your crassly materialistic cast of mind frightens me. And if you are going to refrain from inquiring impertinently into the Son’s—what should I call it? generation? person? or anything better one can think of (the notion and its expression confound my powers of speech)—do not be too inquisitive about the procession of the Spirit, either.

I am satisfied with the declaration that he is Son and that he is from the Father, and that the one is Father and the other Son; and I refuse to engage in meaningless speculation beyond this point. I have no wish to be like the man who loses his voice from overuse or his eyesight from staring directly into the sun: the more fully and sharply one wants to see, the more he damages his eyes and is blinded altogether, for his vision is overwhelmed by the magnitude of the sight if he insists on taking in the whole instead of only that portion that is without risk.

11. Do you hear the word “generation”? Do not go searching after the how. Do you hear “the Spirit going forth from the Father”? Do not go idly inquiring after the means. If you are curious about the Son’s generation and the procession of the Spirit, I too am curious about the union of body and soul that is you. How are you dust and an image of God? What is it that makes you move or what that is set in motion? How can the same thing both move and be moved? How do your senses draw in impressions from the outside without themselves changing location? How does your mind stay with you and yet generate words in another mind? How are thoughts transmitted through words?

And I have yet to ask the large questions: What is the circuit of the sky? What is the movement of the stars or their order or measurements or conjunction or distance? What the confines of the sea? Whence the streaming winds or the changing seasons or the pouring rains? If you have not comprehended any of these things—and perhaps, my dear fellow, one day you will, when you attain the perfect,26 for the words of Scripture, I will look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,27 serve to indicate that what we see now is not truth but semblances of truth—if you have not come to know yourself, who you are who engage in these discussions, if you have not come to understand those things of which even your senses are your witness, how can you claim an exact knowledge of God, his nature and magnitude? That is the height of folly.

12. So if you have been listening to me at all, wary theologian that I am, you have understood something; now ask to understand what remains. Be content with what abides within you; let the rest abide in the treasuries of heaven. Ascend by an upright life; through purification obtain the pure. Do you wish to be a theologian one day, worthy of divinity? Seek to keep the commandments; walk in his statutes.28 Conduct is the stepping-stone to contemplation. Devote your body to the service of your soul.

Is there any man who can equal Paul’s lofty status? Yet, for all that, he says that he sees in a mirror dimly, but that there is a time when he will see face to face. Are you better at discourse than another? You are most assuredly inferior to God. More sagacious perhaps than another? Your grasp of the truth is as deficient as your existence in comparison to God’s. We have the promise that one day we shall know to the degree that we are known.29 If while on this earth I may not possess to perfection knowledge of all that exists, what remains to me? What may I hope for? The kingdom of heaven, you will surely say.

And I believe this to be nothing other than the attainment of that which is most pure and perfect; and the most perfect of the things that are is the knowledge of God. So one part let us secure and let us reach another while we are on the face of the earth; and the remainder let us reserve for the other life that we may receive, as the fruit of our labor, this, the illumination of the Holy Trinity in the fullness of its being and character and magnitude (if to speak so violates no law of God), in Christ himself, our Lord, to whom be the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Reading 4 – 885 words

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.

Footnotes:

26 1 Cor 13:10.

27 Ps 8:3.

28 Cf. 1 Kgs 6:12.

29 1 Cor 13:12.

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 that St. Gregory, having ably and concisely refuted the heresies and upheld the Orthodox Faith, concludes not by crowing over his victory, but by returning to the point from which he began, that of humility and repentence. His purpose is to call heretics back from their heresy, not to show forth his own wisdom and erudition, and once he has given them sufficient reasons to abandon their error, his desire as their shepherd and father is that they should simply live the Christian life in faithfulness, and encounter in prayer and repentance the One about Whom they have presumed to speak foolish and erroneous words in the past. Therefore, as we come to the end of this sermon that is entitled "On Theology and the Office of the Bishop," we are left with the question of where St. Gregory spoke about the office of the bishop at all. There was nowhere that he did so overtly; I don't recall him even using the word. But the entire thrust of his discourse from beginning to end, has been both decisive and pastoral, striving by every fitting means to win his flock over to the truth, and to set them on the right path. He has discoursed on theology, overtly, but in his manner he has shown what is the true office of a faithful bishop. This is still more striking when we remember that St. Gregory never wanted to be a bishop, or even a priest, at all…but having received the trust of shepherding the people of God, he fulfils this task to the best of his ability. His example reminds me of the words of his friend, St. Basil the Great, when an imperial official commented that he had never known a hierarch of the church to refuse threats, flatteries, bribery, or violence, and St. Basil mildly replied, "Perhaps, my friend, you have simply never actually met a bishop, then." May we have the intercessions of St. Gregory, and St. Basil, and of all the saints, as we continue on the path of salvation.)

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 27:21-38 (Storm at Sea continued)

Last time we saw St. Paul set out on his journey for Rome, as a prisoner of the Romans, bound for the trial before Caesar which was his right as a Roman citizen, and which he had demanded rather than go back into the power of the chief priests and rulers of the people in Judaea. He warned the officer in charge of the detachment of soldiers bringing him to Rome that they should not set sail in the autumn, but rather wait until the better weather of spring, but the officer and the captain of the ship disagreed, and took the chance of a favorable wind from the south to set sail from south of Crete for Rome. However, a strong storm blew up, and drove them before it for three days, and they began to throw everything off the ship, trying to save it and themselves. At this point, we resume our story.

Storm at Sea continued

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss. 22 I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

23 For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we will have to run aground on some island.”

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were drifting across the sea of Adria, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took soundings and found twenty fathoms; a little farther on they took soundings again and found fifteen fathoms. 29 Fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 3

0 But when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and had lowered the boat into the sea, on the pretext of putting out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat and set it adrift.

33 Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads.”

35 After he had said this, he took bread; and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. 36 Then all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves. 37 (We were in all two hundred seventy-six persons in the ship.) 38 After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.

Reading 50 – 410 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 change in the attitude of the centurion toward Paul. He didn’t believe his warning before they set out, but at this point, when he has been proven correct, he believes him and prevents the sailors from their attempt to escape. I must also note that I have some confusion myself about the time frame of all of this; it said they were driven for three days before the gale from Crete, but now we’re talking about the 14th day since any of them ate. Regardless, they have been at sea for quite some time, and don’t know for certain where they are, and despite being on what must be a massive ship to have 276 people on board, they are growing confident that the ship will sink; the only hope anyone has is Paul’s promise that not one life will be lost. Next time, we will see how this is fulfilled.)

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 21:1-26; 22:1-20 (Reigns of Mannaseh, Amon, and Josiah)

Last time, we saw Hezekiah, the righteous king of Judah, entrust himself and his city to the protection of the Lord at the last desperate point, with the great army of Assyria at the gates, and threats of utter destruction hanging over their heads. We saw the Lord give a word of assurance and comfort to Hezekiah, and of judgment to Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and then the angel of the Lord destroyed a great many of the soldiers in the Assyrian camp, and they broke the siege and departed from Judaea. That was chapter 19 of 4 Kingdoms; in chapter 20, we see the rest of Hezekiah’s life, and then his death. His son, Manasseh, succeeds him, and things turn immediately, and drastically, to the worse.

Manasseh Reigns over Judah

21 Manas′seh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Heph′zibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezeki′ah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Ba′al, and made an Ashe′rah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

6 And he burned his son as an offering, and practiced soothsaying and augury, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the graven image of Ashe′rah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever; 8 and I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manas′seh seduced them to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

10 And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, 11 “Because Manas′seh king of Judah has committed these abominations, and has done things more wicked than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols; 12 therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such evil that the ears of every one who hears of it will tingle.

13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samar′ia, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will cast off the remnant of my heritage, and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”

16 Moreover Manas′seh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin which he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 17 Now the rest of the acts of Manas′seh, and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 And Manas′seh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza; and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

Amon Reigns over Judah

19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshul′lemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as Manas′seh his father had done. 21 He walked in all the way in which his father walked, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them; 22 he forsook the Lord, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the Lord.

23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and killed the king in his house. 24 But the people of the land slew all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josi′ah his son king in his stead. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza; and Josi′ah his son reigned in his stead.

Josiah Reigns over Judah

22 Josi′ah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedi′dah the daughter of Adai′ah of Bozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law

3 In the eighteenth year of King Josi′ah, the king sent Shaphan … the secretary, to the house of the Lord [to speak with Hilkiah the high priest about the money paid into the Temple, so that it could be used to pay the workmen for its repairs. But Hilkiah said to Shaphan:] 8b“I have found the book of the law[a] in the house of the Lord.” And Hilki′ah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king … “Hilki′ah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

11 And when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he rent his clothes. 12 And the king commanded [his servants], saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

14 So Hilki′ah the priest [and the others] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum … keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.

18 But as to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words which you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have rent your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.

Reading 15 – 1338 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 abrupt and complete this change is; during Hezekiah’s reign, a relatively long reign of almost thirty years, the kingdom of Judah was reduced almost to the point that Jerusalem only was left, but they were delivered by the Lord, and a remnant went out and re-settled the cities that Sennacherib had destroyed, and Hezekiah reigned another 15 years in peace and prosperity, and during his reign, as we saw, the people inside Jerusalem were faithful to the Lord and loyal to Hezekiah. Manasseh’s rule, conversely, was 55 years, almost twice as long as his father’s, so that only the oldest people would remember what life was like in Hezekiah’s time. Thus a great many of the people were led astray and became unfaithful to the Lord during Manasseh’s kingship, and although we know that Manasseh repented and sought forgiveness (and we use his prayer of repentance during Great Lent in the Great Compline service), nonetheless the consequences of his great sins were not taken away, and we will see that, despite Josiah’s efforts to restore righteousness, the people remain devoted to the evil gods of the Canaanites. But for now, as we leave off this week, we have a word of peace that has been given to Josiah, and next week, we will see what he does to repent, and how his reign ends.)

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 – 3

Last time we saw St. Gregory speak with clarity and strength about the Godhead, and the essential truth of the ancient Christian confession of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He affirmed both the unity of the three Persons and the Distinct Identity of each Person, and identified the Person of the Father as the source of that union, as both the Son and the Holy Spirit have their timeless origin in Him. This time, we will see him continue on these themes.

ORATION 20 – On theology and the office of bishops – Part 3

8. If, however, you are going to claim that the Son is subject to time for the reason that bodies are too, you will in fact be attributing corporeality to the incorporeal, and if you insist that the Son too made the transition from nonexistence to existence on the grounds that whatever is generated in our world does not exist at one point but comes into being after a time, you are comparing the incomparable, God and man, corporeal and incorporeal; hence because our bodies both suffer and perish so will he too.

Your claim, then, is that, because bodies are generated in this way, so too is God; while I say that because bodies are so generated, God is not. Things that have a different kind of existence also have a different mode of generation, unless he is a slave to material influences in all other respects too, as for example pain and suffering and hunger and thirst and all the other afflictions either corporeal or corporeal and incorporeal together. But these are the things your mind does not accept; we are in fact speaking about God. So stop supposing that his generation too is anything other than of a divine sort.

9. But, someone retorts, if he is generated, what form did this generation take? Answer me, unerring dialectician that you are. If he has been created, how has he been created? And go ahead and ask me this: how was he generated? Does generation involve passion? Then so does creation. Are not mental conception and thought and the analysis of a single idea into its discrete parts a kind of passion? Is there time involved in generation? The created world also exists in time. Does space apply to this world? It does in the other too. Can generation miscarry? So too can creation. These are the arguments I have heard you make: the hand often fails to execute what the mind calls up.

But, you argue, he brought everything into existence by his word and will, for he spoke, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created.24 When you say that everything was created by God’s word, you are not positing creation in human terms. None of us makes things happen by word. Nothing would be more sublime or effortless than ourselves if statement sufficed to bring about fact; hence, although God creates what he creates by word, his creation is not of human sort. Either show me a human being who also brings something about by word, or else admit that God does not create in a human way. All you need do is picture to yourself a city and lo! have it come into being; will yourself a son, and lo! have a boy appear; wish for anything else that can possibly happen and have your will become accomplished fact.

But as surely as none of these things comes to pass as a result of our willing it so, while with God the act of will and its fulfillment are identical, man creates in one way and God, the Creator of all, in another. So if God does not create like a human being, how does it follow that he must beget like one? Once upon a time you did not exist; then you did, and now you beget. Accordingly, you bring into existence someone who did not previously exist or, in a deeper sense, perhaps it is not you at all who are doing the bringing, since Levi also, Scripture says, was still in the loins of his ancestor25 before he was born. And let no one sneer at my words. I am not suggesting that the Son derives his being from the Father in that he first existed in the Father and later made his way into being, nor that he was first unformed and was then formed, as is the case with human generation.

10. These are the views of malcontents, the views of those who are quick to jump on every word. They are not our thoughts or beliefs. We think that the ungenerated existence of the Father—he has always existed, for the mind’s reach does not extend to a time when he did not—is coextensive with the generated existence of the Son. Hence the existence of the Father is concurrent with the generation of his only-begotten Son, who takes his being both from the Father and not after him, except in the sense that the Father is the source, that is, causal agent. I am repeating myself because your crassly materialistic cast of mind frightens me.

Reading 3 – 782 words

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.

Footnotes

24 Ps 148:5 LXX.

25 Heb 7:10.

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 effectively reduces the Arian heresy to the fundamental point of insisting that words must mean the same thing for God as they do for human beings, and then utterly refutes it by pointing out how utterly different limited, created, and weak human beings are from the infinite Almighty Creator God. And if the begetting of the only-begotten Son of God ought indeed to be understood as something different from human begetting, then the entire case of the Arians falls apart, exposed as just so much over-logical, but poorly reasoned sophistry. We must remember again the context in which St. Gregory is preaching, to the capital city of the empire, under the rule of a new emperor, an Orthodox emperor, after almost half a century of domination by Arian rulers. He has the technical authority over the churches in the city, with the backing of the emperor (Theodosios the Great), but he is fighting here for the minds and the hearts of his flock with every tool he can muster for the salvation of their souls and the unity 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 27:1-20 (Paul Sails for Rome, Storm at Sea)

Last time, we saw the conclusion of St. Paul's words before Herod Agrippa II and the Roman governor Festus, and how the rulers concluded that there was no reason for Paul even to be imprisoned at all, and that he might be and should be released, except that he had already appealed to Caesar. They intend this as a reflection on Paul's foolishness and the ridiculousness of the situation, but Paul does not grieve this, as his goal is to preach even to the emperor as he had been able to do to Agrippa, urging even the ruler of the known world to submit himself to Christ the Ruler and Creator of all. This time, we will see Paul set out on his journey to Rome. This will be rather more eventful than the journeys we have seen him take before.

Paul Sails for Rome

27 When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, they transferred Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort, named Julius. 2 Embarking on a ship of Adramyttium that was about to set sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon; and Julius treated Paul kindly, and allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for. '

4 Putting out to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 After we had sailed across the sea that is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind was against us, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Sailing past it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

9 Since much time had been lost and sailing was now dangerous, because even the Fast had already gone by, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I can see that the voyage will be with danger and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 Since the harbor was not suitable for spending the winter, the majority was in favor of putting to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, where they could spend the winter. It was a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and northwest.

The Storm at Sea

13 When a moderate south wind began to blow, they thought they could achieve their purpose; so they weighed anchor and began to sail past Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a violent wind, called the northeaster, rushed down from Crete. 15 Since the ship was caught and could not be turned head-on into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven. 16 By running under the lee of a small island called Cauda we were scarcely able to get the ship’s boat under control. 17 After hoisting it up they took measures to undergird the ship; then, fearing that they would run on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and so were driven. 18 We were being pounded by the storm so violently that on the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard, 19 and on the third day with their own hands they threw the ship’s tackle overboard. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

Reading 49 – 507 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should explain that the Fast referred to in verse 9 is the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, which happens in the fall, in September or October, depending on how the Hebrew calendar falls that year. The point here is that winter is quickly approaching, and it is not safe to sail the open waters of the Mediterranean during the winter. The other thing that should be noted, in advance of our reading next week, is that the storm overtakes them while they are trying to sail past Crete…when they are shipwrecked, they find themselves on the island of Malta, some 600 miles away. This is not unreasonable; considering they've been driven for at least two full days, they only need to have maintained a speed of 12 or 13 miles per hour, but…it's an impressive distance to travel at the time, effectively from the eastern Mediterranean to the west, just south of Sicily. We should note, as well, that St. Paul is given by God to know that things will turn out poorly, and warns those in charge, but they ignore him; he will make reference to this in next week's reading.)

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?