Day 1 (Monday)

Exodus 8:20-32, 9:1-12 (4th, 5th & 6th Plagues – Flies, Livestock Disease, & Boils)

Last time we saw the 2nd and 3rd Plagues, as frogs and gnats came upon Pharaoh and the land of Egypt, as the stubborn king continued to refuse to submit to the call of Yahweh, the God of Israel, to let the people of Israel go. When the frogs had filled the land, Pharaoh had acknowledged the reality of Yahweh’s existence and power for the first time, and promised to let the people go if the Lord would take the frogs away. Moses had even given Pharaoh the opportunity to set the day and time at which the frogs would cease to afflict Egypt. But when God caused all the frogs to die, so that they could be removed from the land, Pharaoh went back on his word, so the gnats were sent instead. It is notable that the plague of gnats was the first which Pharaoh’s magicians were unable to duplicate, so that they said to Pharaoh that this “was the finger of God.” But Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen to them or to Moses & Aaron. This time we will see three plagues, as this pattern continues and Pharaoh sets his path more and more firmly against the Creator of all existence.

The Fourth Plague: Flies

20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and wait for Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.

22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there; that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 23 Thus I will put a division[e] between my people and your people. By tomorrow shall this sign be.”’” 24 And the Lord did so; there came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses, and in all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by reason of the flies.

25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so; for we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God offerings abominable to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he will command us.”

28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Make entreaty for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only let not Pharaoh deal falsely again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 31 And the Lord did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.

The Fifth Plague: Livestock Diseased

9 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your cattle which are in the field, the horses, the asses, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 4 But the Lord will make a distinction between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, so that nothing shall die of all that belongs to the people of Israel.”’”

5 And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” 6 And on the morrow the Lord did this thing; all the cattle of the Egyptians died, but of the cattle of the people of Israel not one died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the cattle of the Israelites was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils

8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of ashes from the kiln, and let Moses throw them toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.”

10 So they took ashes from the kiln, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses threw them toward heaven, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them; as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

Reading 9
747 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (There are a number of things the Leader should point out. First, with both the flies and with the gnats last week, we are seeing the land of Egypt, whose people had killed uncounted numbers of the male babies of the Israelites, shown forth as the place of death and horror that it had become in truth by this crime, with gnats and flies settling on everything in the land. Second, we see God show His protection in keeping the land of Goshen, where the Israelites actually lived, free of these plagues. Fourth, we see Pharaoh starting to bargain, suggesting that the people of Israel can worship Yahweh while still remaining subject to him in Egypt. Moses makes clear that this is unacceptable. It is not possible to honor Pharaoh or the gods of Egypt in any way, as they would have to do if they remained in Egypt, and to be faithful to God. They have to leave, to become entirely free of Pharaoh, in order to worship the one true God.

The Leader should also point out that the plagues are getting worse, and are striking the gods of Egypt and the people themselves, even in their own bodies. AS far as the gods of Egypt, the note from the Net Bible (netbible.org) provides the connection between the livestock and the gods: “This plague demonstrates that Yahweh has power over the livestock of Egypt. He is able to strike the animals with disease and death, thus delivering a blow to the economic as well as the religious life of the land. By the former plagues many of the Egyptian religious ceremonies would have been interrupted and objects of veneration defiled or destroyed. Now some of the important deities will be attacked. In Goshen, where the cattle are merely cattle, no disease hits, but in the rest of Egypt it is a different matter. Osiris, the savior, cannot even save the brute in which his own soul is supposed to reside. Apis and Mnevis, the ram of Ammon, the sheep of Sais, and the goat of Mendes, perish together. Hence, Moses reminds Israel afterward, “On their gods also Yahweh executed judgments” (Num 33:4). When Jethro heard of all these events, he said, “Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods” (Exod 18:11).” As for the boils, it is worth noting that at this point, it is not just the land that is festering with death, but even the flesh of the Egyptians themselves is diseased.)

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)

The Anaphora of St. John Chrysostom (Further Reflection on God as He Who Is)

We looked last week at how we confess that Jesus Christ is the Angel of the Lord from the Old Testament, the 2nd Person of the Trinity, Yahweh Himself, Who spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, and how we affirm this point explicitly in the Dismissal prayers of every Vespers and Orthros. Similar confessions and reflections are present throughout the prayers of the Church. We can see St. John Chrysostom unpacking what it means that God the Father is the One Who Is, Yahweh, in the great prayer of the Anaphora in the Divine Liturgy. This prayer comes right after the Creed and continues all the way to the Consecration.

Anaphora Prayer of St. John Chrysostom

It is proper and right to sing to You, bless You, praise You, thank You and worship You in all places of Your dominion; for You are God ineffable, beyond comprehension, invisible, beyond understanding, existing forever and always the same (ἀεὶ ὤν, ὡσαύτως ὤν); You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit. You brought us into being out of nothing, and when we fell, You raised us up again.

You did not cease doing everything until You led us to heaven and granted us Your kingdom to come. For all these things we thank You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit; for all things that we know and do not know, for blessings seen and unseen that have been bestowed upon us. We also thank You for this liturgy which You are pleased to accept from our hands, even though You are surrounded by thousands of Archangels and tens of thousands of Angels, by the Cherubim and Seraphim, six-winged, many-eyed, soaring with their wings,

Singing the victory hymn, proclaiming, crying out, and saying:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth, heaven and earth are filled with Your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna to God in the highest.

Together with these blessed powers, merciful Master, we also proclaim and say: You are holy and most holy, You and Your only-begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit. You are holy and most holy, and sublime is Your glory. You so loved Your world that You gave Your only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

He came and fulfilled the divine plan for us. On the night when He was delivered up, or rather when He gave Himself up for the life of the world, He took bread in His holy, pure, and blameless hands, gave thanks, blessed, sanctified, broke, and gave it to His holy disciples and apostles saying: Take, eat, this is my Body which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins. Amen. Drink of it all of you; this is my Blood of the new Covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Remembering, therefore, this command of the Savior, and all that came to pass for our sake, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the enthronement at the right hand of the Father, and the second, glorious coming; offering to You Your own from Your own, on behalf of all and for all.
We praise You, we bless You, we give thanks to You, and we pray to You, Lord our God.

Once again we offer to You this spiritual/meaningful/significant worship without the shedding of blood, and we ask, pray, and entreat You: send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here presented.
And make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ, and that which is in this cup the precious Blood of Your Christ, changing them by Your Holy Spirit,

So that they may be to those who partake of them for vigilance of soul, forgiveness of sins, communion of Your Holy Spirit, fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven, confidence before You, and not in judgment or condemnation. Again, we offer this spiritual worship for those who repose in the faith, forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and for every righteous spirit made perfect in faith.

593 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that this prayer is addressed to God the Father, as the source and fountainhead of Divinity, together with the Son and the Spirit, and recounts all that God has done for us and the entire creation, and from that Confession of God’s great and glorious deeds for us, the prayer continues to thank God for the liturgy which He is accepting from our hands, and then recounts all that our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us, even to the point of the Mystical Supper and Passion, in which we then participate.)

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?

Additional Discussion questions:

1) Why does the prayer say it is good and right for us to praise and worship God? (Because He is great and high and awesome, above and beyond existence and time and understanding.)

2) What specifically does it say about the Name of God, Yahweh,  Ὁ Ὤν (in the section in bold)? (It uses the same word in Greek, and adds that God, being the One Who Is, is the One Who “always is/exists forever” and Who “Is always the same.” So it says that God’s Being, His essence, is eternal and unchanging).

3) So do we praise and thank and worship God just because He is eternal and unchanging? Or is because of something else? (The prayer goes on to talk about how God, the One Who Is, brought us into being out of nothing, and when we fell, He raised us up again, and does not stop acting and working to save us until He brings us safely into the Kingdom to come. So we thank Him and praise Him and worship Him because, although He is perfect and eternal and infinite, and needs nothing at all from us…nonetheless He loves us.)

4) Who worships God together with us? (The prayer talks about how all the angels are worshipping God, and thanks God for accepting our prayer along with the prayer and worship of the angelic powers. And then we even sing the hymn of the angels along with them, as it is recorded in the book of Revelation.)

5) Do you noticed that we call God “The Lord of Sabaoth” here? Do you think this “Lord” is Yahweh? Or does it just mean Lord? (The name “Yahweh-Sabaoth” appears throughout the Hebrew Old Testament, and means that God is God of gods, He-Who-Is among all the heavenly hosts. We can think, as well, of how the Bible talks about The Angel of the Lord, as we see the Son of God at the Burning Bush, or the Captain of the Heavenly Hosts that Joshua meets before Israel crosses the Jordan River.)

Day 3 (Friday)

Luke 6:37-49; 7:1-10 (Judging Others, a Tree & its Fruit, Two Foundations, & a Centurion’s Faith)

Last time we saw Jesus begin the Sermon on the Mount. He talked about how we should treat other people, and what it really means to be blessed. He continues in that way this week.

Judging Others

37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

The Two Foundations

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

7 After he had ended all his sayings in the hearing of the people he entered Caper′na-um. 2 Now a centurion had a slave who was dear to him, who was sick and at the point of death. 3 When he heard of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his slave. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them.

When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; 7 therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard this he marveled at him, and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.

Reading 14
645 words

Discussion Questions

1) What is the basic point of what Jesus says in the first paragraph here? (He says that we will be treated in the way that we have treated other people; he warns against judging and condemning others, and urges us to forgive and to be generous).

2) What do you think Jesus is saying when he talks about the log and the speck in the eye, and the blind leading the blind? (This is a good chance for a conversation – but the basic point is that we shouldn’t try to fix other people…we should address our own failings and sins before we try to tell other people what’s wrong with them. These are good words to live by…almost everything that Christians do wrong in dealing with those around them comes back somehow to a failure to follow this instruction.)

3) Why does Jesus compare us to trees? (He is saying that, if you want to know whether a tree is good or not, you should look at its fruit, and in the same way, if we want to know whether we are doing well or not, we should look at the fruit of our lives. We can’t say that we’re doing just fine if the fruit of our lives is anger, gossip, and trouble.)

4) What do you think the parable of the house in the flood means? (This is again an opportunity for conversation. The basic point is that listening to God isn’t enough – we have to act on what He says to us.)

Additional Discussion Questions

1) What was the miracle in this reading? (Jesus healed the servant of the centurion.)

2) What was unusual about the healing of the centurion’s servant? (There are two things that were unusual. First, the centurion wasn’t a Jew, but Jesus still talked with him and helped him. Second, He didn’t go in person to heal the servant, but healed him from a distance).

3) Why did Jesus not go to heal the centurion’s servant in person? Was He not willing to go? (He was willing to go, but the centurion told Him that he knew that he was unworthy to have Jesus come into his house, and that he knew Jesus had authority and power to heal his servant, and had no need to be present in person.)

4) Jesus said that the centurion showed more faith than anyone else – what do you think showed the right sort of faith in the centurion’s words and actions? (This is a question to encourage thought and conversation. I can see five things that are important about the centurion here. a) He knows himself, and recognizes that he is unworthy, that he doesn’t deserve Jesus’ help, that he doesn’t have a right to it. b) He recognizes Jesus as God, and confesses His divine power and authority; so he knows Who Jesus is. c) He puts points 1 and 2 into action, and operates in humility as the supplicant, accepting his role in the relationship between God and an unworthy human being asking for help. d) In asking for help although he doesn’t have a right to it, he puts that relationship into action, entrusting himself and his servant to the care and mercy of the Lord. e) Although he receives the outcome that he wanted, he accepted from the outset that there was no guarantee that he would. He accepted the will of God for himself and his servant, even if the answer was no. All of these together show faith, or trust, this relationship between helpless humanity and our good and loving God.)

Day 1 (Monday)

Exodus 7:25, 8:1-19 (2nd and 3rd Plagues – Frogs & Gnats)

Last time, we saw the first of the plagues that the Lord brought upon Egypt as a warning lest worst things come about, when God turned the water of the Nile River into blood through Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh refused to repent, and the river water remained blood for seven days. We will see what happens next today.

The Second Plague: Frogs

25 Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.

8 1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs; 3 the Nile shall swarm with frogs which shall come up into your house, and into your bedchamber and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls; 4 the frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’”

5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come upon the land of Egypt!’” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same by their secret arts, and brought frogs upon the land of Egypt.

8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, “Entreat the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to entreat, for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs shall depart from you and your houses and your servants and your people; they shall be left only in the Nile.”

12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried to the Lord concerning the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; the frogs died out of the houses and courtyards and out of the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them; as the Lord had said.

The Third Plague: Gnats

16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and struck the dust of the earth, and there came gnats on man and beast; all the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them; as the Lord had said.

Reading 8
555 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that, with the staff becoming a snake and even the water becoming blood, these were not deadly plagues, ultimately, nor were they punishments, as such. Rather, they were signs and miracles which God used to show Pharaoh that He was truly the Most High God. They were also warnings that worse was to come if Pharaoh refused to let the people of Israel go. This time, God sends them to Pharaoh with an ultimatum and a consequence: let Israel go, or this will happen to you. God is systematically removing any room that Pharaoh has to deny His existence or His power; He is inviting Pharaoh to repent, but removing any other option besides repentance or intentional opposition. We should note, too, that Pharaoh gets this: in verse 8, for the first time, he actually acknowledges Yahweh’s existence, and asks Moses and Aaron to pray to Yahweh for him. Finally, we should note that Moses lets Pharaoh pick the time that the frogs will leave, lest there be any doubt that Moses has somehow pre-planned this plague as a trick. But nonetheless, with all of that, as soon as the frogs are dead and gone, Pharaoh goes back on his word and refuses to let the people go. And thus we have the subsequent plague of gnats…and with the gnats, for the first time, Pharaoh’s magicians are unable to imitate the plague, through whatever trickery or alliance with demons that they have been using up to this point. At this point even they acknowledge that this is the power of God – but with his back to the wall, and his attempt to trick the God of Israel a failure, Pharaoh refuses to back down and humble himself, so next time we will see things get still worse.)

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)

Dismissal Prayers of Vespers & Orthros

We’ve spent some time reading and discussing the prayers of the Church, whether from the Vespers, the Orthros, the Divine Liturgy, or even from the private prayer books for the Faithful in their homes. This week, we will read and discuss the end of the service, the Dismissal Prayers that conclude each of the major services, and what they say about the essential points of our Faith.

Dismissal Prayers

At the end of the services of Vespers and Orthros (the services of sunset and sunrise), as well as the Divine Liturgy, the service concludes in the same way. The Priest begins by turning and facing the people, and saying:

“Ὁ ὢν εὐλογητὸς Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, πάντοτε· νῦν καὶ ἁεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.
Blessed is Christ our God, He Who Is, Ο ΩΝ, always; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.”

Then the Chanter says: “Amen. May the Lord God strengthen the holy and pure faith of devout and orthodox Christians, with his holy Church and this city, unto the ages of ages.

Then the Priest says:
“Most Holy Theotokos, save us.”

And the People say in response: “More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, you without corruption gave birth to God the Word, we magnify you, the true Theotokos.”

And then the Priest says the final Dismissal:
“Glory to You, O God, our hope, glory to You.

Christ our true God – through the intercessions of His most pure and holy Mother; by the power of the precious and life giving Cross; through the protection of the honorable, Bodiless Powers of heaven; through the supplications of the honorable, glorious prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John; of the holy, glorious, and praiseworthy Apostles; of the holy, glorious and triumphant Martyrs; of our righteous and God-bearing Fathers; of our Father among the Saints John, Archbishop of Constantinople, the Golden-mouthed; of the holy and righteous ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna, (of the Saint of the day) and of all the Saints – may He have mercy on us and save us, as a good and merciful God Who loves mankind.

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us.
The Deacon: Amen.

Discussion questions:

1) At the very beginning, how does the Priest speak about Jesus Christ? (He says that He is, or should be, blessed, and calls Him “He Who Is,” or, in Greek, ὁ ὤν)

2) What do you think it means for God to be blessed? (It doesn’t mean the same thing that it means for a human being to be blessed, right? What we are saying here is that it is right for human beings to speak well of God, to bless Him, to thank Him, to glorify Him. Literally the word that we translated as “blessed” means “well-spoken-of”).

3) Why do you think we call Jesus ὁ ὤν, He Who Is? (This is, in Greek and in English, the way that the Name that God gives to Moses is translated. In Hebrew, the Name is Yahweh, and means “The One Who Exists and Causes All That Exists to Exist,” and it is therefore unique. Only one god can claim this name: the God Who brought all things into being out of nothing, and Who alone exists Himself absolutely, without any qualification or dependence.)

4) Why do you think we talk so much about the Saints in the Dismissal? (This is an open question – one good answer is that we are drawing a picture of the reality of the world. Jesus Christ, The Lord, Yahweh, the Creator of all things, is at the center of all – we look to Him and call Him blessed. And surrounding Him are all those who have lived lives of obedience and repentance from all the ages, and they, and we, all look to Him for mercy, salvation, and love. So the picture we are painting is of the entire creation gathered around the Lord in worship and in thanksgiving for His wonderful deeds for the children of men.)

Day 3 (Friday)

Luke 6:17-36 (Jesus Teaches & Heals, Blessings and Woes, Love for Enemies)

Last time Jesus addressed the Pharisees about the Sabbath when they criticized Him for His disciples’ behavior, and then He selected the Twelve Apostles. This time, we see Him preaching to the people, and what sort of things He was saying to them. Let’s listen in!

Jesus Teaches and Heals

17 He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Blessings and Woes

20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

Love for Enemies

27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should discuss the additional questions below.)

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?

Additional Discussion Questions

1) What do you notice about the people that Jesus calls blessed here. (Hopefully everyone will notice that the people that Jesus calls blessed aren’t usually the ones we would think of as being blessed)

2) Why does Jesus call them blessed? (He gives a reason for each group He calls blessed – mostly it is because God intends good for those who suffer for His sake)

3) What do you notice about the people that Jesus says “woe” to? (He pretty much says that whatever good they have received is the only good they will ever get. Woe comes to them because they chose the wrong good)

4) What does Jesus say we should do when people mistreat us? (He tells us to love them, to pray for them, to serve them, and to treat them as we would like them to treat us)

5) What is the last reason that Jesus gives for treating people well when they treat us badly? (Because that is how God is Himself – he is kind and merciful to those who have rebelled against Him…which is to say, to all of us! So we should be like Him in how we treat other people)

Day 1 (Monday)

Exodus 6:28-30; 7:1-24 (Aaron as Moses’ Messenger, the First Plague)

Last time, we saw Pharaoh deny the children of Israel straw with which to make bricks, while still requiring the same allotment of bricks produced from them. As a result of this effectively impossible task, we saw the children of Israel complain to Moses and Aaron, and in turn we saw Moses complain to God that the Lord’s message to Pharaoh had not in fact delivered Israel, but only made things worse for them. The Lord, in response, made clear and direct promises to Moses, that He would indeed bring Israel out with strength, and would show His faithfulness to them and to all. This time, we will see this begin.

Who are Moses & Aaron?

From Exodus 6:14-25, the text gives the genealogy of Moses and Aaron, how they were the descendants of Jacob’s son Levi, and who all their family were. Then it continues:

26 It was this same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, company by company.” 27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, the same Moses and Aaron.

Moses and Aaron Obey God’s Commands

28 On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the Lord said to Moses, “I am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me?”

7 1 And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I make you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. 2 You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you;”

“then I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring forth my hosts, my people the sons of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.” 6 And Moses and Aaron did so; they did as the Lord commanded them. 7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

Aaron’s Miraculous Rod

8 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Prove yourselves by working a miracle,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.’” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the Lord commanded; Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.

11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. 12 For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. 13 Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them; as the Lord had said.

The First Plague: Water Turned to Blood

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; wait for him by the river’s brink, and take in your hand the rod which was turned into a serpent. 16 And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; and behold, you have not yet obeyed.”

17 Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the rod that is in my hand, and it shall be turned to blood, 18 and the fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall become foul, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the Nile.”’” 19 And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

20 Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, he lifted up the rod and struck the water that was in the Nile, and all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood. 21 And the fish in the Nile died; and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them; as the Lord had said. 23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not lay even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug round about the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.

Reading 7
753 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 Pharaoh has refused to let the people go, and Moses has brought this issue to God. God has reminded Moses that He is God Almighty, and that He is now revealing Himself in a special way to the children of Israel, so that they even know His Name now. Then, when Pharaoh refuses to even recognize Yahweh as God, the Lord responds with an insult, by not letting Moses speak to Pharaoh anymore, but establishing Aaron as the spokesman/prophet for Moses. This is a diplomatic insult; it conveys to Pharaoh that Pharaoh isn’t of a high enough rank to even talk to God’s messenger, but that God’s messenger (Moses) needs a messenger to speak to Pharaoh. The message sent by this is that Pharaoh is himself a pawn, a servant of greater powers, the demons that he worships as gods, but that Yahweh is God Most High, with no peer or equal, the one against whom those demons rebelled. What follows, as the water of the Nile is turned to blood, makes this point still more strongly; the Nile itself was the very source of life, and of the very soil of Egypt, washed down with the annual flooding of the River. For God to change this life-giving water into blood was a direct assault on the entire thinking and way of being for the Egyptians…and therefore an invitation and call for them to abandon the worship of the Creation and devote themselves to serving Him, the Creator of all things.

He can also point out in more detail that both the miracle of Aaron’s walking stick becoming a snake and consuming the snakes produced by the Pharaoh’s magicians, as well as that of the river water becoming blood, are not just random miracles. They are targeted strikes against the slavery under which both the Egyptians and the Israelites were laboring. Snakes were a symbol of divinity and kingship for the Egyptians; Aaron’s rod becoming a snake, and then consuming the Egyptian snakes, is a demonstration of the power and true divinity of Yahweh, and the weakness of Pharaoh and the demon gods he served. As for the Nile, the river itself was considered to be a god by the Egyptians, and was worshipped and supplicated because it was the source of life and fertility for Egypt. The turning of the water into blood is therefore another demonstration of Yahweh’s absolute power over the false gods of Egypt. In making an open show of their humiliation, He gives an invitation to the Egyptians to be delivered from their power, and simultaneously gives a warning to Pharaoh that his refusal to let Israel go will not stand.)

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

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

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

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

Day 2 (Wednesday)

St. John Chrysostom on Suffering

Note to parents – this is a heavy topic, and St. John is not always the easiest person to follow. However, the question of why bad things happen to good people is a question that all of us ask, and many children ask it quite young. St. John gives a fearless answer that calls us to consider what it really means to follow Christ – I urge you to at the least discuss this passage together yourselves, and with your older children. I also urge you to not be afraid to talk about it with the younger children, or at least in front of them. If nothing else, it is important for them, and for all of us, to be reminded that, for Christian people, suffering is not something by which we should be surprised, and very often, it is in suffering, rather than the good times, that we see God at work in our lives.

We talked last week about St. John Chrysostom and his life, exile, and death. St. John is a saint of the Church, a very important person, and yet, like most of the saints, we see him suffering a great deal. Sometimes people have asked why it is that God allows His saints, those who serve Him best, to suffer. It’s an important question for us, not least because we ourselves experience suffering throughout our lives. Now there are two possible answers. Sometimes God allows us to suffer the consequences of our wrong actions, in order to call us back to repentance after we have sinned. This is a reality we can see frequently throughout the Scriptures, and in our daily lives as well. Sometimes, though, we see righteous people suffer, even when they have done nothing wrong, as we saw with St. John Chrysostom. Why God allows this to happen is a difficult question, but St. John actually talks about it in one of his sermons, so let’s see what he says about it!

St. John Chrysostom on Suffering

“For we often hear the question asked of why God allows humble and righteous people to suffer, and some have found fault with the Saints, because they experienced sickness and disease, or poverty, hunger, prison, torments, & discomfort, or were despised by others, or suffered every other evil thing that comes in the present life. [Some have said that they must have been evil if God punished them with such suffering, or that God is not just if He rewards them with suffering in exchange for their righteous deeds). So we need to give a solution to the problem, an answer to those who are inclined to find fault.

[There are many answers that may be given, but they can be reduced to two. First, the Lord allows the Saints to suffer for their own profit and benefit. Second, He allows them to suffer for our benefit, and for that of all who see and hear of them.

1) When we say that God allows the Saints to suffer for their own good, it is specifically because suffering is a remedy for pride. And pride is a danger for the Saints, for nothing is so likely to feed pride as a life that is full of good works, and a soul that lives in confidence that it has done everything it should do. In order that His saints might escape from pride, then, God allows temptations and tribulations to afflict them; for these are have a great power to shrink human pride, and to teach us to be moderate and humble in all things.

Still more, when the saints suffer, and their own pride falls, God’s own power is revealed in them instead. He triumphs, and overcomes, and advances the preaching of the Word of God through people who are weak, and imprisoned, and in many troubles.]

We see throughout the Scriptures, in fact, that suffering is profitable to the saints, to help them to exercise moderation and lowliness, and to keep them from being puffed up by their miracles and good works; and it is for this profit that God permits them to suffer. For examples, we can hear the same thing affirmed by both David the prophet and Paul the apostle. For David says, “It is good for me, Lord, that I have been in trouble, that I might learn thy statutes” (Psalms 119:71), and Paul says, “I was caught up into the third heaven, and…and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me with persecutions and afflictions, that I might not be too much exalted” (2 Corinthians 12).

2) Besides the benefits of suffering for the Saints themselves, God allows them to suffer for the sake of those who see and hear about them, so that we may have them for an example.
Their suffering is a safeguard to make sure that no one thinks that they are superhuman, or mistakes them to be gods and not men. For if they were more than human, than it would be impossible for the rest of us to imitate their righteousness, and they would be irrelevant to us. But their suffering shows them to be human beings, as we are, and therefore it is possible for us to imitate their example.

Their suffering also shows us what it means to trust God, for in it we see that they do not serve God to earn a reward. Instead, we see the depth of their trust in God when they serve Him even when they are suffering many evil things.
Their example then gives comfort to everyone who encounters troubles in life. When we remember that the Saints suffered like we do, and even more than we do, we come to understand that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, and this both inspires us to imitate them, and reminds us that we are not alone in our suffering.

All of this helps us to understand the true nature of our life. We are often tempted to think that those who enjoy ease and pleasure in this life, even though they are evil, are blessed, and that we who struggle to follow Christ, and suffer many troubles and struggles, are cursed. But when we look at the example of the saints, who suffered and were crowned with glory by God, we learn what it truly means to be happy (that is, to be united with the Lord), and what it truly means to be miserable (to be distant from Him).”

(Adapted from Homily 1, Concerning the Statues, given in Antioch)

784 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should attend to the discussion questions included below. He should also inform everyone that the text we have read is an adaptation of St. John’s full sermon, done by Fr. Anthony in 2020, and that it is extremely loose. For those who wish to read the entire sermon, it is very worthwhile; an unedited excerpt is included below. It is the 1st of his sermons On the Statues, and may easily be found online under that title.)

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?

Additional discussion questions:

1) What is the problem that St. John is talking about? (Why it is that God allows good people to suffer, and especially why we see the saints suffer so much when we read their lives).

2) What does St. John say are the basic reasons that God allows the Saints to suffer? (First, for their own sake, and second for the sake of those who see or hear about the Saints, that is to say, for our sake).

3) How does suffering help the Saints? (It keeps them from becoming proud, and helps them to see God’s power at work in them.)

4) How does the suffering of the Saints help us? (It helps us to understand that they aren’t any different from us, and encourages us to imitate their example, even when we experience troubles and have problems. More than that, their suffering reminds us that we are not alone when we suffer, but that we are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses, who pray for us and hope in the Lord along with us).

5) Who does St. John say is most blessed in life? Is it the people who are rich and comfortable and never have any problems? Or is it the people who suffer and have many problems? Why does he say that this is so? (He says the people who suffer, but are with the Lord are the ones who are truly happy, because they are not alone, but are always with the Lord, and with all the Saints).

Unedited Excerpt from On the Statues 1

“But it is necessary that we present a solution to the problem, so that if any of the Saints find themselves in sickness and disease, or in poverty, hunger, prison, torments, discomfort, or despised by others, and every other evil thing that comes in the present life…you can find an answer to those who are inclined to find fault. For we often hear the question asked of why God allows humble and righteous people to suffer…
I have eight reasons to declare to you for the many afflictions that the saints suffer. Therefore, let everyone pay attention to me strictly…
1) The first reason is that God permits them to suffer evil, so that they may not too easily be exalted into pride, as they might be due to the greatness of their good works and miracles.
2) The second is so that other people may not have think more highly of them than is right for human nature, and mistake them to be gods and not men.
3) The third is so that the power of God may be revealed, in triumphing, and overcoming, and advancing the preaching of the Word of God by means of people who are weak and imprisoned.
4) The fourth is so that the endurance of those who suffer may be more impressive, showing us that they do not serve God for a reward; but that rather they trust Him even after they have suffered so many evil things.
5) The fifth is so that our minds may be wise concerning the doctrine of the resurrection. For when you see a righteous man, who is full of virtue, suffering ten thousand evils, and then see him departing the present life, you are compelled to think of the future judgment. For we know that even fallen men make sure to pay those who work for them; still more do we know that God will not send those who have worked for Him away uncrowned. So if we see them unrewarded in this life, then we know that there must be a time, after the end of the life here, in which they will receive the reward for their present labours, and in this way we have the truth of the Resurrection revealed to us.
6) The sixth is so that everyone who encounters troubles in life may be comforted as they remember the saints who suffered likewise, and more, and understand that they are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.
7) The seventh is so that when we preach to you about the virtue of such persons, and we say to every one of you, “Imitate Paul, be like Peter,” you may not think that they were more than human, and impossible to imitate, and in this way shrink from imitating them. For their suffering shows them to be human beings, as we are.
8) The eighth is so that when it is necessary to call anyone blessed, or cursed, we may learn from the saints who suffered and were crowned who we actually should consider to be happy, and who we should consider to be miserable.
These are the reasons, and we may see in all the Scriptures that these are true, and no invention of human reasoning…so the truth, that suffering then is profitable to the saints, so that they may exercise moderation and lowliness, and that they may not be puffed up by their miracles and good works, and that God permits it for this reason; we may hear both David the prophet, and Paul the apostle saying the same thing. For David says, “It is good for me, Lord, that I have been in trouble, that I might learn thy statutes” (Psalms 119:71), and Paul says, “I was caught up into the third heaven, and…and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me with persecutions and afflictions, that I might not be too much exalted” (2 Corinthians 12) For although Paul and Peter, and all that are like them, are holy and wonderful men, as indeed they are, yet they are but men, and we must be cautious lest we exalt them too much, and as greater saints than others. For nothing is so apt to exalt to presumption as a conscience full of good works, and a soul that lives in confidence. To the end, therefore, that these might suffer nothing of this kind, God permitted that there should be temptations and tribulations; for these are powerful to diminish pride, and to teach us to be moderate and humble in all things.”
(From Homily 1, Concerning the Statues, given in Antioch)

Day 3 (Friday)

Luke 6:1- 16 (Question about the Sabbath, Man with Withered Hand, Calling of Twelve Disciples)

Last time, we saw the Lord heal a paralytic and call Levi (Matthew) to be His disciple. We also saw the Pharisees start to criticize Jesus and His disciples because they weren’t fasting. This week, they will get even more angry at Him when He doesn’t act how they think He should act on the Sabbath Day, and the awe and glory that they gave to God together with everyone else when He healed the paralytic begins to sour as He threatens their teaching and position among the people.

The Question about the Sabbath

6 On a sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some ears of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, “The Son of man is lord of the sabbath.”

The Man with a Withered Hand

6 On another sabbath, when he entered the synagogue and taught, a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And he looked around on them all, and said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles

12 In these days he went out into the hills to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Reading 12
372 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should attend to the discussion questions and answers below.)

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?

Additional Discussion Questions

1) Where are the Pharisees angry at Jesus about in this reading? (They are angry because Jesus isn’t observing the Sabbath day in the way that they think He should).

2) What was the Sabbath day, anyway? (The Sabbath day was, and is, the seventh day of each week. In our week, it’s Saturday, which is still called Σαββατο in Greek. The Jews rested from work on the Sabbath Day, because God had rested on the seventh day of the week after He created everything.)

3) What two things had Jesus and His disciples done that the Pharisees were unhappy about? (His disciples had picked some heads of grain to eat while they were walking through a field, and Jesus had healed a man’s hand.)

4) What was Jesus’ question to them about the Sabbath? (He asked them what the Sabbath was for: to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it. He made the point that rest is a good thing, but starving yourself, or refusing to help people, are not good things, and that they were taking their rules too far. He also claimed to have authority over the Sabbath, when He said that the Son of Man was the lord of the Sabbath.)

5) What did Jesus do at the end of the reading? (He picked twelve special disciples from those who were following Him Note, disciple is just a fancy word for a student, someone who is learning from a teacher.)

6) How many disciples did Jesus pick? (Twelve – this is a good time to point out that there had also been twelve tribes of Israel, because Jacob/Israel had twelve sons. So Jesus is re-building the chosen people, since so many of the twelve tribes had abandoned the Covenant over the centuries since Moses).

7) How many of the Apostles do you recognize? What stories do you remember about them? (This is an open question, a chance to see what all of us remember about these pillars of the Church…and the one who betrayed his calling)

Day 1 (Monday)

Bricks Without Straw Continued, God Promises Deliverance

Last time, we saw Moses return to Egypt, where he met with the people of Israel and told them how God had sent him, and showed them the signs that God had given to them. The people rejoiced that God had sent them mercy, and worshipped the Lord. When Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, however, the king of Egypt mocked the name of the Lord, saying that he did not know Yahweh, and would not let Israel go…and he then commanded his servants to withhold the straw necessary to make bricks from the children of Israel, but to require them to still make their normal allotment, saying that they must be idle, if they had time to complain and ask to leave. This time, we will see his orders fulfilled, and what follows.

Bricks Without Straw continued

10 So the taskmasters and the foremen of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go yourselves, get your straw wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.’” 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task, as when there was straw.” 14 And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today, as hitherto?”

15 Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you deal thus with your servants? 16 No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.” 17 But he said, “You are idle, you are idle; therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ 18 Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the same number of bricks.”

19 The foremen of the people of Israel saw that they were in evil plight, when they said, “You shall by no means lessen your daily number of bricks.” 20 They met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them, as they came forth from Pharaoh; 21 and they said to them, “The Lord look upon you and judge, because you have made us offensive in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Israel’s Deliverance Assured

22 Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why hast thou done evil to this people? Why didst thou ever send me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he has done evil to this people, and thou hast not delivered thy people at all.”

Exodus 6 1 But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, yea, with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

2 And God said to Moses, “I am the Lord (ὁ ὤν, He Who Is, Yahweh). 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they dwelt as sojourners. 5 Moreover I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold in bondage and I have remembered my covenant.”

6 “Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, He Who Is and causes all things to be, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment, 7 and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord, He Who Is, your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

8 “And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord, He Who Is and causes all things to be.’” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel; but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and their cruel bondage.

10 And the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses said to the Lord, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am a man of uncircumcised lips?” 13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a charge to the people of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Reading 6
727 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that when Pharaoh refuses the message of Moses and Aaron, saying that he doesn’t know Israel’s god, he is saying he doesn’t believe Yahweh exists, nor has any power. He only believes in himself and his own divinity. In following this refusal with the command to require bricks to be made without providing straw, his intent is to discredit Moses & Aaron, to make the Israelites hate them; and as we can see, his methods are effective. Moses’ prayer to God is clearly frustrated, but God’s response will be clear and powerful, as we will see in the coming weeks. Finally, we should note that God is being merciful to Pharaoh; for what he has done in murdering the countless baby boys of the Israelites, he and his people are deserving of much worse, but God is giving him a chance to escape that punishment and simply let the people go. He is not making a good start at receiving that mercy, though.

He should also draw attention to the name of God as it is present here in this text. Otherwise, it’s important to sum up the thread of the narrative here. Pharaoh has refused to let the people go, and Moses has brought this issue to God. God has reminded Moses that He is God Almighty, and that He is now revealing Himself in a special way to the children of Israel, so that they even know His Name 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)

St. John Chrysostom

St. John Chrysostom is one of the most important saints in the Orthodox Church. He put together the Divine Liturgy that we do every Sunday, and he is considered the ideal standard of an Orthodox Christian priest. He was a man of unshakeable integrity, a preacher of clarity and authority (for which reason he is called Chrysostom, which means “Golden-mouthed”), and a determined and faithful servant of Jesus Christ. He criticized extravagance and corruption for both clergy and laypeople (which made him an enemy of the Empress), and insisted that both the clergy and laity be faithful to the call of the Christ in the Gospel. In particular, he insisted that Christian people must care for the poor. Like the martyrs, he suffered greatly as a result of his faithfulness, but through his suffering, his defeat and exile, and indeed his death, the truth and rightness of his preaching and teaching was established. He remains one of the most powerful witnesses to the glory of God in the Orthodox Church.

November 13 – St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

This greatest and most loved of all Christian preachers was born in Antioch the Great in the year 347; his pious parents were named Secundus and Anthusa. After his mother was widowed at the age of twenty, she spent her time and energy in bringing up John and his elder sister “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). John received his literary training under Anthragathius the philosopher, and Libanius the sophist, who was the greatest Greek scholar and rhetorician of his day. Libanius was a pagan, and when asked before his death whom he wished to have for his successor, he said, “John, had not the Christians stolen him from us.”

With such a training, and with such gifts as he had by nature, John had before him a brilliant career as a public speaker and teacher of rhetoric. But through the good example of his godly mother and of the holy Bishop Meletius of Antioch, by whom he was ordained reader about the year 370, he chose instead to dedicate himself to God. From the years 374 to 381 he lived the monastic life in the hermitages that were near Antioch. His extreme asceticism undermined his health, and forced him to return to Antioch in 381, at which point St. Meletios ordained him a deacon. Five years later, he was ordained a presbyter (priest).

Upon his elevation to the priesthood his career as a public preacher began, and his exceptional oratorical gifts were shown to the world through his many sermons. They show a mastery of Scripture, an easy and fluid eloquence, and a clear understanding of the workings of God’s plan for salvation in the world. St. John spoke with authority against the abuse of wealth and property, and insisted that Christian people care for both the spiritual and practical needs of the poor. Most of all, they show a natural earnestness and moral force which clearly come from the heart of a blameless and guileless man who lived first what he preached to others. Because of his fame, he was chosen to succeed Saint Nectarius as Patriarch of Constantinople. He was taken away by stealth, to avoid the opposition of the people, and consecrated Patriarch of Constantinople on February 28, 398.

From the beginning, he was an unusual bishop. He deplored the fact that Imperial court protocol gave him access to privileges greater than the highest state officials, and during his time as bishop, he refused to host lavish entertainments. This meant he was popular with the common people, but unpopular with the wealthy and the clergy from the beginning. In a sermon soon after his arrival he said, “people praise the predecessor to disparage the successor.” His reforms of the clergy were also unpopular. He told visiting regional preachers to return to the churches they were meant to be serving, refusing to allow them to make extra money in the city while neglecting their flocks at home.

His time in Constantinople proved short and full of controversy. The Emperor at the time was Arcadius, a man of weak character, and much under the influence of his wife Eudoxia, who was offended by St. John’s insistent condemnation of the lax morals of the wealthy and powerful in the city. She formed an alliance with others of like mind, both clergy and laity, and in 403 they held a synod which falsely accused him of heresy, and he was deposed and banished to Pontus.

The people were were very angry about his departure, and the next night an earthquake shook the city. This so frightened the Empress Eudoxia that she begged Arcadius to call Chrysostom back. While his return was triumphant, his reconciliation with the Empress did not last long. When she had a silver statue of herself erected in the forum before the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Agia Sophia) later that year, and had it dedicated with much unseemly revelry, Saint John thundered against her, and she could not forgive him. In June of 404 he was exiled to a city in Eastern Asia Minor.

The pope in Rome (Innocent I at this time) protested at this banishment, but to no avail. During his exile, John wrote letters to some faithful friends in the City, and these letters were considered a sufficient threat to his enemies that they had him exiled still further, to Pityus, in modern Georgia. The journey overland was filled with bitter sufferings for the aged bishop, both because of the harshness of the elements and the cruelty of one of his guards. He did not reach Pityus, but gave up his soul to the Lord near Comana in Pontus, at the chapel of the Martyr Basiliscus (see May 22), who had appeared to him shortly before, foretelling the day of his death, which came to pass on September 14, 407. His last words were “Glory be to God for all things.”

His holy relics were brought back to Constantinople thirty-one years later by the Emperor Theodosius the Younger and Saint Pulcheria his sister, the children of Arcadius and Eudoxia, with fervent supplications that the sin of their parents against him be forgiven; this return of his holy relics is celebrated on January 27. He is also celebrated as one of the Three Hierarchs on January 30, together with Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory the Theologian.
Normally, a saint’s feast day is celebrated on the day of their death. However, since he died on September 14, the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross, his feast-day has been transferred to November 13th.

942 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 some of the important elements noted below in the additional discussion questions.)

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?

Additional discussion questions:

1) What is the most frequently read thing that St. John Chrysostom wrote? (The Divine Liturgy that Orthodox Christians celebrate every Sunday)

2) What does his name “Chrysostom” mean, and why? (It means “Golden-mouthed,” because his preaching was so excellent)

3) What was his life like before he was ordained? What thing in his life is most different from what we do in the Church today? (There is a lot that could be said, and it would be good to talk about how John was a hermit before he was ordained, and how he was extremely strict in his fasting, to the point that his health suffered and he was unable to continue as a monk. From his “failure” as a monk, however, the Church in the world gained him as a deacon, a priest, a bishop, a preacher, and a saint. Moreover, it is clear that his pastoral wisdom came in large part from his personal experience of spiritual effort, in which he found both the limits of human endurance, and the strength that comes from God alone)

4) What was his life like once he was ordained? (It was a good life. He became a very popular preacher, because his sermons were easily understood and were relevant to the people. He preached a great deal on the Scriptures, and emphasized the importance of caring for the poor. His people seem to have appreciated his skill in preaching and his practical advice).

5) What happened to him next? (He was selected as the new Bishop of Constantinople, the capital city of the Empire. Everything that had made him popular in Antioch caused him trouble there. The common people loved him, as they had in Antioch, but the wealthy and powerful grew quickly to hate him).

6) How did he die? (He was exiled by his enemies in the city, and died on the road due to the strenuous journey. It is worth noting that after a period of time, his relics (his body) were brought back to Constantinople, where the emperor begged his forgiveness, and he was glorified as a saint within living memory of his ministry in the city)

Day 3 (Friday)

Luke 5:17-39 (Jesus Heals a Paralytic, Calls Levi, Talks about Fasting)

Last week we say Jesus call His first disciples (Simon Peter, his brother, and their partners, the sons of Zebedee, named James & John), and then proceed to heal a leper. In that encounter, we saw the Lord’s power revealed to His disciples in the great catch of fish, and His mercy and love to them as He called them to follow Him; in the healing of the leper, we saw an example of what prayer and faith look like. This time, we will see the Lord heal a paralytic, then call another disciple, and answer some criticisms made against His followers.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.

20 And when he saw their faith he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?” 22 When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, take up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose before them, and took up that on which he lay, and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi

27 After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And he left everything, and rose and followed him.

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house; and there was a large company of tax collectors and others sitting at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

The Question about Fasting

33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He told them a parable also: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new; for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

Reading 11
556 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should address the points noted in the additional questions below, and also the example that we see of intercessory prayer in the healing of the paralytic. For he doesn’t actually say or do anything; it is his friends who carry him to Jesus, who ask Jesus to heal him, and on account of their faith/trust in Him that He forgives the man’s sins and restores him to health. This is what we are called to do when we bring one another to the Lord in prayer, to entrust ourselves AND one another, and our whole life, to Christ our God.)

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?

Additional Discussion Questions

1) What kind of example, good or bad, are the friends of the paralyzed man that come to Jesus in this reading? Should we imitate them? How can we tell? (I would say that they are a good example, and we should imitate them; we can tell because they receive what they ask for).

2) What did you notice about what they did? (There will probably be a lot of variation to this, but it is important to notice, at the least, that they both asked Jesus to help their friend, and believed that He had the power to do so, but they didn’t demand that He help him. They cast themselves on His mercy, and entrusted themselves to His will).

3) Does the paralyzed man do or say anything before Jesus heals him? (No – but his friends do. This story is an example for us of the power of prayer. We don’t know anything at all about this paralyzed man, although of course Jesus knew, but what it says is that Jesus healed him, and forgave his sins, because of the faith of his friends.)

4) Why do you think Jesus forgave his sins first, and only healed him afterward? (This is intended as a prompt for free conversation, and there may be many answers. It is good to point out that by forgiving his sins first, Jesus is making a strong statement about what is the bigger problem. Being paralyzed is bad, sure…but unforgiven sins are worse. Jesus fixes both, but He deals with the larger issue first).

5) What was the name of the next disciple that Jesus called to follow him? What was his job before Jesus called him? (Levi was his name, and he was a tax collector. He was also called Matthew, and it is by that name that he is most often remembered. To be a tax collector was to be despised and hated by the people at the time, because they worked for the Romans and betrayed their fellow countrymen by taking their wealth, giving it to the Romans, and skimming off the top to enrich themselves)

6) What did Levi do when Jesus called him? (He left everything and followed Jesus, but first he threw a big party, and invited all his sinful friends, and they ate together with Jesus and his disciples)

7) What did the Pharisees think about this? (The Pharisees didn’t like it; they thought that a teacher of the law, like Jesus was, should be pure and keep himself separate from sinful people. So they criticized Jesus to the disciples).

8) What did Jesus say to this? (He said that people who are healthy don’t need a doctor, but people who are sick do. For that reason, He came to call sinful people to repent, but to do that, He needed to spend time with them).

9) What else did the Pharisees criticize the disciples for? (They complained that they didn’t fast, like other faithful Jewish people did).

10) What did Jesus say to that? (He made a comparison with a wedding reception, and said that it didn’t make sense for wedding guests to fast while the Bridegroom was still there at the party, but that after the bridegroom left, then it made sense for people to go back to normal life, which would include fasting).

11) What other story did Jesus tell them to explain how things were changing? (He talked about old and new cloth and old and new wineskins. The point in both cases is that materials like that, once they have aged, can’t be sewn together with new material, because things will stretch in different ways, and the patch won’t last.)

12) What do you think Jesus meant by this? (Answers may vary here – it seems, though, that Jesus is pointing out that not only are his disciples not fasting while He is with them, but that probably once He leaves them, how they fast, and how they live, will not be the same as it was before. We certainly see this to be true in the Christian life; many things are different between what we do now, and what the Jewish people were doing before the Messiah came to them.)

Day 1 (Monday)

Moses Returns to Egypt; Bricks without Straw

Last time, we saw God provide Moses with three miracles by which he was to demonstrate to the children of Israel that he had indeed been sent to deliver them by Yahweh, Ὁ ᾿ΩΝ, the One Who Is and Who Causes All Things to Be. These miracles were the changing of his staff into a snake, the giving and removal of leprosy to his hand, and the changing of the water of the Nile into blood. Despite these gifts, we saw Moses make every possible excuse to avoid taking up this task, and finally simply ask God to find someone else. The Lord insisted that it was to be Moses, but promised to send Moses’ brother Aaron to speak for him. We will continue the story from here. Note: parents/teachers with younger children may wish to skip the italicized section, as it speaks of circumcision and blood and some other troubling elements.

Moses Returns to Egypt

18 Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Let me go back, I pray, to my kinsmen in Egypt and see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 And the Lord said to Moses in Mid′ian, “Go back to Egypt; for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on an ass, and went back to the land of Egypt; and in his hand Moses took the rod of God.

21 And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 And you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my first-born son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me”; if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your first-born son.’”

24 At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zippo′rah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’ feet with it, and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26 So he let him alone. Then it was that she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

27 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went, and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him, and all the signs which he had charged him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. 30 And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Bricks without Straw

5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should heed his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover I will not let Israel go.” 3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us; let us go, we pray, a three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get to your burdens.”

5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as heretofore; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 But the number of bricks which they made heretofore you shall lay upon them, you shall by no means lessen it; for they are idle; therefore they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid upon the men that they may labor at it and pay no regard to lying words.”

Reading 5
639 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 two things. First, that the italicized portion of the text is challenging, and may be omitted if the Leader believes it is best to avoid the question of circumcision, and the more difficult questions which are raised by this. As for an explanation of this, it is perhaps notable that we have no indication that Moses himself had ever been circumcised, and the added neglect of circumcising his own son may be what is shown to be unacceptable here. In this reading, Zipporah’s circumcision of their son, and bringing of the foreskin near to Moses’ body, may explain her words; it is also worth noting that Jethro seems to have remained more faithful to the God of Abraham than did the children of Israel, as Zipporah knows what is wrong and is able to act, where Moses seems ignorant.

Regardless, what God says at the beginning of our reading, that Israel is His first-born son, establishes from the very beginning the warning of the consequences to the first-born of Egypt if Israel is not freed. God warns Pharaoh of the sin of Egypt, and its penalty if not made right, from the beginning…the nine plagues must therefore be seen as acts of mercy, of warning, of opportunities for repentance, opportunities to turn aside the ultimate consequence. We MUST see the entire sequence of the Exodus as a demonstration of God’s mercy in judgment, not of His anger or arbitrariness.

If we keep this in mind at the end of our reading, when Moses & Aaron actually speak to Pharaoh, it can help us understand. The English translation can make it seem like God is playing tricks with Pharaoh, asking him to just let the Israelites go for three days, and promising that they’ll come back later, when there is in fact no intent for them to return. This may be a problem of the translation; when it says, “Let my people go,” the clear meaning in the original is “free/release/let go completely of your power over my people.” The statement of the three day journey is not necessarily intended to promise a return afterward, but to express that the Israelites will go completely out of Egypt, a three day journey beyond the border. The point, then, may be that they are going to leave Egypt, and not come back…but it also may be that God is giving Pharaoh enough rope to hang himself. God has told Pharaoh that the people that he has enslaved belong to Him, to Yahweh, the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists…and all that He has asked Pharaoh to do is to let His people go to worship Him. When Pharaoh refuses, saying that he doesn’t know Israel’s god, he is saying he doesn’t believe Yahweh exists, or has any power. He only believes in himself and his own divinity. In following this refusal with the command to require bricks to be made without providing straw, his intent is to discredit Moses & Aaron, to make the Israelites hate them. And thus, he brings judgment and condemnation upon his own head, as well as the complete and total loss of the people that had been enslaved to 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)

First Four Prayers of Orthros

There are twelve prayers that the Priest prays at the beginning of the Orthros service. In all of them, he prays for himself and for all the people, and gives thanks to God for the rest of sleep and for the opportunity to wake up and offer worship and thanksgiving and prayers to God. It is important to understand that the Orthros service is the service that the Church does at sunrise; it begins when it is still dark, and continues as the sun comes up. These twelve prayers, then, reflect what we can and should think and feel and say to God as we wake up and begin our day. These four prayers talks about the connection between prayer and worship and the living of the Christian life.

FIRST PRAYER
O Lord, compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and very merciful, give ear to our prayer and attend to the voice of our petition; accomplish a sign for good with us; lead us in Your way, that we may walk in Your truth; gladden our hearts that we may fear Your holy Name; for You are great, and work wonders; You alone are God, and there is none like to You among the gods, O Lord; mighty in mercy, and good in power, unto helping, and comforting, and saving all those who hope in Your holy Name.
For to You is due all glory, honor and worship, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

SECOND PRAYER
Lord, convict us not in Your anger, nor chastise us in Your wrath, but deal with us according to Your clemency, You physician and healer of our souls: guide us unto the haven of Your will; enlighten the eyes of our hearts, unto the knowledge of Your truth; and grant us that the remainder of the present day may be peaceful and sinless, also all the time of life; at the intercessions of the holy Theotokos, and of all the Saints.
For Yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

THIRD PRAYER
O Lord our God, be mindful of us sinners, Your unprofitable servants, when we call upon Your holy Name, and put none of us to shame in our expectation of Your mercy; but grant us, O Lord, all petitions unto salvation; and deign that we may love, and fear You with our whole heart, and do in all things Your will.
For a good God, and lover of mankind are You, and to You we send up glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

FOURTH PRAYER
You Who with never-silent hymns, and unceasing doxologies are hymned by the holy Powers; fill our mouth with Your praise, that we may ascribe majesty to Your holy Name; and grant us a portion and lot with all that fear You in truth, and keep Your commandments; at the intercessions of the holy Theotokos, and of all Your saints.
For to You is due all glory, honor and worship, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

440 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should make use of the additional questions below for any specific points, but should always begin with this question of what surprised or was memorable to the group.)

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?

Additional discussion questions:

1) What is the Orthros Service? (It is the morning service of the Church, done when the sun rises, as the day begins. On Sunday, it is the service that we do right before the Divine Liturgy, starting at 9 am or so, and finishing at 10 am).

2) How many prayers does the priest pray at the beginning of the Orthros Service? (Twelve. He reads half of them inside the Altar, and the other half outside in front of the icon of Jesus Christ on the Iconostasis/Icon Screen).

3) What do these prayers say? (They say quite a lot, but generally they emphasize three basic points: they talk about Who God Is, and the things God has done for us, and they talk about who we are and how much we need His help.)

4) Who does the priest pray for in these prayers? (For himself, and for all the people).

5) What sort of things do these prayer ask God for? (They ask Him to continue to do those things, and to grant us continuing grace and mercy, and strength and worthiness to sing to God with understanding and to pray all the time, and that God will hear the prayers of those who ask Him for help during the night)

6) What do these prayers say about our lives and relationship with God, especially in the morning? (Try to get especially the older kids to zoom in on the point that all of these prayers are specifically morning prayers, and that they acknowledge our weakness and need for help in the morning…but also that simply asking for help IS an action. The paradox of the Christian life is that we need God’s help to live, but also that we can’t just be passive and wait for Him to help us…we need to learn to ask for help, and to do so as the first action of the day.)

Day 3 (Friday)

Luke 5:1-16 (Jesus Calls the First Disciples, Heals a Leper)

Last time, we saw Jesus return to Capernaum after being rejected in Nazareth, and while He was there, He healed many people, cast out many demons, and specifically He restored Simon Peter’s mother-in-law to health when she was sick and near death. We noticed especially that He hadn’t yet called any disciples to follow Him, and also that He was specifically forbidding the unclean spirits to identify Him as the Son of God, even as He cast them out and banished them from the world. This time, we will see Him actually begin to call His disciples to follow Him.

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

5 While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. 2 And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, 7 they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and besought him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And he stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one; but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.” 15 But so much the more the report went abroad concerning him; and great multitudes gathered to hear and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.

Reading 10
400 words

Discussion questions:

1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should address the points noted in the additional questions below, but should also discuss how the leper here asks Jesus for help. He doesn’t say “if you CAN” but “if You WILL,” which is to say, he confesses that Jesus has the authority and power to heal him, and entrusts himself to the Lord’s will and mercy. It is interesting, too, that Jesus DOESN’T forbid him to tell about this healing, but rather commands him to go to the Temple and to the priests to be examined and certified as clean of leprosy, exactly as is required in the Torah. So perhaps the reason He forbade the unclean spirits was because they were not the ones that should be the heralds of His coming…but rather, the priests in the Temple ought to be.)

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?

Discussion Questions

1) What happened when Jesus was preaching on the seashore? (The crowd gathered close, and was pressing so close, they were pushing Him into the water)

2) What did Jesus do? Did He go stand on the water? (Not exactly – he asked Simon if He could preach from his boat while he was cleaning his fishing nets.)

3) Have we met this Simon before? (Sort of – Jesus went to his house and healed his mother-in-law in the reading we had last week. This Simon is the one that Jesus gave a nickname to – He told him he was like a rock, so we still call him Petros, or Peter).

4) What happened after Jesus finished preaching? (He told Simon to take the boat out into the deeper water and to let down the nets to fish).

5) What did Simon say about this? (He told Jesus that they had been fishing all night and hadn’t caught anything…but then he did what Jesus said even though he thought it sounded silly)

6) What happened? (They caught so many fish that the boat started to sink, and they had to get help from their partners)

7) What did Simon say to Jesus then? (He asked Him to go away, because he was a sinful man, he said – this means that Simon realized that Jesus was a holy man, or maybe even that He was God, since He had done such a miracle that only God could do, and he knew that he was unworthy to have the Lord God with him)

8) What did Jesus say to that? (He told him not to worry, but that He was going to give Simon a new job, to catch people instead of fish, and to bring them into the kingdom of Heaven).

9) What happened at the end of the story? (Simon, and his partners James and John, and his brother Andrew, although we don’t talk about him here by name, left their boats and their nets and their fish and their work and went to follow Jesus and be His disciples)