Day 1 (Monday)
Proverbs 3:19-35; 4:1-27
As we begin the summer, we will start with another selection from the book of Proverbs. In this passage, the writer of Proverbs reflects on the foundational nature of Wisdom, how all that is is built upon her, and then proceeds to give several tenets of wisdom to his son. The repeated point of the book of Proverbs is the importance of attending regularly, with discipline and care, to the things of God, as a way of actively turning away from this world and turning towards the Lord.
God’s Wisdom in Creation
19 The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding he established the heavens;
20 by his knowledge the deeps broke forth,
and the clouds drop down the dew.
The True Security
21 My son, keep sound wisdom and discretion;
let them not escape from your sight,
22 and they will be life for your soul
and adornment for your neck.
23 Then you will walk on your way securely
and your foot will not stumble.
24 If you sit down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
25 Do not be afraid of sudden panic,
or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes;
26 for the Lord will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being caught.
27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.
29 Do not plan evil against your neighbor
who dwells trustingly beside you.
30 Do not contend with a man for no reason,
when he has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy a man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways;
32 for the perverse man is an abomination to the Lord,
but the upright are in his confidence.
33 The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the abode of the righteous.
34 Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he shows favor.
35 The wise will inherit honor,
but fools get disgrace.
Fatherly Advice
4 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction,
and be attentive, that you may gain insight;
2 for I give you good precepts:
do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a son with my father,
tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
4 he taught me, and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
keep my commandments, and live;
5 do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Get wisdom; get insight.
6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever you get, get insight.
8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will place on your head a fair garland;
she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”
Admonition to Keep to the Right Path
10 Hear, my son, and accept my words,
that the years of your life may be many.
11 I have taught you the way of wisdom;
I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered;
and if you run, you will not stumble.
13 Keep hold of instruction, do not let go;
guard her, for she is your life.
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
they are robbed of sleep unless they have made some one stumble.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know over what they stumble.
20 My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to him who finds them,
and healing to all his flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance;
for from it flow the springs of life.
24 Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
25 Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
26 Take heed to the path of your feet,
then all your ways will be sure.
27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
Selection 3 – 750 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that Wisdom, in the Old Testament, and especially in the book of Proverbs and similar books, is associated with the Word of God Himself, with our Lord Jesus Christ. The book of Proverbs itself makes this explicit in chapter 8, that Wisdom here is not just the idea of wise-ness, but a Person, God Himself, Who speaks in wisdom and cries out to human beings that they should return to Him. If we think of these words being spoken by Jesus Christ as we see Him in the Gospels, we find, I think, that the tone and voice are much the same as we have been hearing from Him throughout the Gospel of Luke. It should also be noted that the word for Wisdom in both Hebrew and Greek is grammatically feminine, which is why the feminine pronoun “she” is used here; so we aren’t saying that Jesus is a woman, but that this title of His, Wisdom, is grammatically feminine in Greek (σοφία), just as the word for road in Greek (ὁδός) is feminine, and the word for world (κόσμος) is masculine, but that doesn’t mean that the road is a woman, or the world is a man.)
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?
6) “What is the a) literal, b) allegorical, c) moral/ethical, d) anagogical/eschatological meaning of this text? (Think of these questions as a mountain which we can ascend, or as layers of meaning upon which we can reflect. Oftentimes, as we reflect upon a text in this way, we may find that the highest level, the anagogical reading (in which we see the text as revealing the glory of God and His kingdom in a deeper manner, opening up to us the grand scope of God’s great work of salvation in and for us) sheds new insights on the lower levels of interpretation.)
Day 2 (Wednesday)
Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) – 5
We continue with the Didache, the earliest text from the life of the Church outside of the New Testament. The Didache has two parts: the first describes the Way of Life and the Way of Death, and the second gives general instructions for the life of the Church. We talked last time about how the Eucharist was celebrated at this time; now we will begin to talk about how each Church community should treat Christian teachers who visited them, and how they need to be careful not to be led astray; we will also see how the Apostles instruct the Church to worship on Sunday, Κυριακή, the Day of the Lord.
Concerning Teachers
So, if anyone should come and teach you all these things that have just been mentioned above, welcome him. But if the teacher himself goes astray and teaches a different teaching that undermines all this, do not listen to him. However, if his teaching contributes to righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, welcome him as you would the Lord.
Concerning the Lord’s Day
On the Lord’s own day gather together and break bread and give thanks, having first confessed your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one who has a quarrel with a companion join you until they have been reconciled, so that you sacrifice may not be defiled. For this is the sacrifice concerning which the Lord said, “In every place and time offer me a pure sacrifice, for I am a great king, says the Lord, and my name is marvelous among the nations” (Malachi 1:11,14)
Bishops and Deacons
Therefore appoint for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, men who are humble and not avaricious and true and approved, for they too carry out for you the ministry of the prophets and teachers. You must not, therefore, despise them, for they are your honored men, along with the prophets and teachers.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that this passage and what follows after tells us that, in the early Church, Christian communities might be visited frequently by traveling teachers. The Apostles are making a point to give guidance to the Church about how to be careful and test these teachers, to make sure that they are not teaching a different gospel than what they themselves had taught from the beginning. We should note that they don’t tell the Church to ignore the teachers if they say anything new, but rather urge them to watch what the fruit of the teaching is. If it undermines the essentials we have already seen in the Didache, then the teacher is a false teacher. But if the new teaching builds the Church in righteousness and the knowledge of God, then the teacher is a faithful teacher of the Lord’s Gospel. So we see that change isn’t always bad, but we have to watch and see what direction it is going, and what fruit it will bear.)
Leader should note that this passage shows us that the early Church worshipped on the same day as we do, on the 1st Day of the Week, the day that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the day that we call Sunday, but that they called the Lord’s Day, Κυριακή in Greek. We see too that the Apostles assume that everyone will participate, everyone will offer themselves in thanksgiving to God, and everyone will receive Communion, and are simply instructing the people to confess their sins first and to reconcile themselves with anyone they were quarreling with before Communion. These are important things for us to do as well.)
2) What do we learn about God in this reading?
3) What do we learn about human beings in this reading?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
Day 3 (Friday)
Luke 10:1-24 (Mission of the Seventy, Woe to Unrepentant Cities, Return of the Seventy)
Last time we saw Jesus talking to the Twelve Disciples after the Transfiguration, and correcting some mistaken ideas they had about how they were better than everyone else. This time, we will see Him expand the program of preaching, and send out not twelve, but seventy others to preach.
The Mission of the Seventy
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road.”
5 “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”
10 “But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
Woes to Unrepentant Cities
13 “Woe to you, Chora′zin! woe to you, Beth-sa′ida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Caper′na-um, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
16 “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
The Return of the Seventy
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus Rejoices
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. 22 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Reading 23
585 words
Discussion Questions
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should point out how the instructions Jesus gives the seventy are similar to those He gave the twelve, but there seems to be more detail. Also, we can see Jesus starting to warn those who refuse to listen to Him at this point, indicating that there is a limited period of time in which they will be able to repent. He also warns the disciples not to rejoice or take pride in the authority He has given to them, but only to rejoice that their names are written in heaven.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here? (We learn that even in the New Testament, there is still a reality of judgment, just as we see in the Old Testament. We also see Jesus pray to His Father, with a revelation of the Holy Trinity to His disciples that we haven’t seen so clearly yet in Luke.)
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us? (We see that too many of those who heard the word preached reject the preaching of the apostles and of Jesus, and that the apostles continue to be tempted by pride).
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. Some may be confused why Jesus rejoices that the secrets of the kingdom are hidden to the wise and the powerful, and are being revealed rather to the weak and the foolish. It is worth noting that this is ALWAYS how God works. Reference can be made to 1 Corinthians 1:27, where Paul says “God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise”).
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
6) “What is the a) literal, b) allegorical, c) moral/ethical, d) anagogical/eschatological meaning of this text? (Think of these questions as a mountain which we can ascend, or as layers of meaning upon which we can reflect. Oftentimes, as we reflect upon a text in this way, we may find that the anagogical reading, in which we see the text as revealing the glory of God and His kingdom in a deeper manner, sheds new insights on the lower levels of interpretation.)
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