Day 1 (Monday)
Exodus 12:1-28 (Passover Instituted)
Last time we saw the warning of the final plague, the death of the firstborn, given to Pharaoh, and Moses left his presence for the last time. This time, God will give instructions to the people for how they are to celebrate the Passover, which becomes the foundation and formation of the Lord’s People as they leave slavery and enter into the Yahweh’s purpose for them.
The First Passover Instituted
12 [a]The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; 4 and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening.[b] 7 Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled with water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning, anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses, for if any one eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly; no work shall be done on those days; but what every one must eat, that only may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as an ordinance for ever. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, and so until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses; for if any one eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.”
21 Then Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said to them, “Select lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood which is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to slay the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to slay you. 24 You shall observe this rite as an ordinance for you and for your sons for ever. 25 And when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he slew the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
28 Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
Reading 13
860 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (There are many things to note in this passage. Primary among them, I think, is this: the entire purpose of the ten plagues has been to warn, and ultimately, to judge Egypt, but the broader purpose is for the children of Israel to be freed from slavery. Up to this point, they have simply been protected from the plagues that the Egyptians experienced. Here, however, God gives to THEM a specific instruction, that they must obey in order to be delivered. This moment, then, establishes anew who is and is not a part of the Lord’s people; those who obey, who take part in the Passover, are the nation of Israel from this time forward. They are not saved on the basis of their blood or ancestry, but on the basis of their obedience. Beyond that, we can see many things that we recognize; Holy Week is mirrored here, with two great assemblies at the beginning and at the end. We should also note that everything about the celebration of the Passover is one-time-only. There are no leftovers; everything is done in readiness to depart, for in eating the Lord’s Passover, the children of Israel, and we ourselves, become strangers to the kingdoms of this world, wanderers on the earth, following a higher calling, becoming citizens rather of the kingdom of God. We are not to settle down permanently, for our dwelling place is with the Lord.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here?
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
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)
St. Athanasios the Great on the Incarnation
During the controversy about whether Jesus Christ was fully God or not, which was a very big argument through most of the 4th century, St. Athanasios the Great (of Alexandria in Egypt) wrote an important book, “On the Incarnation,” talking about how and why Jesus Christ became a human being, and what He accomplished by so doing. We are reading a short excerpt from that book today, from Chapter 7, a refutation of the Gentiles and their unbelief in the Incarnation of the Lord. He addresses first their arguments that the Incarnation is ridiculous by pointing out that, if they are willing to believe in a Word/Logos of God, and that the Word is active and knowable in the world, then it is silly for them to deny that He could take a body, and then continues by addressing the idea that the Word could/should have chosen a higher nature in Creation than that of man.
On the Incarnation Chapter 7:43
(43) Some may then ask, why did He not manifest Himself by means of other and nobler parts of creation, and use some nobler instrument, such as sun or moon or stars or fire or air, instead of mere man? The answer is this. The Lord did not come to make a display or to show off. He came to heal and to teach suffering men. If He had wanted to make a display and show off, the thing to do would have been just to appear and dazzle the beholders with an impressive vision. But He came to heal and to teach, and the way to do that was not just to dwell here with us, but to put Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him, and to reveal Himself to them only as much as they could bear it, so that He didn’t destroy the value to them of His Divine appearing to them by exceeding their capacity to receive the gift.
Moreover, nothing in creation had erred from the path of God’s purpose for it, save only man. Sun, moon, heaven, stars, water, air, none of these had swerved from their order, but, knowing the Word as their Maker and their King, remained as they were made. Men alone having rejected what is good, have invented nothings instead of the truth, and have ascribed the honor due to God and the knowledge concerning Him to demons and men in the form of stones. Obviously the Divine goodness could not overlook so grave a matter as this. But men could not recognize Him as ordering and ruling creation as a whole.
So what does He do? He takes to Himself for instrument a part of the whole, namely a human body, and enters into that. Thus He ensured that men should recognize Him in the part who could not do so in the whole, and that those who could not lift their eyes to His unseen power might recognize and behold Him in the likeness of themselves. For, being men, they would naturally learn to know His Father more quickly and directly by means of a body that corresponded to their own and by the Divine works done through it; for by comparing His works with their own they would judge His to be not human but Divine. And if, as they say, it were unsuitable for the Word to reveal Himself through bodily acts, it would be equally so for Him to do so through the works of the universe. His being in creation does not mean that He shares its nature; on the contrary, all created things partake of His power.
Similarly, though He used the body as His instrument, He shared nothing of its defect,62 but rather sanctified it by His indwelling. Does not even Plato, of whom the Greeks think so much, say that the Author of the Universe, seeing it storm-tossed and in danger of sinking into the state of dissolution, takes his seat at the helm of the Life-force of the universe, and comes to the rescue and puts everything right? What, then, is there incredible in our saying that, mankind having gone astray, the Word descended upon it and was manifest as man, so that by His intrinsic goodness and His steersmanship He might save it from the storm?
567 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note that St. Athanasios is explaining why God came as a human being, and didn’t make a big show of lights and power)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here? (St. Athanasios is saying that there is a good reason that He didn’t come in a way that nobody could deny or argue with…because coming in the fullness of His power would be more than anyone could bear. There may be other answers as well.)
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us? (St. Athanasios is making a point about humanity itself, that our ability to receive and understand God is extremely limited, and that that is part of why Jesus came as a human being. There’s more there, but that point should be emphasized)
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…there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly difficult, although it is true that we human beings don’t like the idea of there being things that are beyond our capacity. We tend to barrel through warnings and rules and instructions to “not push that big red button” because we want to see what happens if we break the rules. Sometimes, when those rules are set by reality itself, we hurt ourselves badly by doing so.)
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life? (Admitting that we need God’s healing and help is often difficult. Acting on that admission is still harder. If what St. Athanasios says is true, then a lot of how we live each day needs to change.)
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 3 (Friday)
Luke 9:18-43 (Peter’s Confession, Transfiguration, Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon)
Last week we saw the Lord effectively ordain the twelve apostles and send them out to preach. When they returned, a crowd followed Jesus, and we then saw Him feed 5,000 people. This week, Jesus will see Him speaking with the twelve before He takes three of His disciples up a mountain to pray, and show them His Divinity.
Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist; but others say, Eli′jah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen.” 20 And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21 But he charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
23 And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Eli′jah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli′jah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen;[a] listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon
37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried, “Teacher, I beg you to look upon my son, for he is my only child; 39 and behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him till he foams, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. 40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon tore him and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astonished at the majesty of God.
Reading 21
612 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note how the Lord invites Peter’s confession that He is the Messiah, which means Anointed One, and that the Greek for this word is Christos, which we have borrowed into English as Christ. Anointing means to have oil poured or dabbed on one’s head. It was a sign that God had called and given authority and responsibility to a person, like a king or a priest. The Leader can also point out that Jesus reveals Himself as God to the three disciples on the mountain in the same chapter as He foretells His death to them. This is not a coincidence – He tells them about it both before the Transfiguration and afterward.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here? (We see clearly that Jesus is indeed God Himself, and that He comes to suffer and to die of His own will, even though He has power and authority over death and demons and all enemies).
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us? (We see again how much we struggle with faithlessness and a lack of understanding of Who Jesus Is, and what He comes to do).
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 wonder why the disciples couldn’t cast the demons out, or why Peter was talking about “dwellings” on the mountain for Jesus and Moses and Elijah. Regarding the demons, Jesus says in this episode in one of the other Gospels that some demons don’t come out without prayer and fasting; as for the “dwellings,” there was an old tradition of that mountain being the place where God was enthroned in a heavenly tabernacle together, worshiped and surrounded by angels and saints. Peter is recognizing Christ’s divinity, which He has just confessed previously, by suggesting that they should build a tabernacle for Him and for the OT saints. See here for more information. https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/wholecounsel/2019/08/05/tabor-and-hermon/))
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life? (It is easy to celebrate the power and glory of the Lord; it is much harder to walk the way of the Cross that Christ calls us to walk in imitation of Him.)
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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