Day 1 (Monday)
Exodus 17:1-16 (Water from the Rock, Amalek Attacks and is Defeated)
Last time we saw the people complain that there was no food, and saw the Lord first provide them with plenty of meat (which we somewhat commemorate during Meatfare Week), and then provide them with manna every morning, and a double portion on the Day of Preparation, in order for them to begin to rest on the Sabbath Day, as that central commandment of the Lord to His people is established. We noted, as well, how the Sabbath Day is God’s gift to His people, a time for them to rest and to be cared for by Him, and NOT a day for extra effort to store up extra. This time, we will see Him provide them with water from a rock, and then victory against their enemies as they approach Mt. Sinai.
Water from the Rock
17 All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Reph′idim; but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Therefore the people found fault with Moses, and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you find fault with me? Why do you put the Lord to the proof?”
3 But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand the rod with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink.”
And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Mer′ibah, because of the faultfinding of the children of Israel, and because they put the Lord to the proof by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Amalek Attacks Israel and Is Defeated
8 Then came Am′alek and fought with Israel at Reph′idim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out, fight with Am′alek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Am′alek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Am′alek prevailed.
12 But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua mowed down Am′alek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Am′alek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord is my banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the banner of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Am′alek from generation to generation.”
Reading 19
500 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 that, while Amalek was also a descendant of Abraham, we find in the genealogies of Abraham’s sons that he was born in a troubling way, as the son of a pagan priestess (which is to say, of a shrine prostitute), and was therefore dedicated to the service of the demon gods of Canaan from his infancy. In addition, here, Amalek is explicitly attacking God and His people with no other cause save enmity with God, and this is why the Lord tells Moses of an ongoing enmity with Amalek…we might note that we see this continue even in the book of Esther, as Haman is identified as an Amalekite. The Leader should also address the points noted in the Additional Discussion 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?
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.)
Additional Discussion questions:
1) There are two stories here – can you sum up what happens in the two stories?
2) Where did the water that the people needed come from in the first story?
3) What do you think Moses’ staff was made out of? (Can point out that the Cross is also made of wood, and is a source of life, like the staff was an instrument of life when God used it to bring water for the people)
4) Who came out to attack the people of Israel? (The people of Amalek is the answer – it is good to note that the Amalekites were distantly related to the people of Israel, and should have been their friends, but instead came and attacked them in the desert as they were traveling, when they were weak and vulnerable)
5) What shape would Moses have been in with his hands held up? (A cross…here we see the Cross as a sign of victory)
Day 2 (Wednesday)
Anthony Bloom on Prayer – 4 – On the Publican & Pharisee
In his book “Beginning to Pray,” Anthony Bloom talked about prayer as beginning with us feeling that God is absent, and how that is natural, and even something for which we should be grateful. But the point is not to remain in that state, but to move forward, so he continues by talking about how we should begin to approach God in prayer.
Absence of God in Prayer – continued
What we must start with, if we wish to pray, is the certainty that we are sinners in need of salvation, that we are cut off from God and that we cannot live without Him and that all we can offer God is our desperate longing to be made such that God will receive us, receive us in repentance, receive us with mercy and with love. And so from the outset prayer is really our humble ascent towards God, a moment when we turn Godwards, shy of coming near, knowing that if we meet Him too soon, before His grace has had time to help us to be capable of meeting Him, it will be judgment. And all we can do is to turn to Him with all the reverence, all the veneration, the worshipful adoration, the fear of God of which we are capable, with all the attention and earnestness which we may possess, and ask Him to do something with us that will make us capable of meeting Him face to face, not for judgment, nor for condemnation, but for eternal life.
I would like to remind you of the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. The publican comes and stands at the rear of the church. He knows that he stands condemned; he knows that in terms of justice there is no hope for him because he is an outsider to the kingdom of God, the kingdom of righteousness or the kingdom of love, because he belongs neither to the realm of righteousness nor to the realm or love. But in the cruel, the violent, the ugly life he leads, he has learnt something of which the righteous Pharisee has no idea.
He has learnt that in a world of competition, in a world of predatory animals, in a world of cruelty and heartlessness, the only hope one can have is an act of mercy, an act of compassion, a completely unexpected act which is rooted neither in duty nor in natural relationships, which will suspend the action of the cruel, violent, heartless world in which we live. All he knows, for instance, from being himself an extortioner, a moneylender, a thief, and so forth, is that there are moments when for no reason, because it is not part of the world’s outlook, he will forgive a debt, because suddenly his heart has become mild and vulnerable; that on another occasion he may not get someone put into prison because a face will have reminded him of something or a voice has gone straight to his heart.
There is no logic in this. It is not part of the world’s outlook nor is it a way in which he normally behaves. It is something that breaks through, which is completely nonsensical, which he cannot resist; and he knows also, probably, how often he himself was saved from final catastrophe by this intrusion of the unexpected and the impossible, mercy, compassion, forgiveness. So he stands at the rear of the church, knowing that all the realm inside the church is a realm of righteousness and divine love to which he does not belong and into which he cannot enter. But he knows from experience also that the impossible does occur and that is why he says “Have mercy, break the laws of righteousness, break the laws of religion, come down in mercy to us who have no right to be either forgiven or allowed in.’ And I think this is where we should start continuously all over again.
591 words
Beginning to Pray – pg. 31-33
Discussion Questions
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader can point out how important the idea of mercy is to real prayer. We won’t pray well when we think we deserve mercy; our prayer only becomes real prayer when we realize that we don’t deserve it, but decide to ask for mercy anyway.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here? (This question and the others can be used if there isn’t sufficient discussion from the first question).
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us? (We learn that human beings are not able to meet God without the grace of God to make us capable of meeting Him for salvation, and not for judgment)
4) What do you find difficult about this story? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. The idea that we can’t earn the love of God SHOULD bother all of us, since all of us tend to believe that we CAN earn His love, or at least do better than people around us. The Church’s demand that we not look at other people either to judge them or to encourage ourselves, and simply must stand in honest repentance before God, is one of the hardest things we are asked to do as Christians. But it is necessary for us to actually encounter God.)
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life? (Everything about this passage is about what we need to change about how we approach God…as the outsider, the sinner, the unworthy one, and not as the heir, the one who possesses and deserves good things already.)
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 22:1-23 (Plot to Kill Jesus, Preparation of the Passover, Mystical Supper)
Last time we saw Jesus preaching in the Temple in Jerusalem, and specifically foretelling the destruction of the Temple, of Jerusalem itself, and generally warning and preparing His Disciples for the life to which He was calling them after His Resurrection, in which they were not to be powerful generals and leaders, but servants, witnesses, martyrs, and imitators of Christ…or Christians, as we still call ourselves. He continued with warnings for them to not take part in the things of the world, whether distractions of pleasures or other pursuits, or those of power and political programs.
The Plot to Kill Jesus
22 Now the feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death; for they feared the people.
3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve; 4 he went away and conferred with the chief priests and captains how he might betray him to them. 5 And they were glad, and engaged to give him money. 6 So he agreed, and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of the multitude.
The Preparation of the Passover
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus[a] sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the passover for us, that we may eat it.” 9 They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” 10 He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house which he enters, 11 and tell the householder, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I am to eat the passover with my disciples?’ 12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished; there make ready.” 13 And they went, and found it as he had told them; and they prepared the passover.
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper
14 And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you I shall not eat it[b] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.[c] 21 But behold the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of man goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it was that would do this.
Reading 45
466 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 that this celebration of Passover is where Jesus establishes the Eucharist; this is the celebration that God has been telling the children of Israel to celebrate faithfully every year in our readings from Exodus the last several weeks. When we as Christians celebrate the Eucharist each week, we are continuing to obey that ancient commandment of God, but on a weekly, rather than just a yearly, basis. We may note, as well, that here, as in the wilderness, the Lord is providing His people with food that they may commune with Him and abide in His presence forever.)
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 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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