Day 1 (Monday)
Numbers 8:5-26 (Consecration and Service of the Levites)
Last time, we saw God select the Levites as the priestly tribe, responsible for the care and ministry of the Tabernacle itself, and specifically the family of Aaron as the high-priestly family. This time, we will see all the Levites consecrated to the Lord for this service
Consecration and Service of the Levites
5 And the Lord said to Moses, 6 “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel, and cleanse them. 7 And thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation upon them, and let them go with a razor over all their body, and wash their clothes and cleanse themselves. 8 Then let them take a young bull and its cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull for a sin offering. 9 And you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting, and assemble the whole congregation of the people of Israel.
10 When you present the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of the Lord. 12 Then the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls; and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites. 13 And you shall cause the Levites to attend Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as a wave offering to the Lord.
14 “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. 15 And after that the Levites shall go in to do service at the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and offered them as a wave offering. 16 For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel; instead of all that open the womb, the first-born of all the people of Israel, I have taken them for myself.
17 For all the first-born among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast; on the day that I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, 18 and I have taken the Levites instead of all the first-born among the people of Israel. 19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel in case the people of Israel should come near the sanctuary.”
20 Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel to the Levites; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, the people of Israel did to them. 21 And the Levites purified themselves from sin, and washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22 And after that the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting in attendance upon Aaron and his sons; as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.
23 And the Lord said to Moses, 24 “This is what pertains to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to perform the work in the service of the tent of meeting; 25 and from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the work of the service and serve no more, 26 but minister to their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, and they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”
627 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 passage shows us clearly that the laying of hands upon an offering by those making an offering does NOT mean what it is often thought to mean, that the sins of the offerer are placed upon the offering, and then it is killed in the place of the offerer. What is happening, rather, is that an identity and connection is established between the offerer and the offering, so that it is clearly shown that what is offered BELONGS to the one offering it, and that in giving the offering to God, the offerer is giving HIMSELF to God. It is a matter of relationship, not punishment. In this week of the Annunciation, we should associate this action of self-offering with the words of the Mother of God: “I am the handmaiden of the Lord; may it be done to me according to His word.” This is what it means to offer ourselves to 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?
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)
The Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)
This is a short text that comes from either the end of the 1st century or the beginning of the 2nd century, and describes the Christian life for those who are preparing to be baptized. In the early Church, those preparing to be baptized spent a period of time before their baptism fasting and receiving instruction in the Christian Faith; and they were often baptized on the eve of Pascha. This time of preparation is the origin of Great Lent, so it makes sense for us to read (and especially to read the beginning) from the Didache as we are in the midst of the Great Fast. It speaks of the two essential commandments of the way of life to which the Lord calls us: to love God, and to love our neighbor, emphasizing that the way in which we love God is by loving our neighbor, and sets a high standard of what we need to do, giving generously, accepting insults and attacks without fighting back, and even loving our enemies. It also speaks of what we are NOT to do to our neighbor.
The Didache
The teaching of the Lord to the Gentiles by the twelve apostles.
The Two Ways
There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between these two ways.
The First Commandment of the Way of Life
Now this is the way of life: First, you shall love God, who made you. Second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself; but whatever you do not wish to happen to you, do not do to another. The teaching of these words is this: Bless those who curse you, and pray for your enemies, and fast for those who persecute you. For what credit is it if you love those who love you? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? But you must love those who hate you, and you will not have an enemy.
Abstain from fleshly and bodily cravings. If someone gives you a blow on your right cheek, turn to him the other as well and you will be perfect. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles; if someone takes your cloak, give him your tunic also; if someone takes from you what belongs to you, do not demand it back, for you cannot do so. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not demand it back, for the Father wants something from His own gifts to be given to everyone. Blessed is the one who gives according to the command, for such a person is innocent.
Woe to the one who receives: if, on the one hand, someone who is in need receives, this person is innocent, but the one who does not have need will have to explain why and for what purpose he received, and upon being imprisoned will be interrogated about what he has done, and will not be released from there until he has repaid every last cent. But it has also been said concerning this: “Let you gift sweat in your hands until you know to whom to give it.”
The Second Commandment of the Way of Life
The second commandment of the teaching is: You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not corrupt children; you shall not be sexually immoral; you shall not steal; you shall not practice magic; you shall not engage in sorcery; you shall not abort a child or commit infanticide. You shall not covet your neighbor’s possessions; you shall not commit perjury; you shall not give false testimony; you shall not speak evil; you shall not hold a grudge.
You shall not be double-minded or double-tongued, for the double tongue is a deadly snare. Your word must not be false or meaningless, but confirmed by action. You shall not be greedy or avaricious, or a hypocrite or malicious or arrogant. You shall not hatch evil plots against your neighbor. You shall not hate any one; instead you shall reprove some, and pray for some, and some you shall love more than your own life.
507 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note how much time is spent explaining how we should treat other people, especially people we don’t want to treat well, especially our enemies. We act in love toward God as we act in love toward our neighbor, even our enemy. It’s also worth noting how this text extends and explains the Ten Commandments. For instance, it makes the point that not just technical adultery, but all sexual immorality, is forbidden, it connects magic and sorcery with the worship of false gods, clarifies that abortion and infanticide count as murder, etc. The final point, about how we SHOULD treat people, with prayer, with correction, and with selfless love, is a good point to end on. The main point of the Commandments, and the main point of the Gospel, is positive, not negative, about what we are supposed to do that is good and draws us closer to God, and not just what is bad and separates us from Him. Even so, the Didache is making sure we don’t “hide” behind technicalities when it comes to the Ten Commandments, and that we understand that we really do have to live in a radically different way if we intend to follow Jesus)
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 story? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this story 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 3 (Friday)
Luke 22:63-71; 23:1-12 (Beating of Jesus, Jesus before the Council, Pilate & Herod)
Last time we saw Jesus betrayed and brought to trial by the high priests and the elders of the people, and we saw Peter deny the Lord while he was waiting to see what would happen. Having gotten Jesus to “admit” that He claimed to be the Son of God, the assembly will now bring Him to Pilate, seeking the death penalty for Him.
The Mocking and Beating of Jesus
63 Now the men who were holding Jesus mocked him and beat him; 64 they also blindfolded him and asked him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” 65 And they spoke many other words against him, reviling him.
Jesus before the Council
66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led him away to their council, and they said, 67 “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” 70 And they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” 71 And they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
Jesus before Pilate
23 Then the whole company of them arose, and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 4 And Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no crime in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”
Jesus before Herod
6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length; but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then, arraying him in gorgeous apparel, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
Reading 48
429 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 the basic accusation against Jesus is that He was claiming to be the Messiah, which was understood by both the Jewish people and by the Romans as a political statement, an act of rebellion and sedition against Roman rule, and cause for death by crucifixion.)
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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