Day 1 (Monday)
Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:1-12 (The Suffering Servant)
We have been reading about the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, and last time we saw them celebrate the first Passover after their arrival at Mt. Sinai, as they prepared to depart from the mountain and head toward the Promised Land. When they arrived, however, they refused to enter, being afraid of the powerful inhabitants of the land, and thus that generation was judged to wander for 40 years in the wilderness. When their children finally entered the land, all seemed well, but soon they and their descendants fell into sin once more, and God sent them many prophets to call them to repent, and also to tell them of how He was going to save them in the future, even if they failed to repent then. One of these prophets, named Isaiah, prophesied in remarkable detail what would happen to the Lord when He came, and how He would save us through His suffering.
The Suffering Servant
13 Behold, my servant shall prosper,
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
14 As many were astonished at him—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the sons of men—
15 so shall he startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which has not been told them they shall see,
and that which they have not heard they shall understand.
53:1 Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.
4 Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
9 They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
11 Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note some of the specific portions of this that clearly connect with the Lord’s Passion, especially verse 3, verses 5-6, verses 7-9, & verses 11-12. The Leader can also mention that verses 7 and 8 are read at every Liturgy when the Priest cuts out the Amnos, the Lamb, from the Prosfora bread. A link to this can be found here, starting at about the 10 minute mark: https://youtu.be/EvWpnPDkIEw?t=600.)
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. Iakovos of Evia – A Saying for Married People
During this Holy Week, we offer the following saying from St. Iakovos.
There was once a pious couple with nine children. The husband was very pious and a little overly-zealous as regards spiritual things.
By letter he said that he wanted to do everything like a monk. His wife complained to St. Iakovos of Evia that she was exhausted and that she wanted help. When they came to the Monastery of St. David, at night, while the children were crying and screaming, the wife also was crying because she was so tired…
The husband went to a chapel at the Monastery of the Holy Unmercenaries and was doing prostrations, praying the prayer rope and serving vigil.
The wife complained to St. Iakovos and she was right.
The next day, the Saint, as soon as he saw them in the courtyard of the Monastery, understood what was going on and that they were starting to fight amongst themselves.
The Saint spoke with sweet words and with discernment in order to comfort the pained and exhausted mother, and with discernment and a smile he said to the father: “I was proud of you last night. You chanted all night and prayed. Good job! But you would have had an even greater blessing and reward if you sat a half hour instead of three, near your wife helping her to feed the children and put them to bed, because for married people, your prayer ropes and prostrations are your children. When they grow up you will have time to do them, but “a brother is helped by a brother”. Let everything be done by mutual consent.”
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 saying may be a helpful guide to families who are working to find the right balance during Holy Week. May the Lord grant us all wisdom, discernment and peace as we walk this path to the Lord’s Pascha.
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 3 (Friday)
Luke 23:39-56 (Penitent Thief, Death & Burial of Jesus)
Last time, we saw the Lord sentenced to death and crucified, as we concluded the final week of Great Lent. This week, during Holy Week, we will behold Him upon the Cross on Great and Holy Friday, and will read this selection both Holy Thursday evening and Holy Friday morning, as we complete our journey with the Lord to His Passion, and prepare for the celebration of His glorious Resurrection.
The Penitent Thief
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.”[g] 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
The Death of Jesus
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land[h] until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed;[i] and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the multitudes who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance and saw these things.
The Burial of Jesus
50 Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathe′a. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their purpose and deed, and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud, and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.[j] 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid; 56 then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.
On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Reading 50
376 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 Jesus is crucified on the day of the preparation for the Sabbath, on Friday, so that He is dead, with His body resting in the tomb, on Saturday, the Sabbath day, the great day of rest. In this way, He fulfills the commandment about honoring the Sabbath Day, but more than that, He shows the purpose for that commandment, as a prophecy of how God rests from His work in this world on the seventh day, once He has completed all that He came to do, and united Himself with us even in the depths of our brokenness. Other points to note include the Lord’s prayer of forgiveness for those crucifying Him in verse 34, the repentant thief in verses 39-43, and the tearing of the veil in the Temple, which as we have discussed previously, separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place.)
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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