Day 1 (Monday)
Numbers 13:1 – 14:10a (Spies to Promised Land)
Last time we read in Numbers 9 & 10 about the people of God leaving Mount Sinai, and celebrating the Passover for the first time a year after the Exodus, as they conclude the implementation of everything that God had commanded to them, with all the sacrifices and the priesthood and the commandments to purity. Then God led them from Sinai to the border of the Promised Land; a number of things happened along the way, but we will pick up the story when they arrive at the borders of Canaan, as God commands them to send spies into the land to see what the Lord had prepared for them, and what their task was to be as they entered in. We will pick up the story there, in Numbers chapter 13.
Spies Sent into Canaan
13 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites; from each of their ancestral tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them leading men among the Israelites. 4 These were their names: … … One man from each of the tribes, including: … … 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; .. … and 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; … … 16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses changed the name of Hoshea son of Nun to Joshua.
17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up there into the Negeb, and go up into the hill country, 18 and see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19 and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the towns that they live in are unwalled or fortified, 20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be bold, and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now it was the season of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into the Negeb, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the Anakites, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And they came to the Wadi Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them. They also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Wadi Eshcol,[a] because of the cluster that the Israelites cut down from there.
The Report of the Spies
25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the Israelites in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against this people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are of great size. 33 There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
The People Rebel
14 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites. 6 And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the Israelites, “The land that we went through as spies is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only, do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they are no more than bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 But the whole congregation threatened to stone them.
881 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 God told them to send spies into the land, and of course part of what they looked for was how strong the people living there were. Part of that seems to be a test; God has promised them that He is with them and will give them victory; He is letting them see that they can’t expect to win without His help, that He isn’t sending them against weak nations, but strong ones. Sadly, they don’t pass the test; they do NOT trust God to bring them in, except for Joshua & Caleb. Note, as well, the appearance of the giants, the Nephilim; these are clans of demonized human beings who have given themselves over to unspeakable things, making unholy alliance with evil spirits, and gaining great strength from that alliance. Dealing with them is Israel’s particular task, given to them by 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)
Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) – 3
Before Holy Week, we read what the Didache says about life in the Church, and how important it is to remain in communion with the community of the Faithful, with a reminder of the importance of giving generously, of not thinking that what God has given us to belongs to us. This time we will talk more about how we live in our family life, and what our life in the Church should look like; from there we will continue with what was promised at the beginning, when the text began speaking of two ways, the way of life and the way of death. Having concluded with what the way of life looks like, how we are to live in obedience to God, loving our neighbor, giving freely to those in need, and devoting our entire lives to God, we proceed to see what the Didache has to say about the way of death, what it is that we must avoid if we are to follow the Lord.
Family Life & Church Life
You shall not withhold your hand from your son or your daughter, but from their youth you shall teach them the fear of God. You shall not give orders to your male slave or female servant (who hope in the same God as you) when you are angry, lest they cease to fear the God who is over you both. For he comes to call not with regard to reputation but those whom the Spirit has prepared. And you slaves shall be submissive to your masters in respect and fear, as to a symbol of God.
You shall hate all hypocrisy and everything that is not pleasing to the Lord. You must not forsake the Lord’s commandments but must guard what you have received, neither adding nor subtracting anything. In church you shall confess your transgressions, and you shall not approach your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life.
The Way of Death
But the way of death is this: first of all, it is evil and completely cursed; murders, adulteries, lusts, sexual immoralities, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, sorceries, robberies, false testimonies, hypocrisies, duplicity, deceit, pride, malice, stubbornness, greed, abusive language, jealousy, audacity, arrogance, boastfulness.
It is the way of persecutors of good people, of those who hate truth, love a lie, do not know the reward of righteousness, do not adhere to what is good or to righteous judgment, who are vigilant not for what is good but for what is evil, from whom gentleness and patience are far removed, who love worthless things, pursue a reward, have no mercy for the poor, do not work on behalf of the oppressed, do not know the one who made them, are murderers of children, corrupters of God’s creation, who turn away from someone in need, who oppress the afflicted, are advocates of the wealthy, lawless judges of the poor, utterly sinful. May you be delivered, children from all these things.
The Right Choice
See that no one leads you astray from this way of the teachings, for such a person teaches you without regard for God. For if you are able to bear the whole yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect. But if you are not able, then do what you can.
Concerning Food
Now concerning food, bear what you are able, but in any case keep strictly away from meat sacrificed to idols, for it involves the worship of dead gods.
412 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note these references to the discipline of children and the treatment of slaves. There are two important points here – the reference to “withholding your hand” should not be thought to refer to a physical striking of the children, but a teaching and and moral discipline of children. We might gloss it in the modern day as: “do not let your children run riot, but teach them to fear and honor the Lord in the same way as you do yourself, in obedience to all that we have said before.” As for the treatment of slaves, this should not be taken as a Christian “approval” of slavery as an institution, but rather as instructions for how Christians should approach a normal reality of life in the 1st/2nd centuries. In telling masters to treat their slaves with a consciousness that they are fellow Christians, servants of the same God, the seeds of the ultimate abolition of slavery are laid. This is the normal Christian approach to brokenness in the world; like Christ going to the Cross, evil is not opposed with violence or political action, but with a bearing of the burden one’s self, and a transformation of the brokenness from within.)
As for the “way of death,” the Leader should note how it can be summed up as sins against God and sins against our neighbor. We could add as well a sin against ourselves, but in truth every sin, whether against God or against our neighbor, also harms us, working toward destruction in our souls and our bodies. It can be good to think about all of the sins listed and to consider who they hurt, and connect the dots, how whether a sin hurts others or hurts us ourselves, it works against what God has created us for, and is a sin against Him. It is not by accident, either, that strictly avoiding food sacrificed to idols is mentioned at this point, since all sin is demonic, whether it is initiated through the direct temptation of the demons or not. For all sin is a participation in the rebellion of the angels, an invitation to them to come and be active in our lives. So setting ourselves apart in how we eat is an essential first step in setting ourselves apart in how we live, giving ourselves in service and obedience to God. This is a good thing to remember as we leave the fast-free period of Bright Week behind and resume our normal Wednesday & Friday fast.)
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 24:36-53 (Jesus Appears to His Disciples, The Ascension)
We will continue to jump around the Gospel of Luke this week. On Thursday of this week we celebrate the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, so we will read that passage today, along with the Lord’s appearance to His disciples before He ascended into heaven. This is the final passage of the Gospel of Luke, and comes immediately after the episode where Jesus revealed Himself to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and disappeared from their sight after blessing and breaking the bread, at which point they hurried back to Jerusalem and told the other disciples, who told them that He had appeared Simon Peter as well. As they were all talking, then, Jesus appeared to all of them together. Luke continues with a brief summary of the Ascension to conclude his account of the Gospel; a fuller account of the Ascension can be found at the beginning of the book of Acts (also written by St. Luke).
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36 As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Reading 52
328 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 it is very important that Jesus eats in the presence of His disciples. St. Luke includes this to make very clear that the Lord really and truly rose from the dead. He wasn’t a ghost, He wasn’t an apparition, He wasn’t some sort of projection or a mass hallucination. He was really risen from the dead, in the flesh, and that He could eat food showed this more completely than any words can explain. Having established that Jesus was truly risen in the flesh, then St. Luke depicts Him ascending into heaven in their sight, showing them that He, being God and Man, risen from the dead, remains fully God and fully Man as He ascends into heaven. In Christ, then, human nature is fully united with divine nature, and remains so forever, so that we, if we remain in communion with the Lord, can also be partakers of divine nature in Him.)
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.)
Leave a Reply