Day 1 (Monday)
3 Kingdoms (1 Kings) 16:29-33, 17:1-24 (Ahab Rules, Elijah Warns, Raises a Dead Boy to Life)
Over the past few months, we have been reading about the Exodus and the journey through the wilderness of the children of Israel, and we had just seen them arrive at the Promised Land and then refuse to go in, because they did not trust the Lord to grant them victory. Because of their rebellion, that generation wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, led and fed and protected by God, until the entire generation that had rebelled had died. Then their children were led into the Promised Land by Joshua, Moses’ longtime assistant and successor. We will here sum up what happened next; they entered in, and as long as they were faithful to God, He gave them the victory, and they settled in the land. But over time they began to adopt the religion and practices of the people who had been there before them, and over the centuries things went from bad to worse. At first God ruled over them directly, sending judges to lead them when necessary, but after several hundred years, they asked for a king, like the nations around them. God warned them that it wouldn’t go well, but when they insisted, He gave them kings; first Saul, who fell quickly into disobedience, and then David, who loved God and was faithful to Him, and repented when He fell away, so that God promised David that his line would never fail, and his descendants would be great kings and usher in a time of prosperity and peace. David’s grandson, however, was a foolish king, and as a result 10 of the 12 tribes went into rebellion against him, choosing someone else to be their king, and beginning to worship the gods that the Canaanites had worshipped. We will pick up the story at the time of David’s great-great-grandson Asa, who was king in Jerusalem about 100 years after David died, as a new king rises to power in Israel, and leads them into great wickedness. We will see God send a prophet to that king to call him to repentance, and what will follow after.
Ahab Reigns over Israel
29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all that were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Ba′al, and worshiped him.
32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him… 34 In his days Hi′el of Bethel built Jericho; he laid its foundation at the cost of Abi′ram his first-born, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.
Elijah Predicts a Drought
17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him, 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
The Widow of Zarephath
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.”
11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now, I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
13 And Elijah said to her, “Fear not; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said; and she, and he, and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elijah.
Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son
17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber, where he lodged, and laid him upon his own bed.
20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, hast thou brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s soul come into him again.” 22 And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
880 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 Baal was the Canaanite god of the sky, of thunder and of rain, corresponding to the Greek God Zeus, and also was understood to have his palace in the underworld, in the place of the dead, and to have power over the dead. He is the pagan god usually understood to be the devil. So in declaring that there would be no rain, Elijah is declaring to Ahab that his god is false and has no real power, and that Yahweh is the one true God. The remaining events of this chapter highlight this point. Wherever Elijah is, God provides him with food, even in the middle of a famine. He sends Elijah to a city of Sidon, NOT an Israelite city, where Baal was worshipped by everyone, and finds there someone who is willing to trust in Yahweh, and they then have food when no one else does. And when the child dies, coming directly under the power of Baal, God raises him from the dead, showing that even in death, Baal’s power is nothing before 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 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) – 6
This week we finish with the Didache, the earliest text from the life of the Church outside of the New Testament. The Didache has two parts: the first describes the Way of Life and the Way of Death, and the second gives general instructions for the life of the Church. This time we will read some final guidance to the Christians about how they should treat each other, and how they should always keep their lives focused on the imminent coming of the Lord, after which the text speaks of the Last Days, and warns the Faithful that there will be many troubles in the future, and that it will be a time of testing, but that at the end, the Lord will return. This tells us, then, of what the early Church expected to happen to the world, and to them, and what they were preparing for…it tells us, too, what we should expect, and how we should prepare.
Call to Follow the Gospel
Furthermore, correct one another not in anger but in peace, as you find in the Gospel; and if anyone wrongs his or her neighbor, let no one speak to that person, nor let that one hear a word from you, until he or she repents. As for your prayers and acts of charity and all your actions, do them all just as you find it in the Gospel of our Lord.
Watch over your life: do not let your lamps go out, and do not be unprepared, but be ready, for you do not know the hour when our Lord is coming. Gather together frequently, seeking the things that benefit your souls, for all the time you have believed will be of no use to you if you are not found perfect in the last time.
Mini-Apocalypse
For in the last days the false prophets and corrupters will abound, and the sheep will be turned into wolves, and love will be turned into hate. For as lawlessness increases, they will hate and persecute and betray one another. And then the deceiver of the world will appear as a son of God and will perform signs and wonders, and the earth will be delivered into his hands, and he will commit abominations the likes of which have never happened before.
Then all humankind will come to the fiery test, and many will fall away and perish; but those who endure in their faith will be saved by the Accursed One Himself. And then there will appear the signs of the truth: first the sign of an opening in heaven, then the sign of the sound of a trumpet, and third, the resurrection of the dead – but not of all; rather, as it has been said, “The Lord will come, and all his saints with him.” Then the world will see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.
322 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 the Apostles taught a high standard of behavior for the Church; this instruction to not speak to someone who had wronged someone else until they repent is the way that they upheld that. The point is not to cut people off from the Church, but rather to bring them back into the Church by showing them that they have cut themselves off from the Church by their action, and by inviting them to return through repentance. It is an important point to understand, that Christian love does NOT in fact mean that any of us can live however we want, do whatever we want to do, and treat people however we want, and the Church just has to accept us and our actions because God is love. If we sin, we will always be welcome to come back to the Church, but the only way back is through repentance.)
Leader should also note that what the final paragraphs of the Didache describe is very intense, but we can break it down to a few central elements. First, the Apostles expected the troubles in the last days to reach inside the Church. This is the meaning of the “sheep will be turned into wolves, and love to hate.” Second, the “deceiver of the world” will appear as a son of God, which is to say, as an angel, a god, and will lead humanity into great sin; this is following the same pattern as we saw in the Old Testament readings with the giants, the demonized human beings, but the Apostles expect it to be worse than ever. Whether the deceiver of the world will be a human being, a demon, or an alliance between them, is not clear, but certainly an alliance between rebellious angels and rebellious humanity is what is being talked about. Third, the “Accursed One” who will save those who endure is Christ Himself, Who the world considers to be accursed because of His humiliation and death on the Cross, but Who saves us, even as we are suffering, through His own suffering. Finally, this text speaks clearly about the Resurrection of the Lord’s Faithful as the final sign of His coming, which matches with the final words of the Creed: “I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come.”)
2) What do we learn about God in this reading?
3) What do we learn about human beings in this reading?
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?
Day 3 (Friday)
Luke 10:25-42 (Good Samaritan, Jesus Visits Martha & Mary)
Last time we saw Jesus send out the 70 Apostles, and when they came back He talked to them about how God always chooses to reveal Himself and work through simple, weak, ignorant, and even foolish people, and how finally, what had been desired by all the great saints of the Old Testament was being revealed to them, those who were following Him and listening to Him. Let’s see what happens next.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, 34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Jesus Visits Martha and Mary
38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a village; and a woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; 42 one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Reading 24
425 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 how these two stories illustrate the point Jesus was making before. The lawyer knows the right answer, but he struggles to live it; Jesus shows what it actually looks like to love God and to love our neighbor. Then, He shows Mary and Martha that the things the world thinks are important aren’t as important as listening to and following Him. In both cases, the “normal” rules of the world are turned upside down.)
2) Where do we see Christ in this text; what is He saying or doing here? (He doesn’t work in the way that we expect, and He doesn’t care if we know the right answer if we don’t LIVE the right answer).
3) Do we see ourselves and the Church in this text; what does it say about us? (We have a very hard time not getting completely mixed up and confused in how we are supposed to follow God).
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 story make you think that you need to change anything in your life? (Hopefully everyone sees that Jesus isn’t just asking us to be “good people.” He wants us to actively and truly follow Him, to be radically changed, to be transformed. That involves doing “good things,” but will as often involve living in a way that drives the people around us nuts, not least because even in living in that way, it will condemn them for their failure to actually follow Jesus).
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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