Day 1 (Monday)
Tobit 6:1-19 (Tobias Catches a Fish)
Last time we saw Tobias, Tobit’s son, go out and find a man to help him on his journey; the man, of course, turned out to be the Archangel Raphael. This time they will start on their journey together, and strange things will occur.
The Journey to Rages
1 They went on the journey and came to the Tigris River. So they spent the evening there. 2 The young man went down to wash himself, and a fish jumped up from the river and was determined to swallow the young man. 3 The angel said to him, “Take hold of the fish.” So the young man grabbed the fish and put it on the bank. 4 Then the angel said to him, “Cut open the fish. Take the heart, the liver, and the gall and put them in a safe place.” 5 The young man did as the angel commanded him. Then they cooked the fish and ate it.
6 After this, they traveled together until they came near to Ecbatana. 7 Then the young man said to the angel, “Brother Azarias, what is the purpose of the liver, the heart, and the gall of the fish?” 8 He replied, “If a demon or an evil spirit troubles anyone, the heart and the liver must be used to make smoke before the man or woman, and that person will never be troubled again. 9 As for the gall, use it to anoint a man who has white films on his eyes, and he will be healed.”
10 As they came near Rages, 11 the angel said to the young man, “Brother, we will spend the night with Raguel. He is your relative and with him is his only child, a daughter named Sarah. 12 I will speak for her that she might be given to you as a wife, because her inheritance belongs to you; for you alone are from her people. The girl is beautiful and she is sensible. 13 “So now listen to me, for I will speak to her father. When we return from Rages, we will celebrate the wedding. For I know that Raguel cannot give her to any other man according to the rule of Moses, or he will be subject to death. Thus it is proper that you receive the inheritance rather than another man.”
14 Then the young man said to the angel, “Brother Azarias, I have heard the girl was given seven husbands, and they all perished in the bridal chamber. 15 Now I am the only son of my father, and I fear for myself lest, entering the bridal chamber, I may die even as those before me. For a demon loves her, and he does not harm anyone except those who approach her. Now I fear for myself lest I die and bring the life of my father and mother down into their tomb with grief and sorrow upon me. They have no other son who will bury them.”
16 But the angel said to him, “Do you not remember the words your father commanded you, to take a wife for yourself from among your people? Now listen to me, brother, for she will be a wife to you. As for the demon, have no concern, for this night she will be given to you as a wife. 17 If you enter the bridal chamber, you will take with you ashes of incense, and lay some of it on the heart and liver of the fish. Then you will make smoke, and the demon will smell it and flee and never return. 18 When you approach her, both of you will rise up and cry out to the merciful God. He will save you and be merciful. Do not fear for yourself, for she has been prepared for you from of old. You will save her and she will go with you. I believe that you will have children by her.” 19 As Tobias heard these words, he loved her and his soul was very much united to her.
635 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 various organs of the fish being used as solutions for the problems is rather strange. We should not understand from this that there is a certain type of river fish whose organs have this particular virtue, but rather that God is choosing to act by means of this fish and its innards, through the obedience of Tobias to the guidance of the angel, to save both Sarah and Tobit. That it is a fish, and not some other animal, may be seen as a veiled prophecy of Christ Himself (Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ), Himself the ΙΧΘΥΣ (fish), through whom the blind see, demons are driven away, marriage is transformed, and those who trust in Him are saved. We should also note here the strange, but important-to-recognize, connection between demonic action and sexual immorality. Tobias here says that “a demon loves [Sarah], and attacks those who approach her.” This is similar verbiage to what we will see in the coming year in the prelude to Noah, when it says that the fallen angels desired the daughters of men. We don’t need to discuss this in detail now, but we need to note it, since it will show up again.)
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. Paisios the Athonite on Prayer
This is a saying from St. Paisios, who was a much beloved elder in the mid-to-late 20th century. He fell asleep in the Lord in 1994, and was canonized as a saint in 2015. His feastday is July 12th, so as we celebrate this saint, we take the opportunity to read some thoughts of his on the subject of prayer.
St. Paisios the Athonite on Prayer
“Geronda, what does prayer mean to you?
– I send a signal; I ask for help. I continuously ask for help from Christ, from Panagia, from the Saints, for myself and for others. If I do not ask for help, it will not be given to me.
I remember a time during the Greek Civil War when 1,600 guerrillas had closely surrounded us. All together, we were but 180 soldiers barricaded behind an outcropping of rock. If we were to have been captured, they would have killed us. I kept trying to set up an antenna for the wireless in order to contact Central. I could not; the antenna was repeatedly cut down by the incessant gunfire. The captain shouted at me, ‘Leave that alone! Come here! Help us heave a crate or two of grenades!’ At the same time, he kept making the rounds of the machine-gun nests to inspect them. As soon as he left, I ran back to the wireless. Until he gave the orders, I kept trying to set up the antenna and also running back to help, so that he would not shout. I finally set up the antenna with a shovel and a stick, and managed to make contact. I said but two words. That was it! In the morning, the Air Force came and saved us. Is it a small matter that 180 men surrounded by 1,600 soldiers were, in the end, saved?
That incident made me realize the great mission of the monastic: to help through his prayer. Worldly people say, ‘What do monks do? Why don’t they come into the world and help the community?’ It is as if they were telling a wireless operator, ‘What are you doing there with that wireless? Drop the wireless; grab a gun and get over here to fight.’
We receive no benefit whatsoever by communicating with all the stations of the entire world if we do not make contact with God and have heavenly communication with Him in order to ask for and receive His help. Blessed are those who have tuned into the Heavenly Station and remain, reverently, on the same frequency with God.”
St. Paisios Spiritual Counsels, Volume 6, page 22-23.
“‘–What should I do when I have no stamina at all, Geronda?’
– You must force yourself to do at least something spiritual. You must arrange to study a little and pray a little every day. Study, prayer, psalmodic are the vitamins that the soul requires every day.
We should never let a day go by without having prayed at all. During the war, I remember that when days went by without our having launched an offensive, we fired a few rounds with our guns. Otherwise, the enemy would have thought that we were asleep at the switch and taken us by surprise. We must do the same thing in our spiritual struggle. When we sometimes feel worn out and cannot fulfill all of our spiritual work, we should not cut the rope – the communication with God. We should do a few prostrations, count a few knots of the prayer rope whilst saying I the Jesus Prayer. In other words, we should ‘fire off a round or two’ so that the devil will not capture us. And as soon as we have straightened ourselves out, we should resume our regular spiritual struggle.
When one neglects spiritual work, if one does not do even a few prostrations or a few rounds with the prayer rope, he will become unruly. He is able to do chores, but not prayer. I see monks who constantly do chores, but neglect study and prayer. ‘Let me do this, and let me do that as well,’ they say, and prayer is pushed aside, and in the end they become unruly; they become like worldly people. I have seen workers who chisel stones in the sun or cut wood all day long. Nevertheless, even if you give them triple their wages, they cannot stand in church for even half an hour; they go out and smoke. I have taken note of such behavior.
When one does not pray, he distances himself from God, and becomes like an ox – he works, he eats, he sleeps. And the more one distances himself from God, the more difficult things become. His heart becomes cold and afterwards, he cannot pray at all. In order to straighten himself out, his heart must soften; it must turn towards repentance; it must be shaken.”
St. Paisios Spiritual Counsels, Volume 6, page 58-59
755 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note the simple and practical wisdom of St. Paisios. The story from the war provides a beautiful answer to a question which was not asked explicitly, but which is always present: why should I pray when I have other more practically relevant things to do? In the same way, the saint’s officer felt that the radio was a waste of time, and that his efforts would be better suited to picking up a gun or doing other practical work. But in the end, it was the cry for help that saved them, and so it is with all of us. And the question of stamina as well, gently but clearly, expresses the truth that when we find that it is hard to pray, the remedy is simply to continue to make an effort, even in a small way, in order to build up our tolerance for such work. To say that “it is hard, and therefore I can’t do it,” is really no excuse at all. Because everything is hard when we first try it…but we can get better through practice and sustained, careful effort, and most especially when the grace and mercy of God go before and behind and beside us to help us on the path.)
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?
Day 3 (Friday)
Luke 14:25-35, 15:1-10 (Cost of Discipleship, Salt & the Lost Sheep & Coin)
Last time we saw Jesus continuing to teach at the dinner banquet to which one of the Pharisees had invited Him. He spoken then about humility and hospitality, and gave the parable of the Great Dinner to which many were invited, but which few chose to attend, to explain the nature of the Kingdom of God. Having just spoken about how those who were originally invited refused the invitation, so that the master of the banquet sent His servants out into the highways and byways to compel everyone they found there to come in, He turns to the multitudes accompanying Him and speaks to them about what it means to actually follow Him, what one actually must do to attend the banquet of the Lamb of God.
The Cost of Discipleship
25 Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. 33 So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
About Salt
34 “Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? 35 It is fit neither for the land nor for the dunghill; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Reading 33
482 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 Jesus makes clear to the multitudes following Him that they are not “good to go” simply because they have been called to replace those who were originally invited. Everyone who is called to follow Christ (and that is ultimately every human being that has ever lived) is called to lay aside less important and precious things and hold fast to the Kingdom of God. This applies to rich and poor, saints and sinners, to those called first and those who come after. We are all called to count the cost and lay aside every other desirable thing to follow the Lord.)
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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