Day 1 (Monday)
Ecclesiastes 2:12-26; 3:1-15 (Wisdom & Joy Given to One Who Pleases God, Everything Has a Time, The God-given Task)
Last time, in the first chapter and a half of Ecclesiastes, we saw Solomon reflecting on all that he had done earlier in his life to seek fulfillment, starting with success in his kingship and his building up of Jerusalem, and then proceeding to try all the means of pleasure and distraction that were available to a successful ruler in the early Iron age. Having concluded by trial and error that all such things are vanity, and do not bring joy and wholeness, he proceeds this week to reflect on where a human being might rather find true joy.
Wisdom and Joy Given to One Who Pleases God
12 So I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the king? Only what he has already done. 13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. 14 The wise man has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness; and yet I perceived that one fate comes to all of them. 15 Then I said to myself, “What befalls the fool will befall me also; why then have I been so very wise?” And I said to myself that this also is vanity. 16 For of the wise man as of the fool there is no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How the wise man dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.
18 I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me; 19 and who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a man who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by a man who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from all the toil and strain with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For all his days are full of pain, and his work is a vexation; even in the night his mind does not rest. This also is vanity.
24 There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God; 25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the man who pleases him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and heaping, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
Everything Has Its Time
3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
The God-Given Task
9 What gain has the worker from his toil?
10 I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 also that it is God’s gift to man that every one should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil. 14 I know that whatever God does endures for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has made it so, in order that men should fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
762 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 Solomon is working toward the insight that happiness and fulfillment in this life are not to be found in any external matters, whether what one accomplishes, or what one possesses, or what pleasures one has access to. But rather the joy that we seek may be found in a right relationship with God in the midst of the toils and labors of daily life; and perhaps, in that right relationship with God, the various other accidents of life, whether accomplishment or possession or other pleasures, may find their right and proper place. They are not an end in themselves, but may be a consolation, a gift of God to those who walk with 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.)
Day 2 (Wednesday)
Prayers for the Morning
Our Day 1 reading presents us with the question of how we should live our lives; if we can recognize the truth of what Solomon says, that all “normal” human action and priorities come to vanity, then the task that falls to us is to learn how to fulfill our daily tasks, whatever they may be, in a way that is not vain. In order to do so, we should always begin with prayer.
Prayer, in the Orthodox Church, fulfills two functions. 1) At the most essential level, to pray in the morning is to open the door of our hearts and lives to the Lord, to invite Him to be present and active in our lives that day. Therefore prayer is how we ask God to act in us. 2) On a secondary level, in the written prayers of the Church, as we use them to ask the Lord to be present with us, we also find guidance in how we ourselves should approach the day, what challenges and temptations we should watch for, and where we should focus our attention, with the help of the Lord. We will see both of these functions present in the prayer we will read today.
These prayers are taken from the service of the Midnight Office, prayed before dawn when one first awakens, and then from 3rd Hour, which would be prayed at about 9 in the morning; all were written by St. Basil the Great.
First Prayer of St. Basil from the Midnight Office
Lord Almighty, God of Powers and of all flesh, who dwell on high and look on lowly things, who test hearts and minds and know the all the secrets of mortals, Light without beginning and without end, with whom there is no change nor shadow of alteration; receive, immortal King, the supplications which we, confident of the multitude of your mercies, offer to you from filthy lips at the present hour of the night, and forgive us the offenses by which we have offended, in deed and word and thought, in knowledge or in ignorance, and cleanse us from every defilement of flesh and spirit, making us temples of your Holy Spirit.
And grant that we may pass through the whole night of this present life with an unsleeping heart and a watchful mind, as we wait for the coming of the bright and manifest Day of your only-be-gotten Son, our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, when he will come to earth with glory to render to each according to their deeds. So that we may not be found lifeless and slum-bering, but watchful and awake in the doing of your commandments, and that, prepared, we may enter together the joy and the divine bridal-chamber of his glory, where the sound of those who feast is unceasing and the delight of those who see the ineffable beauty of your face is inexpressible. For you are the true Light, which enlightens and sanctifies all things, and all creation hymns you to the ages of ages. Amen.
Another Prayer of Saint Basil
We bless you, God most high and Lord of mercy, who ever do with us great and unfathomable things, things glorious and extraordinary, without number, who grant us sleep for the refreshment of our weakness and the relaxation of the toils of our much-wearied flesh. We thank you because you have not destroyed us in our lawlessness, but have shown us your customary love for mankind and roused us as we lay in despair, to glorify your might.
And so, we implore your incomparable loving-kindness, enlighten the eyes of our understanding and raise our minds from the heavy sleep of idleness. Open our mouths and fill them with your praise, that we may be able to sing and chant give thanks to you continually, God glorified in all and by all, the Father without beginning, with your only begotten Son and your All-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen
Prayer at the 3rd Hour
O Lord our God, You gave Your peace to men and sent down the gift of Your All-holy Spirit upon Your disciples and apostles, and by Your power You opened their lips with tongues of fire. Open also my lips and teach me, sinner though I am, how and for what I should pray.
Guide my life, O calm Haven of the storm-tossed, and reveal the way in which I should walk. Renew a right spirit within me, and with Your Sovereign Spirit steady my mind, that, guided and guarded each ay by Your good Spirit, I may be able to practice Your commandments, always remembering Your glorious presence that looks upon the deeds of men.
Let me not be deceived by the corrupting delights of this world, but rather strengthen in me the desire to attain the treasures of the world to come. For blessed and praised are You in all Your saints forever and ever. Amen.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note what we ask God to do in our lives, on the one hand, and what we ask God to help us do. It may be worth reading the prayers a second time, with these questions in mind, and pausing as we find answers to each item. It’s also valuable to note what we say about ourselves, what we say about God, and what kind of relationship with God the prayer is modeling for us, as we seek to bring our mind and heart and being into harmony with the words of the prayer.)
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)
1 Peter 2:18-25; 3:1-12 (Example of Christ’s Suffering, Wives & Husbands, Suffering for Doing Right)
Last time St. Peter gave general guidance to the Faithful regarding how they should conduct themselves in society, maintaining good conduct so that everything they did would reflect the grace and love and power of Christ active within them. This time he will get more specific, and speak to how individual Christians should conduct themselves in challenging relationships, such as a servant with a non-Christian master, a wife with a non-Christian husband, and a husband with a non-Christian wife.
The Example of Christ’s Suffering
18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to the kind and gentle but also to the overbearing. 19 For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God’s approval. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
Wives and Husbands
3 Likewise you wives, be submissive to your husbands, so that some, though they do not obey the word, may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see your reverent and chaste behavior. 3 Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of robes, 4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 So once the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves and were submissive to their husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are now her children if you do right and let nothing terrify you.
7 Likewise you husbands, live considerately with your wives, bestowing honor on the woman as the weaker sex, since you are joint heirs of the grace of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered.
Suffering for Doing Right
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love of the brethren, a tender heart and a humble mind. 9 Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling; but on the contrary bless, for to this you have been called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For
“He that would love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking guile;
11 let him turn away from evil and do right;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil.”
Reading 3
484 words
Discussion Questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note that this is a challenging reading. St. Peter is talking to people who are actual slaves, and is telling them to submit to their masters. It is important to note that he does NOT say that slavery is a good thing, or that it is a good thing for masters to dominate their slaves. He is, however, telling the slaves themselves how THEY should act, how they should understand their servitude, that they should take it as an opportunity to follow the example of the Lord. What we should take from this, then, is not any particular lesson about slavery (which the Church is unequivocally opposed to, to be clear), but about how we ourselves should face whatever troubles and difficulties we face in life. Instead of resenting those troubles and complaining about them, St. Peter is saying that the Christian response is to “take up our Cross” and take the opportunity to imitate Christ when suffering comes to us. We should understand his guidance to wives and husbands of non-Christians in the same light, as reflecting the transformational power of faithful trust in the Lord in the face of trials; these are not intended to be normative models for how a healthy marriage should work, but rather guidance for how a wife or a husband can offer an unhealthy marriage to God, taking up their Cross and following Him in that troubled or broken relationship.
The Leader should also point out the basic thread of St. Peter’s thought: that people who follow Jesus Christ need to live differently, in a way that is worthy of the name of the Lord that we bear. He then points out that generally, those who do what is right will not be treated badly because of that, but then notes that sometimes Christians ARE treated badly precisely because they are faithful to God, and that, since the Lord Himself suffered for no reason, and by His suffering saved us. He concludes by reminding us that all of us who are baptized are saved by the Lord’s suffering, and that we are called to new life by the Lord’s Resurrection.)
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