Day 1 (Monday)
Exodus 3:1-22
Welcome to Week 13. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! Last time we saw Moses leave Egypt and find a home in exile in Midian, with his wife Zipporah and his son Gershom. But we know that he won’t live out his life there; so let’s see what happens next.
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
The Divine Name Revealed
13 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD (He Who Is), the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name forever,
and this my title for all generations.
16 Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, The LORD (He Who Is), the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 I declare that I will bring you up out of the misery of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 18 They will listen to your voice; and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; let us now go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ 19 I know, however, that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.[c] 20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders that I will perform in it; after that he will let you go. 21 I will bring this people into such favor with the Egyptians that, when you go, you will not go empty-handed; 22 each woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman living in the neighbor’s house for jewelry of silver and of gold, and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters; and so you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
Discussion questions:
1) What was strange about the Burning Bush that made Moses turn aside to go see it? (It was burning, but it wasn’t burning up).
2) Who does it say appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush? (The text says that it was the Angel of the Lord.)
3) Who spoke to Moses, then? (The text says that it was God, the Lord).
4) What did God tell Moses to do? How did He identify Himself (He told Moses to take off his sandals, because it was holy ground, and He told him that He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the god of his ancestors).
5) Did God tell Moses what job He was going to give him? (He told him that he, Moses, was going to bring the Israelites out of slavery and into the Promised Land.)
6) What did Moses ask God? (He asked God to tell him His Name).
7) What does God say that His Name is? (He doesn’t – He tells Moses that He Is Who He Is, or perhaps that He is The One Who Is, Who Exists, and Who Brings All Things Into Existence. That’s not so much a name as a theological statement)
8) Do any of you know where in the Church we show this Name of God? Hint: It’s in the icons, and in the services too. (It’s in the icons of Christ, in the letters around His Head and it’s all over the place in the services, both when we address God as LORD, and every time we talk about Him as the God Who Exists, and brought everything that is into being.).
Note: We see here for the first time a trend that will continue through the Bible. While God gives His Name in verse 14 as “I Am Who I Am,” He is speaking in the first person: “I Am.” What He tells Moses to say to the Israelites in verse 15 is in the 3rd person, "He Is." So, more literally translated, what He says in verse 15 is “He Who Is, the God of your ancestors, has sent me to you.” In Hebrew, “He Who Is” is Yahweh, and in Greek, it is “Ὁ Ὤν”. Throughout the Old Testament, however, most English translations render the Hebrew “Yahweh,” as “The LORD,” because the Hebrew people at the time of Christ did the same, replacing “Yahweh” with “Adonai” (which means Lord) when they read the Scripture. So any time we see God referred to as “The LORD,” it is likely that this is actually the Name of God, Yahweh, Ὁ Ὤν, He Who Is.
Day 2 (Wednesday)
Dismissal Prayers of Vespers & Orthros
At the end of the services of Vespers and Orthros (the services of sunset and sunrise) the service concludes in the same way.
The Priest begins by turning and facing the people, and saying:
“Ὁ ὢν εὐλογητὸς Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, πάντοτε· νῦν καὶ ἁεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.
Blessed is Christ our God, He Who Is, Ο ΩΝ, always; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.”
Then the Chanter says: “Amen. May the Lord God strengthen the holy and pure faith of devout and orthodox Christians, with his holy Church and this city, unto the ages of ages.
Then the Priest says:
“Most Holy Theotokos, save us.”
And the People say in response: “More honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, you without corruption gave birth to God the Word, we magnify you, the true Theotokos.”
And then the Priest says the final Dismissal:
“Glory to You, O God, our hope, glory to You.
Christ our true God – through the intercessions of His most pure and holy Mother; by the power of the precious and life giving Cross; through the protection of the honorable, Bodiless Powers of heaven; through the supplications of the honorable, glorious prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John; of the holy, glorious, and praiseworthy Apostles; of the holy, glorious and triumphant Martyrs; of the holy & glorious Great-martyr George the Trophybearer; of our righteous and God-bearing Fathers; of our Father among the Saints John, Archbishop of Constantinople, the Golden-mouthed; of the holy and righteous ancestors of God, Joachim and Anna, (of the Saint of the day) and of all the Saints – may He have mercy on us and save us, as a good and merciful God Who loves mankind.
Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Discussion questions:
1) At the very beginning, how does the Priest speak about Jesus Christ? (He says that He is, or should be, blessed, and calls Him “He Who Is,” or, in Greek, ὁ ὤν)
2) What do you think it means for God to be blessed? (It doesn’t mean the same thing that it means for a human being to be blessed, right? What we are saying here is that it is right for human beings to speak well of God, to bless Him, to thank Him, to glorify Him. Literally the word that we translated as “blessed” means “well-spoken-of”).
3) Why do you think we call Jesus ὁ ὤν, He Who Is? (This is, in Greek and in English, the way that the Name that God gives to Moses is translated. In Hebrew, the Name is Yahweh, and means “The One Who Exists and Causes All That Exists to Exist,” and it is therefore unique. Only one god can claim this name: the God Who brought all things into being out of nothing, and Who alone exists Himself absolutely, without any qualification or dependence.)
4) Why do you think we talk so much about the Saints in the Dismissal? (This is an open question – one good answer is that we are drawing a picture of the reality of the world. Jesus Christ, The Lord, Yahweh, the Creator of all things, is at the center of all – we look to Him and call Him blessed. And surrounding Him are all those who have lived lives of obedience and repentance from all the ages, and they, and we, all look to Him for mercy, salvation, and love. So the picture we are painting is of the entire creation gathered around the Lord in worship and in thanksgiving for His wonderful deeds for the children of men.)
Day 3 (Friday)
Luke 6:17-36
Last time Jesus argued with the Pharisees about the Sabbath, and then He selected the Twelve Apostles. This time, we see Him preaching to the people, and what sort of things He was saying to them. Let’s listen in!
17 He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you[d] on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.[e] Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Discussion Questions
1) What do you notice about the people that Jesus calls blessed here. (Hopefully everyone will notice that the people that Jesus calls blessed aren’t usually the ones we would think of as being blessed)
2) Why does Jesus call them blessed? (He gives a reason for each group He calls blessed – mostly it is because God intends good for those who suffer for His sake)
3) What do you notice about the people that Jesus says “woe” to? (He pretty much says that whatever good they have received is the only good they will ever get. Woe comes to them because they chose the wrong good)
4) What does Jesus say we should do when people mistreat us? (He tells us to love them, to pray for them, to serve them, and to treat them as we would like them to treat us)
5) What is the last reason that Jesus gives for treating people well when they treat us badly? (Because that is how God is Himself – he is kind and merciful to those who have rebelled against Him…which is to say, to all of us! So we should be like Him in how we treat other people)