Day 1 (Monday)
Tobit 7:1-17; 8:1-21
Last time we saw Tobias catch a fish, and then Raphael told him about Sarah, and urged him to go and marry her. When Tobias expressed concern about being dead husband #8, Raphael told him how to chase the demon away…so this time, we’ll see what a wedding looked like for faithful Jews in exile, and how Tobias and Sarah manage their wedding night.
At the House of Raguel
7:1 Then they went to Ecbatana and came to the house of Raguel. Sarah went ahead to meet them, and after they greeted one another, she escorted them into the house. 2 Raguel said to Edna his wife, “How the young man resembles my cousin Tobit!” 3 Then Raguel asked them, “Where are you from, brothers?” They answered, “We are from the sons of Naphtali who are captives in Nineveh.” 4 Then he said to them, “Do you know Tobit our brother?” They responded, “We know him.” 5 Then he asked, “Is he in good health?” They answered, “He is alive and in good health.” Tobias then added, “He is my father.”
6 Raguel jumped up and kissed him and wept. He blessed him and said to him, “You are the son of a good and noble man!” But when he heard that Tobit had lost his eyesight, he was grieved and wept. 7 Edna his wife and Sarah his daughter also wept, and they received them eagerly. 8 And they killed a ram from the sheep and set many dishes before them.
9 Then Tobias said to Raphael, “Brother Azarias, speak about what you said on the way, and let the matter be completed.” 10 So he told Raguel what he said, and Raguel said to Tobias, “Eat, drink, and be glad, for it is fitting for you to marry my child. However, I must tell you the truth. 11 I gave my daughter to seven men, and when they went in to her, they died during the night. But for now, be glad!” 12 But Tobias said, “I will not eat anything until after you establish an agreement with me.” So Raguel said, “Receive her according to the decree, for you are her relative and she is yours. The merciful God will prosper you in what is good.”
Tobias and Sarah Are Wed
13 So he called Sarah his daughter, and taking her by the hand, he gave her to be a wife for Tobias. Then he said, “Behold, receive her according to the decree of Moses, and bring her before your father.” He then blessed them 14 and summoned his wife Edna. She took a scroll and wrote out the agreement. They sealed it, and then they began to eat.
15 After this, Raguel called his wife Edna and said to her, “Sister, prepare the other room and lead her into it.” 16 She did as he said and led her there. Then Sarah wept, but Edna understood the tears of her daughter and said to her, 17 “Be courageous, my child. May the Lord of heaven and earth give you grace instead of this sorrow of yours. Be courageous, my daughter.”
8:1 When they finished dining, they led Tobias to her. 2 As he went, he remembered the words of Raphael, and put the heart and the liver of the fish upon the embers of the incense and made smoke. 3 When the demon smelled the fragrant scent, he fled to the upper parts of Egypt, and there the angel bound him. 4 While both were enclosed in the room, Tobias rose up from the bed and said, “Arise, sister, and let us pray that the Lord will have mercy upon us.” 5 So Tobias began to pray, saying:
“Blessed are You, O God of our fathers, and blessed is Your holy and glorious name unto the ages. The heavens and all Your creatures bless You.
6 You made Adam and gave him Eve as a helper, his wife as a support. From them the seed of mankind came to be. You said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. Let Us make a helper for him like himself.’
7 O Lord, I now take this my sister as my wife, not on account of fornication, but in truth. Command that she and I may have mercy, and in this grow old together.”
8 And with him she said, “Amen.” 9 Then both fell asleep for the night.
10 But Raguel rose up and went outside and dug a grave, saying, “He, too, may have died.” 11 Raguel then went back into his house 12 and said to his wife Edna, “Send one of the maids and let her see if indeed Tobias is alive. If he is not, let us bury him that no one may know.” 13 So the maid went to the door, and when she opened it she found both of them sleeping. 14 She came out and told the two of them that he was alive.
15 Then Raguel blessed God, saying: “Blessed are You, the God, with every pure and holy blessing. Your holy ones and all Your creatures bless You. All Your angels and Your chosen ones bless You unto all the ages. 16 Blessed are You, for You have made me glad, and it did not turn out for me as I suspected. Rather, You did with us according to Your abundant mercy. 17 Blessed are You, for You had mercy on our two only children. O Lord, show them mercy, and complete their life in health and with gladness and mercy.”
18 Then he ordered his household servants to fill in the grave.
19 After this he provided a wedding feast for them lasting fourteen days. 20 Before the time of the wedding feast was over, Raguel swore an oath and said to Tobias, “You are not to leave from here unless the two of you stay the fourteen days of the wedding feast. 21 At that time take half of my belongings and go in good health to your father. The remainder will be yours when I and my wife die.”
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that we see the demon flee even the hint of the Lord’s coming that is present in the smoke from the fish heart and liver, and therefore we may be assured that, when we are faithful to God, we do not need to be afraid of the attacks of the demons. More importantly, we see how Tobias and Sarah begin their marriage in faithfulness to God, with a prayer, affirming their commitment to the Lord and to one another. The final words of the prayer are what they ask for, and it is a good summary of what Christian marriage is: not for fornication, that is, not to use one another, but to be devoted to each other, and to seek and receive mercy from God, and to grow old in that mercy, in the love of the Lord.)
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 2 (Wednesday)
Letter of St. Ignatius to the Ephesians – 6
Last time, Ignatius urged the Christians in Ephesus to be faithful to God, either out of fear of the judgment that was coming, or in thanksgiving for the grace and love that was already present. This time he speaks more about how important it is for them to BE what they are called to be, to gather in worship and thanksgiving to God, and of the power of the Lord in their midst to overthrow the power and destructiveness of the enemy.
Ignatius and the Ephesians
I know who I am and to whom I am writing. I am a convict; you have received mercy. I am in danger; you are secure. You are the highway of those who are being killed for God’s sake; you are fellow initiates of Paul, who was sanctified, who was approved, who is deservedly blessed – may I be found in his footsteps when I reach God! – who in every letter remembers you in Christ Jesus.
Frequent and Harmonious Meetings
Therefore make every effort to come together more frequently to give thanks and glory to God. For when you meet together frequently, the powers of Satan are overthrown and his destructiveness is nullified by the unanimity of your faith. There is nothing better than peace, by which all warfare among those in heaven and those on earth is abolished.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that Ignatius is effectively telling them how they should go about combating the evil around them: by gathering more often to worship God. He says that when they gather for the Eucharist (since that is what it means to give thanks), the love of God in their midst overthrows and abolishes all destruction, all evil, all warfare, and brings peace to both heaven and earth. This is, in short, the same lesson that we saw in Tobias’ wedding in the Day 1 reading…thanksgiving and worship of God drove away the demon and brought peace and wholeness where there had been death and brokenness before. The same remains true now…if we are troubled by anything that we see around us in the world, the remedy is to be faithful, to pray, and to gather for worship, celebrating the Eucharist, and reconciling ourselves with the Lord. This is the only certain way for us to make the world a better place.)
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 18:1-17
Last time Jesus warned His disciples about the many troubles that would come after His Passion, including the destruction of Jerusalem, and the need for them to flee when their fellow Jews proclaimed the coming of the Messiah and the time for a rebellion against the Romans. This time, He will offer them encouragement, and guide them in how to find strength in every trouble.
The Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge
18 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ 4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children
15 People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. 16 But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 17 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”
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 in all three of these sayings, the two parables AND the response to the children, Jesus is making the same point. The remedy to trouble in the world is prayer, putting our trust in the Lord. The first parable reminds them that persistence in prayer pays off even when the judge is unjust, so how much more will it “work” when the judge is our Father, Who loves us. The second reminds them what sort of prayer is valuable; not the sort that congratulates themselves for their holiness, but rather the sort that confesses sin and places trust wholly in the Lord for salvation. The third point, with the children, further illustrates this point, that even when if we have not sinned greatly, we are always still small and weak and needy before the Lord, like children, and that if we cannot approach God with the humility of children, we can have no part in His Kingdom.)
2) What do we learn about God in this story?
3) What do we learn about human beings in this story?
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?