Day 1 (Monday)
Exodus 8:16-30 (Gnats/Flies)
Last time, we saw the second of the plagues that God sent upon Pharaoh and the land of Egypt when the he (Pharaoh) refused to free the children of Israel from slavery. When the frogs had come out of the water and were everywhere in the land, Pharaoh acknowledged the reality of Yahweh’s existence and power for the first time, and promised to let the people go if the Lord would take the frogs away. But when God caused all the frogs to die, so that they could be removed from the land, Pharaoh refused to let the people go. This time, we will God’s response to this treachery.
The Third Plague: Gnats
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.’” 17 And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike; all the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt.
18 The magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could not. There were gnats on both humans and animals. 19 And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
The Fourth Plague: Flies
20 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 21 For if you will not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you, your officials, and your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies; so also the land where they live.
22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people live, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I the Lord am in this land. 23 Thus I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign shall appear tomorrow.’” 24 The Lord did so, and great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his officials’ houses; in all of Egypt the land was ruined because of the flies.
25 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so; for the sacrifices that we offer to the Lord our God are offensive to the Egyptians. If we offer in the sight of the Egyptians sacrifices that are offensive to them, will they not stone us? 27 We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he commands us.”
28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, provided you do not go very far away. Pray for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “As soon as I leave you, I will pray to the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; only do not let Pharaoh again deal falsely by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”
30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord. 31 And the Lord did as Moses asked: he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his officials, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and would not let the people go.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (There are a number of things the Leader should point out. First of all, this is the first time that Pharaoh’s magicians have been unable to imitate the plagues, through whatever trickery or alliance with demons they had been using up to this point. Even they are acknowledging the power of God in what is happening. Second, with both the gnats and the flies, we are seeing the land of Egypt, whose people had killed uncounted numbers of the male babies of the Israelites, shown forth as the place of death and horror that it had become in truth by this crime, with gnats and flies settling on everything in the land. Third, we see God show His protection in keeping the land of Goshen, where the Israelites actually lived, free of these plagues. Fourth, we see Pharaoh starting to bargain, suggesting that the people of Israel can worship Yahweh while still remaining subject to him in Egypt. Moses makes clear that this is unacceptable. It is not possible to honor Pharaoh or the gods of Egypt in any way, as they would have to do if they remained in Egypt, and to be faithful to God. They have to leave, to become entirely free of Pharaoh, in order to worship the one true God.)
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 2 (Wednesday)
St. Paisios of Mount Athos
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. This will not be a long reading, but it cuts right to the heart of many of our experiences in this life. We know that it is true, but it is a very difficult point for us to accept.
St. Paisios On Rights, Humility, and the Spiritual Life
As a person becomes more spiritual, so much fewer rights does he have in this life. [As a person becomes close to God], it is obligatory to be patient, to accept injustice, to accept evil words from others. A perverted person who is distant from God has many rights: to strike and shout and act unrighteously. But God keeps OUR rights for the other life.
Out of ignorance, however, we often seek our rights here [in this life]. [We do not want to suffer any injustice at all.] If people say anything [unjust] to us, immediately we give them the right [i.e. we fight back]. And later we think we trust in God. That is a big joke. Human justice doesn’t mean anything to a spiritual person. But it is a great concern for the perverted person.
—From the book: Epistles by St. Paisios (Souroti, 2002)
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should re-state and emphasize and explain what St. Paisios is saying, that we don’t need to worry about our rights in this world if we are living in communion with God. It is when we are far away from God that we NEED to stand on our privileges, because we don’t have anything else to depend on. But when we lay aside the cares and the desires of this world and entrust ourselves completely to God, then we find that we are able to “count it all joy” (James 1:2) when we are mistreated, because we have the Lord always with us, and His love and grace are enough. (2 Corinthians 12:9))
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)
Mark 7:24-37 (Syrophoenician Woman, Deaf Man)
Last week, we saw the scribes and Pharisees come to Jesus and criticize Him because His disciples didn’t wash themselves before eating, nor did they observe some of the other rules that the Pharisees were enforcing on the people. Jesus responded by condemning them as false guides and foolish teachers, misleading the people to think that they could be made unclean by things that they ate. He explained that it was the things that come OUT of a person, the evil intentions that are born in our heart which we entertain and feed, which corrupt us and make us unclean. This week, we will see Him go away from the region of Israel and into the pagan region of Tyre, a place surely full of uncleanness by either measure. Let’s see what He finds there.
The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
Jesus Cures a Deaf Man
31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.
34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should point out that Jesus, in speaking with the Gentile woman as He does, gives her the opportunity to demonstrate what true faithfulness looks like. It is not a matter of washing your hands or following strict and special rules, it is a matter of trust and of faithfulness, of obedience and dependence upon the mercy and love of the Lord. She is persistent, but not as one with a right to claim, but as one who is asking for mercy from the One Who is merciful. She is also being used here by St. Mark as an intentional counterpoint, I think, to the Pharisees in the previous passage. The Leader should also point out that, when Jesus goes back toward Galilee, He continues to do the things that only God can do, even as He urges them to keep this specific miracle a secret. It is often this way; the good things that God brings to us are given in secret, while the “good” things of the world are blared from loudspeakers…because they are not actually good, and the advertisers have to convince us to buy them.)
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?