Day 1 (Monday)
Exodus 9:13-35 (Thunder & Hail)
Last time, we saw the 5th and the 6th plagues, the death of the livestock and the boils on the skin of the Egyptians. These plagues show the vanity of the gods of Egypt, which claim as sacred the various kinds of animals, but are unable to protect them, and then strike the Egyptians, even Pharaoh himself, in their own bodies. At this point, Pharaoh’s magicians are entirely helpless in the face of the power of Yahweh, but Pharaoh refuses even to pretend to relent. And so we come to the seventh plague, as the skies themselves are turned against the Egyptians.
The Seventh Plague: Thunder and Hail
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues upon you yourself, and upon your officials, and upon your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But this is why I have let you live: to show you my power, and to make my name resound through all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people, and will not let them go.
18 Tomorrow at this time I will cause the heaviest hail to fall that has ever fallen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Send, therefore, and have your livestock and everything that you have in the open field brought to a secure place; every human or animal that is in the open field and is not brought under shelter will die when the hail comes down upon them.’” 20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried their slaves and livestock off to a secure place. 21 Those who did not regard the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the open field.
22 The Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven so that hail may fall on the whole land of Egypt, on humans and animals and all the plants of the field in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire came down on the earth. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt; 24 there was hail with fire flashing continually in the midst of it, such heavy hail as had never fallen in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the open field throughout all the land of Egypt, both human and animal; the hail also struck down all the plants of the field, and shattered every tree in the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were, there was no hail.
27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Pray to the Lord! Enough of God’s thunder and hail! I will let you go; you need stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30 But as for you and your officials, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.”
31 (Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses left Pharaoh, went out of the city, and stretched out his hands to the Lord; then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned once more and hardened his heart, he and his officials. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
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 Yahweh here gives a clear warning to Pharaoh and to his people, specifically to give them the opportunity to preserve the lives of everything living out in the fields. It is also worth noting that not all the crops were destroyed; with the hail, Yahweh is striking at the luxury and the economy of Egypt, its pleasure and its power, but is not bringing about a famine that would leave Egypt destitute. This is a warning, escalated from the previous warnings.)
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)
Saint Theophan the Recluse – The Path of Prayer – Sermon 1
St. Theophan was a Russian bishop and saint in the 1800’s, and he wrote a great many letters on the subject of prayer. He lived in a time that is not far distant from our own, but lived a life of prayer and dedication to the Lord, and his writings and sermons on the subject of prayer cut right to the heart of the matter. As we prepare for and begin the Lenten Fast this year, we will read one of his short sermons on how we should approach a rule of prayer.
A Personal Rule of Prayer – 1
When we pray, all our care should be focused on filling our souls with such emotion that when the tongue speaks in prayer, and the ear hears that prayer, and the body prostrates itself, the heart will not be found empty – but will be moved towards God by its emotion.
When such feelings are present, our prayer is prayer. When they are absent, it is not yet prayer.
It would seem that nothing could be more simple and natural for us than prayer in which the heart is turned towards God. Yet this is not always present in prayer, nor in everyone. It must be awakened, then strengthened; one must be educated even to achieve a spirit of prayer. The first step in this direction is to say prayers and to listen to prayers. If you say your prayers as you should, then you will inevitably awaken in yourself a rising up of the heart toward God – and this is the way to enter into the spirit of prayer.
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 the distinction between saying prayers and actually praying, and urge a discussion on this matter. St. Theophan articulates this very clearly and simply, and yet it is a difficult point to really grasp, because we use the same word “prayer” for both the words that we can say without feeling or intent, and the reality of being and relationship that is present in true prayer. It is very important that we understand this distinction, and begin to learn how to use the disciplines of prayer to work toward the reality of true 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)
Mark 8:22-38
Last time we saw Jesus feed a large crowd for the second time with just a few loaves, and then proceed to warn His disciples against the foolishness of the Pharisees and the other authorities. Their opposition to Him is becoming firm, despite, or perhaps because of, the miracles that He is doing; they are feeling their own place and power threatened, and are trying to make the Lord follow their playbook and their rules. Matters are building swiftly toward the Lord’s journey to Jerusalem and His Passion, death, and Resurrection.
Jesus Cures a Blind Man at Bethsaida
22 They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Can you see anything?” 24 And the man looked up (regained his sight) and said, “I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”
Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
27 Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. 36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? 37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? 38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
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 the contrast between Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah here and the rebuke that he receives from the Lord immediately after. Peter is expecting Jesus to be a warlord Messiah, to be victorious over the Romans and every other enemy, but he isn’t understanding that Jesus’s victory will be over death and sin, and not merely the Romans. This is why Jesus tells him that he is thinking of human things, and not the things of God. He then tells them all the essential principle of the Christian life, that victory comes through the Cross, through losing one’s life for the sake of the Gospel, and not by strength and violence. This is certainly the means by which the Lord defeats sin and death, and it is the only way to follow 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?