Day 1 (Monday)
Prayer of Manasseh (2 Chronicles 37 in the Orthodox Study Bible)
Last time we read the account of the reign of Mannaseh, King of Judah, and how he led the people into great sin, bringing to its worst point the fall of the children of Israel into the sins of the nations that Yahweh had destroyed from the land when He gave it to them. We saw, as well, that he repented in the later years of his life, and how the Lord forgave him, even though the harm that he had done in leading the people astray was not undone, and ultimately led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the survivors. This week, we will read Mannaseh’s prayer of repentance; this prayer is a central part of the Lenten service of Great Compline, which is the normal evening prayer service during Great Lent. It is an exemplary prayer of repentance.
Prayer of Mannaseh, King of Judah
Priest: O Lord, Almighty, the God of our Fathers, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous seed; Who created the heaven and the earth with all their adornment; Who bound the sea by the word of Your command; Who shut up the abyss and sealed it with Your awesome and glorious name; Whom all things dread and before Whose power they tremble, because the majesty of Your glory is unbearable and the threat of Your anger against the sinners unendurable; yet the mercy of Your promise is both immeasurable and unfathomable, for You are the Lord most high, compassionate, long-suffering and all merciful, and relent on the wickedness of man.
You, Lord, in the multitude of Your goodness promised repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against You, and in Your infinite compassion appointed repentance for sinners that they may be saved. Therefore, O Lord, the God of the powers, You have not appointed repentance for the righteous, for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who have not sinned against You, but You appointed repentance for me, the sinner, for I have committed more sins than the grains of the sand of the sea.
My transgressions have multiplied, Lord; my transgressions have multiplied, and I am not worthy to look up and see the height of the sky from the multitude of my iniquities, being weighted down by many iron chains, so that I cannot raise my head; there is no respite left for me because I provoked Your anger and committed evil before You not having done Your will and not having kept Your commandments. And now I bend the knee of my heart, beseeching Your goodness.
I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned and I acknowledge my transgressions; but I beg and ask of You: Forgive me, Lord, forgive me and do not destroy me with my transgressions; do not be angry with me forever and keep my evils in me, and do not condemn me to the depths of the earth; for you are God, the God of those who repent, and in me You shall show all Your goodness; for even though I am unworthy, You shall save me according to the multitude of Your mercy, and I shall praise you without ceasing all the days of my life. For every heavenly power sings Your praises, and Yours is the glory unto the ages of ages.
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 what Mannaseh says in this prayer. The first thing that he does is to acknowledge and confess Who God Is. This is important both because it means that he is not looking at himself, but is attending to the reality of Who God Is, and is doing so in awe and worship, not in rebellion. The second thing that he does is to affirm and confess that God is gracious and merciful, and loves His creation. Third, having confessed these truths and reminded himself of them, being in harmony with the reality of existence, he further confesses that he has sinned, and is entirely deserving of the evils that his sins have brought upon him. Then finally, he asks for mercy and forgiveness and restoration. These are essential parts of repentance at all times and in every situation: we must confess and acknowledge Who God Is, and who we are, and entrust ourselves completely to the mercy and love of the Lord.)
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)
First Apology of Justin Martyr – 15: 62-63
Last time we saw St. Justin describe baptism in the early Church, both in its practical reality and as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, where God says through the prophet: “If your sins be as scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.” He continues this time to describe a certain demonic imitation of this reality in the washings accomplished in pagan temples, and then goes on a side trail discussing how many other truths were revealed to Moses and imitated by the demons, and how it was Jesus Christ Himself Who spoke to Moses and all the Prophets from the beginning to the end, even though the Jews deny this truth.
Chapter 62
After hearing of this baptism which the Prophet Isaias announced, the demons prompted those who enter their temples and come to them with libations and burnt offerings to sprinkle themselves also with water; furthermore, they cause them to wash their whole persons, as they approach the place of sacrifice, before they go to the shrines where their [the demons’] statues are located. And the order given by the priests to those who enter and worship in the temples, to take off their shoes, was imitated by the demons after they learned what happened to Moses, the above-mentioned Prophet.
For at this time, when Moses was ordered to go down into Egypt and bring out the Israelites who were there, and while he was tending the sheep of his mother’s brother in the land of Arabia, our Christ talked with him in the shape of fire from a bush. Indeed, He said: ‘Put off thy shoes, and draw near and hear.’ When he had taken off his shoes, he approached the burning bush and heard that he was to go down into Egypt and bring out the people of Israel who were in that land; and he received great power from Christ who spoke to him under the form of fire, and he went down and brought out the people after he performed great and wondrous deeds. If you wish to know about these deeds you may learn them clearly from his writings.
Chapter 63
Even now, all Jews teach that the ineffable God spoke to Moses. Wherefore, the Prophetic Spirit, censuring the Jews through Isaias, the above-mentioned Prophet, said: ‘The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel hath not known Me, and My people hath not understood Me.’ Because the Jews did not know the nature of the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ likewise upbraided them, saying: ‘No one knows the Father except the Son; nor does anyone know the Son except the Father, and those to whom the Son will reveal Him.’
Now, the Word of God is His Son, as we have already stated, and He is called Angel and Apostle; for, as Angel He announces all that we must know, and [as Apostle] He is sent forth to inform us of what has been revealed, as our Lord Himself says: ‘He that heareth Me, heareth Him that sent Me.’ This will be further clarified from the following words of Moses: ‘And the Angel of God spoke to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush and said, “I AM WHO AM, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of your fathers; go down into Egypt, and bring forth My people.” ’
If you are curious to know what happened after this, you can find out by consulting these same Mosaic writings, for it is impossible to recount everything in this work. What has been written has been here set down to prove that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and His Apostle, being of old the Word, appearing at one time in the form of fire, at another under the guise of incorporeal beings [i. e., as an angel], but now, at the will of God, after becoming man for mankind, He bore all the torments which the demons prompted the rabid Jews to wreak upon Him.
Although it is explicitly stated in the Mosaic writings: ‘And the Angel of God spoke to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush and said, “I AM WHO AM, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” ’ the Jews assert that it was the Father and Maker of all things who spoke thus. Hence, the Prophetic Spirit reproaches them, saying: ‘Israel hath not known Me, and My people hath not understood Me.’6 And again, as we have already shown, Jesus, while still in their midst, said: ‘No one knows the Father except the Son, nor does anyone know the Son except the Father, and those to whom the Son will reveal Him.’
The Jews, therefore, always of the opinion that the Universal Father spoke to Moses, while in fact it was the very Son of God, who is styled both Angel and Apostle, were justly reproached by both the Prophetic Spirit and by Christ Himself, since they knew neither the Father nor the Son. For, they who claim that the Son is the Father are reproached for knowing neither the Father nor that the Father of all has a Son, who, as the First-born Word of God, is also God. He once appeared to Moses and the other prophets in the form of fire and in the guise of an angel, but now in the time of your reign, after He became man by a virgin, as we already stated, by the design of God the Father, to effect the salvation of those believing in Him, He permitted Himself to be an object of contempt and to suffer pain, so that by dying and arising from the dead He might conquer death.
But what was proclaimed to Moses from the bush: ‘I AM WHO AM, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of your fathers,’ meant that those who had died were still in existence, and belonged to Christ Himself. For they were the first of all to occupy themselves in searching for God; Abraham being the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, as was written by Moses.
Thomas B. Falls with Justin Martyr, The First Apology, The Second Apology, Dialogue with Trypho, Exhortation to the Greeks, Discourse to the Greeks, The Monarchy or The Rule of God, vol. 6, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1948), 101–104.
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 Justin provides here another example of how false religion perverts and imitates the truth, but most of all should highlight the strong Trinitarian confession that is present here, as Justin affirms that through the Old Testament, when God spoke to the Prophets, it was the Son Himself, Jesus Christ, Who was speaking to them, as pre-existing the time of His Incarnation, and further as being eternal God and receiving worship as God throughout the Old Testament. This is a normative part of the Orthodox Christian tradition, but it is all-too-easily missed, that our Lord Jesus Christ is Himself the Angel of the Lord, the Word of God Who came to the prophets, with Whom Moses and Elijah spoke face to face, Who delivered the Three Youths in the fiery furnace, and so on and so forth. This realization is every present in our liturgical tradition, once we are invited to recognize it, and most especially is seen during Holy Week.)
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)
James 2:1-26; 3:1-5
Last time we began the general Epistle of St. James to the Church, and saw him urging the Christians to lives of purity and generosity, in faithfulness to God. This time, he will warn them against two particular temptations, that of preferring wealthy and powerful people, and the dangers of a loose tongue, making clear that salvation comes not just to those who believe in God, but those who live lives that are faithful and consistent to that faith.
Warning against Partiality
2 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
8 You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
Taming the Tongue
3 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4 Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.
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 in particular St. James clear and explicit warning against honoring those with wealth and power, preferring them to the poor. He does not say that we should prefer the opposite way, but simply that we should show no preference, no partiality, at all. He warns then in particular against the temptation to think that, because we know/believe the right things, we have done enough, we are God’s people, and insists that it is not just opinion and knowledge, but action in consistency with the truth, that justifies us. We must be faithful. And finally, he provides an example of a common place in which we need to choose to be faithful, not simply to know or to repeat the “right” things, and warns against the sins of a loose tongue. Just because we know the right things to talk about does not make us holy people; we should firmly avoid boasting, etc.)
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?