Day 1 (Monday)
Genesis 15:1-21 (God’s Covenant with Abram)
Last time we saw Abram rescue his nephew Lot, and the people of the cities of the plain (including Sodom and Gomorrah), and offer bread and wine to Melchizedek. Abram’s victory was miraculous, a gift of the Lord who fought for him, and his giving of thanks through this offering, without accepting any of the spoils of the battle himself, was precisely a confession of the same sentiment as may be seen in Psalm 114: “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory.” This time, we will see God actually make a covenant with Abram, making explicit the promises that He had already made to him. We have actually read this passage before, in Year 1, but will read it again here to keep track of the narrative.
God’s Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. 13 Then the Lord[c] said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; 14 but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
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 explain the significance of the animals being cut in half; this is one manner in which covenants were sealed in this time and place. The parties making the agreement would pass between the pieces, as though to say: “If I am not faithful to our agreement, may what has happened to these animals happen to me.” It is notable, then, that God does NOT have Abram pass between them, but passes between them Himself; it is also important to note that at this same time, He tells Abram about the enslavement of his descendants in Egypt, and then promises to give to them the land of Canaan, which currently belongs to the Amorites, but only once their “iniquity is complete.” In all this, God is giving assurance to Abram, who has been faithful to God so far, and has followed the Lord's guidance, but has not yet seen any sign of a child born to his wife Sarai. So God assures him that His word is certain and trustworthy in this way, encouraging him even as he continues to wait upon 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)
St. John Chrysostom on God’s First Covenant with Abraham
We read on Day 1 the account of God’s covenant with Abraham, cutting the animals in half. This is a crucial moment in the story of Abraham, as God responds to his question with a guarantee far beyond what we would expect from God. This passage provides us an opportunity to see St. John Chrysostom preaching and explaining this passage, from his 37th Homily on Genesis. We begin as Chrysostom is explaining the dialogue between God and Abraham…
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Consequently, on the present occasion God reminds Abram of all the care he had shown him by revealing to him that it was due to his great plans for him and his wish to put into effect his promises in his regard and bring them to fulfillment that he caused him to make such a long journey.
“ ‘I am the one who has brought you out of the land of the Chaldeans to give you this land for your inheritance.’ It was not idly and in vain that I brought you from that place, was it? The reason that I wanted you to settle in Palestine, to leave your ancestral home and come to this land was that you might inherit it. Accordingly, considering how much care you have enjoyed on my account from the time you left Chaldea up until the present and how famous you have become from day to day as you proved to be more conspicuous for my support and providence in your regard, have confidence also in my words.”
Do you see the extraordinary degree of his loving kindness? Do you see the extent of his considerateness in wanting to confirm Abram’s spirit and make his faith stronger so that he might no longer be inclined to have regard for natural obstacles but rather consider the power of the one who had made the assurances, as if his promises had already taken effect, and thus be free to trust him?
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Once more, however, notice the patriarch, when he had taken comfort in these words, how he looked for greater certitude. “He said,”My lord and master, how shall I know that I am able to inherit it?” Even if Sacred Scripture had previously testified to his having faith in the words of God, for which reason it was reckoned as righteousness in him, nevertheless when he heard that the reason why “ ‘I have brought you from the land of Chaldea is to give you this land for your inheritance,’ ” he said:
“While it is not possible for me to have no faith in the words you have spoken, still I would like to know as well the way I would come to inherit it. After all, I see that by now I have reached my old age and to the present time I have been going about like a vagrant, unable to discern the future by human reasoning—even though from the outset (he says) I had faith in your words as being a statement from you, the one able to bring things from non-being to being, to create and transform everything. So it is not out of unbelief that I am asking this; but since you mentioned once again the inheritance, I was wanting to receive as well some more concrete and visible sign, something capable of shoring up the limitations of my thinking.”
What, then, did the good Lord do? Showing considerateness for his own servant, and out of a wish to fortify his spirit, when he saw him admitting his own limitations and, while believing in the promise, yet wanting some confirmation, he said to him: “ ‘Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a ram, a turtledove and a pigeon.’ ”
Observe how he makes a covenant with him in human fashion: just as in the case of human beings, when they make a promise to someone and want to convince the recipient of the promise not to entertain doubts about what is promised, they supply some sign or pledge so that the recipient may have it before his eyes and thus be in a position to know that the promises will take effect in every detail, so too the good Lord, when Abram said, “ ‘How shall I know?’ ” replied, Lo, this too I provide you with: “ ‘Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a ram, a turtledove and a pigeon.’ ” Notice, I ask you, the degree of detail the good Lord deigns to go into for the sake of the just man’s certitude. Since in ancient times it was the custom to make covenants in this way for people of that time and by that means to endorse them, this was the way the Lord himself followed.
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“He brought them,” the text goes on, “and cut them in half.” Observe carefully how it was not idly or to no purpose that it indicated the age as well: he bade him bring three-year-old animals, that is, mature, perfect. “He cut them in half, and put the halves opposite each other, but the birds he did not cut.” He sat down to take care that birds on the wing should do no damage to the divided animals, and he kept that watch through the whole day. “Other birds, however, swooped down on the divided carcases, and Abram sat with them. Now, at sunset Abram fell into a trance and, lo, a terrible gloom came upon him.”
Why at sunset, when already the day had reached evening? God wants to make him more attentive in every way; a trance and terrible gloom fall upon him for the reason that through what happens he may gain some sense of seeing God—this, after all, being God’s way invariably. Later, remember, when God was on the point of giving the Law and the Commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai, “there was darkness and a hurricane,” the text says, “and the mountain smoking.” Hence Scripture also says, “He touches the mountains and they smoke.” You see, since it is impossible to see anything incorporeal through these physical eyes, he wants to convey to him his characteristic activity.
Accordingly, when that just man was terrified and fear struck his mind as well as the trance that had developed, word came to him (the text says): “You asked,” God said, “‘How shall I know?’ and you wanted to get a sign of the way you were destined to inherit the land. Behold, I am giving you a sign: you need great faith to learn that I can bring things from desperate straits to optimistic prospects.”
John Chrysostom, Homilies on Genesis 18–45, ed. Thomas P. Halton, trans. Robert C. Hill, vol. 82, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1990), 342–345.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should point out Chrysostom’s style, in expanding and re-stating what God and Abraham are each saying, to help us understand more clearly. This makes the Scripture more accessible, and is one of the reasons he was renowned and loved as a preacher.)
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)
Matthew 4:12-25 (Jesus Begins His Ministry)
Last time we saw Jesus baptized by John, and then go into the wilderness, where the devil tempted Him three times. The Lord replied only with Scripture, and eventually the devil left Him. This time, we will see the Lord go to Galilee, where He will begin to call His disciples and to minister to the people of Galilee.
Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Crowds of People
23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
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 the final verse describes Jesus already being followed by a mixed crowd of people; Decapolis was a Hellenistic group of towns on the east side of the Jordan River, and Galilee itself was populated by a mix of Jews and Gentiles. There are plenty of people of the covenant following Jesus, but the reality of His healing all those who come to Him, the details of some of those encounters that we see later on, and simply the places from which people were following Him, all indicate that it was not just Jews who were coming to Him for healing, help, 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?