Day 1 (Monday)
Proverbs 19:1-29; 20:1-30
This reading and reflection marks the beginning of the fourth year of the Religious Education Initiative. Each week, we will provide three readings for the parish. Everyone is urged to participate; families should participate together, reading the selections Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (or three other days/times, whatever works best for the family). Anyone can take the lead, but we recommend that the father and mother in each household do so to start with, but whoever leads, we strongly recommend that each household take this opportunity to make it a priority to do these readings and reflections as an entire and whole family, all together. Also, since fathers often get left out of religious matters in the home, because of their other responsibilities and obligations outside of the home, wherever possible it is best if the father takes the lead in these readings, either reading the selection and guiding the discussion himself, or delegating the reading to someone else.
As we begin the new Church year, and our fourth year of the Religious Education Initiative, we will start with another selection from the book of Proverbs. At this point in the book of Proverbs, we are simply reading through a collection of wise sayings of Solomon. In all of these, the general theme is the contrast between what the Church has often referred to as the way of death, versus the way of life. We pray that these reminders will remind us all of the sacred responsibilities placed in our hands, and that we will run with patience and faithfulness the race that is set before us, not just this year, but over our entire lives.
Note: this is a longer selection, as may be appropriate for families with older children, etc. Families with younger children may certain consider reading only a portion of the following, as seems appropriate to the parents. If you read the entire selection, it should take a little over four minutes, so feel to adjust accordingly.
Wise Sayings (Proverbs) of Solomon
Chapter 19
1 Better the poor walking in integrity
than one perverse of speech who is a fool.
2 Desire without knowledge is not good,
and one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.
3 One’s own folly leads to ruin,
yet the heart rages against the Lord.
4 Wealth brings many friends,
but the poor are left friendless.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will not escape.
6 Many seek the favor of the generous,
and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.
7 If the poor are hated even by their kin,
how much more are they shunned by their friends!
When they call after them, they are not there.
8 To get wisdom is to love oneself;
to keep understanding is to prosper.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and the liar will perish.
10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11 Those with good sense are slow to anger,
and it is their glory to overlook an offense.
12 A king’s anger is like the growling of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 A stupid child is ruin to a father,
and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
14 House and wealth are inherited from parents,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep;
an idle person will suffer hunger.
16 Those who keep the commandment will live;
those who are heedless of their ways will die.
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
and will be repaid in full.
18 Discipline your children while there is hope;
do not set your heart on their destruction.
19 A violent tempered person will pay the penalty;
if you effect a rescue, you will only have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom for the future.
21 The human mind may devise many plans,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.
22 What is desirable in a person is loyalty,
and it is better to be poor than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord is life indeed;
filled with it one rests secure
and suffers no harm.
24 The lazy person buries a hand in the dish,
and will not even bring it back to the mouth.
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
reprove the intelligent, and they will gain knowledge.
26 Those who do violence to their father and chase away their mother
are children who cause shame and bring reproach.
27 Cease straying, my child, from the words of knowledge,
in order that you may hear instruction.
28 A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
29 Condemnation is ready for scoffers,
and flogging for the backs of fools.
Chapter 20
1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
2 The dread anger of a king is like the growling of a lion;
anyone who provokes him to anger forfeits life itself.
3 It is honorable to refrain from strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel.
4 The lazy person does not plow in season;
harvest comes, and there is nothing to be found.
5 The purposes in the human mind are like deep water,
but the intelligent will draw them out.
6 Many proclaim themselves loyal,
but who can find one worthy of trust?
7 The righteous walk in integrity—
happy are the children who follow them!
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean;
I am pure from my sin”?
10 Diverse weights and diverse measures
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
11 Even children make themselves known by their acts,
by whether what they do is pure and right.
12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye—
the Lord has made them both.
13 Do not love sleep, or else you will come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
then goes away and boasts.
15 There is gold, and abundance of costly stones;
but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.
16 Take the garment of one who has given surety for a stranger;
seize the pledge given as surety for foreigners.
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet,
but afterward the mouth will be full of gravel.
18 Plans are established by taking advice;
wage war by following wise guidance.
19 A gossip reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate with a babbler.
20 If you curse father or mother,
your lamp will go out in utter darkness.
21 An estate quickly acquired in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.
22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
wait for the Lord, and he will help you.
23 Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
and false scales are not good.
24 All our steps are ordered by the Lord;
how then can we understand our own ways?
25 It is a snare for one to say rashly, “It is holy,”
and begin to reflect only after making a vow.
26 A wise king winnows the wicked,
and drives the wheel over them.
27 The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord,
searching every inmost part.
28 Loyalty and faithfulness preserve the king,
and his throne is upheld by righteousness.
29 The glory of youths is their strength,
but the beauty of the aged is their gray hair.
30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
beatings make clean the innermost parts.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that any of these verses will bear closer consideration and reflection; they purposely are seeking to provide deeper insight to common experiences. We can take the first few verses as an example.
“Better the poor walking in integrity than one perverse of speech who is a fool.”
This is fairly clear; better to be poor, but upright, than to speak foolishly and perversely, regardless of how much money you have.
“Desire without knowledge is not good, and one who moves too hurriedly misses the way.”
This one digs perhaps a little bit deeper, connecting desire without knowledge and excessive haste; it urges us to consider what causes us to hurry, and to consider what we desire more carefully. One might set this proverb against the Nike motto: “Just do it!” or the Sprite motto: “Obey your thirst!!
“One’s own folly leads to ruin, yet the heart rages against the Lord.”
This one strikes perhaps closest to home, and reflects on how, when we bring bad consequences upon ourselves by our own foolish actions, our frequent response is to blame God for what happens to us.
At any rate, any of these proverbs bear careful consideration, and it is worth listening to hear what strikes your attention, and to go back and reflect on it throughout the day.)
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)
Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos
As we begin the new Church Year, we always make a start with the celebration of the feast of the Birth of the Theotokos, the Mother of God. Her birth marks the formal beginning of the Lord’s work of His Incarnation, so it is fitting that we start the Church Year with this commemoration. This feast emphasizes the long waiting and hoping of the people of God for deliverance and salvation, looking to the birth of the Mother of God as the moment when these hopes begin to see their fulfillment. It is a fitting thing for us not just to celebrate this fulfillment, and as we celebrate this great feast, we will take the occasion, then, to read together some of the significant hymns of the Feast.
3rd Hymn of the Kekragaria
Although by God's will other barren women ⁄ have brought forth famous offspring, ⁄ Yet among those children ⁄ Mary shines brightest with divine glory. ⁄ Born wondrously herself of a barren mother, ⁄ she bore in the flesh the God of all, ⁄ in a manner surpassing nature, ⁄ from a womb without seed. ⁄ She is the single gateway of the only-begotten Son of God, ⁄ Who passed through this gate yet kept it sealed. ⁄ And having ordered all things in His own wisdom ⁄⁄ has wrought salvation for all mankind!
1st Hymn of the Liti
Today, people, the first fruit of our salvation is here! ⁄ For behold, she who was foreordained from generations of old ⁄ as Mother and Virgin and receiver of God, ⁄ comes forth in birth from a barren woman: ⁄ A flower has blossomed from Jesse, ⁄ and from his root a branch has sprung. ⁄ Let Adam our forefather be glad ⁄ and let Eve rejoice with exultation! ⁄ For behold, she who was made from the rib of Adam ⁄ plainly declares her daughter and descendant blessed. ⁄ For, she says, deliverance is born to me, ⁄ through which I shall be set free from the bonds of hell. ⁄ Let David rejoice, striking upon the harp, ⁄ and let him bless God: ⁄ For behold, the Virgin comes forth from a barren rock, ⁄⁄ for the salvation of our souls!
1st Kathisma Hymn of the Orthros
Shout, O David, and declare, * what oath did God swear to you? * And he answers, "What He swore, behold, He also has fulfilled, * for He has given the Virgin as the fruit of my loins. * From her has Christ the new Adam and Fashioner * been born, as it is written, to be King on my throne. * And He whose reign is unshakable is reigning today and forevermore. * The barren woman bears the Theotokos, * the nourisher of our Life."
Hymn from Ode 1 of the Canon of the Feast
Today the Bridge of Life is born. ⁄ Through her, mortals who have fallen into hell ⁄ find their way back up again ⁄ and with song, they glorify Christ, the Giver of life.
Hymn from Ode 6 of the Canon of the Feast
In you, undefiled One, ⁄ the mystery of the Trinity is praised and glorified: ⁄ for the Father was well-pleased with you, ⁄ and in you the Word made His dwelling among us, ⁄ and the Holy Spirit overshadowed you.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that, as we celebrate the fulfillment of the many promises and hopes of the Old Testament, rejoicing in the birth of the Virgin Mary, we should also reflect on our own hopes and struggles, and recognize that the Lord is faithful with us, even as He was faithful with the saints of the Old Testament. As we learn to wait upon Him, we will see Him faithful to us; but at the same time, we should note that He often comes to us, as He came to the parents of the Virgin, when hope is gone, when we are past our own efforts, when we are, and feel ourselves to be, barren. This is where our faithfulness to God is most difficult and most fruitful; this is where He comes to bring life and hope in the face of death and despair.)
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)
John 1:1-18 (The Word Became Flesh)
In Year 3 of the REI, we will read the Gospel according to John. This Gospel proceeds in a very different direction from the other three; while they all roughly follow the same trajectory, and many times tell the same stories, John tells many different stories, which do not appear in the others, and emphasizes the Lord’s words more than anyone else, and provides more depth of theology as well. Thus he begins with a brief theological reflection, connecting the Lord’s Incarnation explicitly with the action and person of the Word of God in the Old Testament.
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
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 this is the Gospel reading that we read in the Church during the Paschal Divine Liturgy on Easter itself. As we stand in the glory and joy of the Lord’s Resurrection, we confess Who He is, and what it is that He has done for us, giving us “the power to become children of God,” so that from His fullness, we all receive grace upon grace. The essential point here, however, is that the Word of God has been with the creation from the beginning, that He is, as we say in the Creed, the one “through Whom all things were made,” and that now, He has become flesh, and dwelt among us, so that we can see Him, Who has been with us from the beginning, and is Himself our God. In this, the full divinity of the Lord is upheld and emphasized clearly. It may be suggested that St. John, writing later than the other evangelists, takes the opportunity to make explicit what is sometimes left more implicit by the “Synoptic” evangelists.)
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?