Day 1 (Monday)
Daniel 1:1-21: 2:1-45
Last time, we finished reading the short book of Ruth, and saw the “prequel” to the story of King David. We will continue the story of King David in the new year, but for these final weeks, as we prepare to celebrate the Lord’s birth, and the salvation that comes to us all, we will fast forward several hundred years to the end of David’s kingdom in Jerusalem, at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. When this king took the city, he took captive certain young men of the city, among whom was Daniel. This week, we will read the prelude of Daniel’s time in Babylon, and next week, as we are celebrating Christmas, we will read the vision of the king that Daniel interpreted.
Four Young Israelites at the Babylonian Court
1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power, as well as some of the vessels of the house of God. These he brought to the land of Shinar, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his gods.
3 Then the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to bring some of the Israelites of the royal family and of the nobility, 4 young men without physical defect and handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight, and competent to serve in the king’s palace; they were to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine.
They were to be educated for three years, so that at the end of that time they could be stationed in the king’s court. 6 Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the tribe of Judah. 7 The palace master gave them other names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.
8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine; so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself. 9 Now God allowed Daniel to receive favor and compassion from the palace master. 10 The palace master said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king; he has appointed your food and your drink. If he should see you in poorer condition than the other young men of your own age, you would endanger my head with the king.”
11 Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 You can then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat the royal rations, and deal with your servants according to what you observe.” 14 So he agreed to this proposal and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations. 16 So the guard continued to withdraw their royal rations and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom; Daniel also had insight into all visions and dreams.
18 At the end of the time that the king had set for them to be brought in, the palace master brought them into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar, 19 and the king spoke with them. And among them all, no one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they were stationed in the king’s court. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. 21 And Daniel continued there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
2 In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed such dreams that his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 So the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had such a dream that my spirit is troubled by the desire to understand it.”
4 The Chaldeans said to the king (in Aramaic), “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will reveal the interpretation.” 5 The king answered the Chaldeans, “This is a public decree: if you do not tell me both the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you do tell me the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
7 They answered a second time, “Let the king first tell his servants the dream, then we can give its interpretation.” 8 The king answered, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see I have firmly decreed: 9 if you do not tell me the dream, there is but one verdict for you. You have agreed to speak lying and misleading words to me until things take a turn. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can reveal what the king demands! In fact no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king is asking is too difficult, and no one can reveal it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
12 Because of this the king flew into a violent rage and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 The decree was issued, and the wise men were about to be executed; and they looked for Daniel and his companions, to execute them. 14 Then Daniel responded with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the king’s chief executioner, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon; 15 he asked Arioch, the royal official, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 So Daniel went in and requested that the king give him time and he would tell the king the interpretation.
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 how the actions of Daniel and his friends show that not everyone in Judah was faithless. The king and many of the people had abandoned Yahweh the God of Israel, and had therefore come under judgment, and brought their entire kingdom with them. But Daniel and his friends continue to trust in the Lord, and even in captivity, we see that they are blessed. Moreover, we see that they are serving the king of their captivity faithfully and loyally, except insofar as it leads them into sin…and we see the Lord honoring and protecting them in this. As for what the king dreamed, we will discuss this next week. It is not for nothing, however, that next week’s reading is included in the readings for the Great Vespers of Christmas Eve.)
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. Joseph the Hesychast on Exile
St. Joseph is a new saint, and was canonized on March 9th, 2020. He was born in 1897, and became a monastic on Mt. Athos in his early 20’s. He, and several of his spiritual children, were directly involved in the renewal of monastic life in six of the twenty monasteries on Mt. Athos, and throughout the world, especially in the United States. The following is taken from the book “Monastic Wisdom,” which is a collection of many letters which he wrote to spiritual children during his lifetime.
On Exile and Life in the World
“Alas! We are in exile and we do not want to realize it. We do not want to see from what heights we have fallen. But with our own evil will, we cover our ears and shut our eyes, blinding ourselves willingly so that we might not see the truth. Woe to us, for we consider the darkness here to be light, and for a paltry pleasure that this world offers, we avoid the light there as if it were darkness. We avoid it because of the small sorrow that the body encounters, and lose the repose there.
Woe to our wretchedness! For God calls out to us to become His children, but we become sons of darkness. We exchange eternity for a little bit of honey. For the small pleasure of luxury or glory, we deny and fall away from the glory of the kingdom of God. So blessed is he who sees this deception and abstains from the fleeting pleasures of this world, and aspires to the enjoyment that awaits us.” (41st Letter)
Elder Joseph the Hesychast. Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast. St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery, Florence, Arizona. 2016.
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 the saint is speaking about exile as the reality in which we live, and which we try to deny…and it is this denial of our exile which prolongs and intensifies it, as we seek more desperately for fulfillment from the passing pleasures of life, rather than confess our sin and exile, and turn back towards the Lord. What we saw from Daniel and his friends in the Day 1 reading was exactly the opposite; being in exile, they turned towards the Lord in more particular and determined faithfulness, and in this way, their exile became the means of their salvation and glorification.)
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 6:60-71; 7:1-9 (The Words of Eternal Life, Unbelief of Jesus' Brothers)
The last few weeks, we have seen the Lord discussing His miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 with those who had received that miracle, as He tells them that they should be seeking not for further signs and miracles from Him, but rather need to be recognizing and understanding that true nourishment of their entire being, soul and body, comes from Him, that He Himself is not just the one who gives bread to them, but Who IS the Bread of Heaven. When He tells them that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood, or else they will have no life in them, they are incredulous. We will see what their reaction is in this week’s reading.
The Words of Eternal Life
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” 61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”
66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. 67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas son of Simon Iscariot, for he, though one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
The Unbelief of Jesus’ Brothers
7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him. 2 Now the Jewish festival of Booths was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing; 4 for no one who wants to be widely known acts in secret. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.) 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil. 8 Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
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 how the Lord’s words about the Eucharist, about Himself as the Bread of Heaven, the Bread of Life, were more than many of His disciples could stand or understand, and many of them left Him. He had the opportunity to soften His words, as we have seen the last several weeks, but He did not, because there is no way to soften the crisis for us. We cannot hold onto the priorities of this world, and still receive the Lord. This crisis point leaves only the twelve with Him. Even His “brothers,” the sons of Joseph by his first wife, do not believe in Him; they tell Him to go and prove Himself to everyone in Judaea, not understanding that once He invites that confrontation with the religious authorities in Judaea, the time for His Passion will have arrived. It is not the time for this yet; so He is not going to Judaea for the festival, at least not publicly, and not at the beginning of the Festival…as we’ll see next week, He does in fact go.)
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?