Day 1 (Monday)
1 Kingdoms 16:1-23; 17:1-11 (David Anointed, Goliath Challenges Israel)
So far in this 4th year of the REI, our Day 1 readings have been focused on the lives of Isaac and Jacob, the Patriarchs, and then on the time of the Judges, with the stories of Gideon and then of Ruth. Over the Christmas season we read the beginning of the book of Daniel, with the vision of King Nebuchadnezzar of the coming of the Messiah, and then elements from Proverbs. Last week we read Psalm 77/78, which sums up the often repeated cycle of deliverance, faithlessness, repentance, and deliverance once again in the relationship between the people of Israel and Yahweh the God of Israel. It culminated in a celebration of the Lord's deliverance of His people once again through David, and we will pick up this week with the beginning of the story of David, from the book of 1 Samuel/1 Kingdoms. We have actually read the portion from chapter 16 before, last year, as the conclusion to our readings about King Saul, but we will read it once again as we begin David's story. We should remember that Saul has just explicitly disobeyed God's commandment, and has been finally rejected as king. Samuel is grieving for Saul's fall, when the Lord comes to him and commands him to go and anoint the king that God has chosen to shepherd His people.
1 Kingdoms 16:1-23; 17:1-11 (David Anointed as King, Plays the Lyre for Saul, Goliath comes to challenge Israel)
David Anointed as King
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.”
And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
David Plays the Lyre for Saul
14 Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him.”
19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David who is with the sheep.” 20 Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.
Goliath Challenges Israel
17 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him.
8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
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 David is not chosen because of his strength, or beauty, or youth, or leadership qualities, but because of his heart. We see this at work immediately, as he is chosen to play the harp for Saul; the king has fallen into evil, and thus is plagued by an evil spirit, but David’s presence and prayer (we can assume that he is singing one of the Psalms as he sings) result in the departure of the evil spirit. The gist of this story, then, is that as soon as the Lord has chosen His Anointed One/Messiah, we see challenges that the current order is unable to manage, but which the Lord will use David to conquer, that is to say, first the demonic power troubling Saul, and then the giant Goliath, as we will see next 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 2 (Wednesday)
St. Anthony the Great on the Kingdom of Heaven
As the last great persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire was winding down, and it came to be an easier life to be a Christian in the world, and many of the great and powerful in the empire were becoming Christians, the first stirrings of what eventually became Orthodox Christian monasticism began out in the desert of Egypt. One of the great early monastic saints was St. Anthony. Since we celebrate his feast day this week, on the 17th, we will begin this week to read excerpts from a talk that he gave to the other monks about the Christian life, and how to choose the Kingdom of Heaven above the things of this world.
St. Anthony the Great on the Kingdom of Heaven and our Adversaries, the Evil Spirits
Reading 1 of 7
16. One day when he had gone out, all the monks came to him, asking to hear a discourse. In the Egyptian tongue he told them these things. “The Scriptures are sufficient for instruction, but it is good for us to encourage each other in the faith. Now you, saying what you know, bring this to the father like children, and I, as your elder, will share what I know and the fruits of my experience. In the first place, let us hold in common the same eagerness not to surrender what we have begun, either by growing fainthearted in the labors or by saying, ‘We have spent a long time in the discipline.’ Rather, as though making a beginning daily, let us increase our dedication.
For the entire life span of men is very brief when measured against the ages to come, so that all our time is nothing in comparison with eternal life. Everything in the world is sold for what it is worth, and someone trades an item for its equivalent. But the promise of eternal life is purchased for very little. For it is written: “The days of our lives have seventy years in them, but if men should be in strength, eighty years, and what is more than these would be labor and trouble” (Psalm 89:10)
When, therefore, we live the whole eighty years, or even a hundred in the discipline, these hundred are not equal to the years we shall reign, for instead of a hundred we shall reign forever and ever. And even though we have been contestants on earth, we do not receive our inheritance on earth, but we possess the promises in heaven. Putting off the body, then, which is corruptible, we receive it back incorruptible.
17. “Therefore, my children, let us not lose heart. Let us not think that the time is too long or what we do is great, for “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). And let us not consider, when we look at the world, that we have given up things of some greatness, for even the entire earth is itself quite small in relation to all of heaven. If now it happened that we were lords of all the earth, and renounced all the earth, that would amount to nothing as compared with the kingdom of heaven.
For just as if someone might despise one copper drachma in order to gain a hundred gold drachmas, so he who is ruler of the whole earth, and renounces it, loses little, and he receives a hundred times more. But if all the earth is not equal in value to the heavens, then he who has given up a few arourae sacrifices virtually nothing, and even if he should give up a house or considerable wealth, he has no reason to boast or grow careless.
We ought also to realize that if we do not surrender these things through virtue, then later when we die we shall leave these things behind—often, to those whom we do not wish, as Ecclesiastes reminds us. (4:8; 6:2) This being the case, why should we not give them up for virtue’s sake, so that we might inherit even a kingdom? Let none among us have even the yearning to possess.
For what benefit is there in possessing these things that we do not take with us? Why not rather own those things that we are able to take away with us—such things as prudence, justice, temperance, courage, understanding, love, concern for the poor, faith in Christ, freedom from anger, hospitality? If we possess these, we shall discover them running before, preparing hospitality for us there in the land of the meek.
18. “With these thoughts let a person convince himself not to grow careless, especially if he considers himself to be the Lord’s servant, obliged to do his master’s will. Just as a servant would not dare to say, ‘Since I worked yesterday, I am not working today,’ nor, counting the time that has passed, relax in the days ahead; but each day, as it is written in the Gospel (Luke 17:7), he shows the same eagerness in order to please his lord and avoid peril—so also let us persist daily in the ascetic life, knowing that if we are lax even one day, the Lord will not forgive us on the basis of past performance, but will direct his wrath against us because of our neglect. So have we heard in Ezekiel (3:20; 33:12; 18:26); and so also we see in the case of Judas, who destroyed in one night what he had achieved in the preceding time.
19. “Therefore, my children, let us hold to the discipline, and not be careless. For we have the Lord for our coworker in this, as it is written, God works for good with everyone who chooses the good (Romans 8:28). And in order that we not become negligent, it is good to carefully consider the Apostle’s statement: “I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31) For if we so live as people dying daily, we will not commit sin. The point of the saying is this: As we rise daily, let us suppose that we shall not survive till evening, and again, as we prepare for sleep, let us consider that we shall not awaken.
By its very nature our life is uncertain, and is meted out daily by providence. If we think this way, and in this way live—daily—we will not sin, nor will we crave anything, nor bear a grudge against anyone, nor will we lay up treasures on earth, but as people who anticipate dying each day we shall be free of possessions, and we shall forgive all things to all people. The desire for a woman, or another sordid pleasure, we shall not merely control—rather, we shall turn from it as something transitory, forever doing battle and looking toward the day of judgment. For the larger fear and dread of the torments always destroys pleasure’s smooth allure, and rouses the declining soul.
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 two basic points that St. Anthony is making. First, on a broad basis, that this life as we experience it, weighed against the entirety of the existence for which we are created, is a small and insubstantial thing, and it is important for us, who have received the first taste of that greater purpose, to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God, and not be drawn away by the small temptations and distractions of this present life. Second, that it is important that we not grow lax in this, but live each day, and really each moment, as though it is the moment of decision…because in truth, it is!)
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 8:12-20 (Jesus the Light of the World)
Last time we saw the Lord in the Temple, with the people and the religious authorities divided about Him, and we saw them bring to Him a woman who had been caught in sin, and ask Him whether she should be stoned, as Moses had commanded in the Law. The Lord affirms the Law’s judgment, but urges the first stone to be cast by whoever in the crowd is without sin himself. The entire crowd melts away, and the Lord, Who alone is without sin, gives mercy to the woman, urging her to go and sin no more. Having done so, He continues to preach there in the Temple, continuing the conversation with them.
Jesus the Light of the World
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 13 Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.”
14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.”
19 Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader can point out that Jesus is continuing to tell them exactly Who He is, in speaking about Himself as the Light of the world. This is another way of telling them that the time of decision is at hand; if they listen to Him, and follow Him, then they will walk in the light, but if they reject Him, then they will be left in darkness. We heard similar language in the prologue of John’s Gospel, when he said that life was in the Logos of God, and “the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5). Their arguments with Him, then are nit-picking and legalistic, and are purposefully ignoring the content of what He is saying. They are not listening in good faith…and therefore they do not recognize or know 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?