Day 1 (Monday)
1 Kingdoms 19:1-24 (Saul Tries to Kill David, Saul’s Children Defend David)
Last time, we saw David serve Saul, and meet with great success, both in battle against the Philistines, and in gaining the love of Israel at large, and of Saul’s family in particular. David became fast friends with Saul’s son Jonathan, and won the hand of Saul’s daughter Michal, so that by the end of our last reading, David is Saul’s son-in-law, as well as one of his top military leaders. Unfortunately, however, the reason that Saul offered his daughter to David was that he hoped David would be killed in the task Saul set him to win her; instead, David succeeded. So Saul is jealous of David, and is seeking to destroy him, although David has done nothing but serve Saul faithfully. We will see how matters develop this week.
Jonathan Intercedes for David
19 Saul spoke with his son Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David. But Saul’s son Jonathan took great delight in David. 2 Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell you.”
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you; 5 for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?” 6 Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7 So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
Michal Helps David Escape from Saul
8 Again there was war, and David went out to fight the Philistines. He launched a heavy attack on them, so that they fled before him. 9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing music. 10 Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped that night.
11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, planning to kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through the window; he fled away and escaped. 13 Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed; she put a net of goats’ hair on its head, and covered it with the clothes.
14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David for themselves. He said, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16 When the messengers came in, the idol was in the bed, with the covering of goats’ hair on its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go; why should I kill you?’”
David Joins Samuel in Ramah
18 Now David fled and escaped; he came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and settled at Naioth. 19 Saul was told, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David. When they saw the company of the prophets in a frenzy, with Samuel standing in charge of them, the spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also fell into a prophetic frenzy. 21 When Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they also fell into a frenzy. Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also fell into a frenzy.
22 Then he himself went to Ramah. He came to the great well that is in Secu; he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “They are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 He went there, toward Naioth in Ramah; and the spirit of God came upon him. As he was going, he fell into a prophetic frenzy, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 He too stripped off his clothes, and he too fell into a frenzy before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all that night. Therefore it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
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 passage is more about Saul’s continued fall than about David; David is the Lord’s Anointed, His Christ, His Messiah (these words are all the same, from English, Greek, and Hebrew respectively), and God has rejected Saul in choosing David, but…God is not commanding David to seize the throne. Rather, David is a firm and loyal supporter of Saul’s rule, beloved to Saul’s children, and a leader of Saul’s armies…but Saul is jealous of him, and is determined to destroy him. The Lord, in bringing first Saul’s messengers, and finally Saul himself, into the ranks of the prophets, is showing Saul clearly that David is favored, and that Saul is wrong…but Saul refuses to receive this message and repent. Saul could have had his kingdom firmly upheld and confirmed, could have had his son rule after him, perhaps in a joint rule with David, could have been protected from evil spirits, could have continued to be blessed. He has undone himself.)
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
In mid-January, we began to read through a discourse delivered by St. Anthony to other monastics in the Egyptian desert at some point in the 4th century; we paused last week to read elements from the services for the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple, but we return to that discouse of the saint this week. Last time, St. Anthony was explaining the way in which the evil spirits attack the Faithful, how they begin with evil thoughts, and proceed to apparitions and visions intended to frighten us, and how, if they fail in this as well, they bring forward their leader, the devil. We continue at this point.
St. Anthony the Great on the Evil Spirits
Reading 3
24. Antony continued: “Frequently they appear to be like the devil, which the Lord revealed to Job saying, “His eyes are like the appearance of the morning star. Out of his mouth proceed burning lamps and hearths of fire are cast forth. Out of his nostrils proceeds smoke of a furnace burning with fire of coals. His breath is live coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth” (Job 41:9-12). When the prince of the demons appears in this form, the deceitful one seeks to terrify, as I said earlier, making grand statements, as the Lord described him to Job saying, “For he considers iron as chaff, and brass as rotten wood … and he regards the sea as a pot of ointment, and the lowest part of the deep as a captive; he reckons the deep as a place for walking” (Job 41:22-23), and through the prophet, “The enemy said: I will pursue, I will overtake” (Exodus 15:9), and through another, “and I will take with my hand all the world as a nest, and I will even take them as eggs that have been left” (Isaiah 10:14).
In short, they set about their boasting with claims of this sort, and they profess them in order to deceive the pious. But again there is no need for us, the faithful, to fear his manifestations nor to worry about his words, for he lies—he speaks no truth whatever. Although he speaks such and so many things, and is overbold, never mind—like a serpent he was drawn in with a hook by the Savior, and like a beast of burden he received a halter around the snout, and like a runaway he was bound by a ring for his nostrils, and his lips were pierced by an iron clasp (Job 40:20). He was also bound by the Lord like a sparrow, to receive our mockery (Job 40:24). And, like scorpions and snakes, he and his fellow demons have been put in a position to be trampled underfoot by us Christians.
The evidence of this is that we now conduct our lives in opposition to him. For he who threatened to dry up the sea and seize the world, take note that now he is unable to hinder your asceticism, or even my speaking against him. Therefore let us not pay attention to what he might say—for he lies—nor let us be frightened by his apparitions, which themselves are also deceptions. What appears in them is not true light; rather, they contain the initial elements and likenesses of the fire prepared for them, and in those elements in which they are soon to be consumed they attempt to terrify mankind. They do, without doubt, appear, but they disappear again at once, harming none of the faithful, but carrying with themselves the likeness of the fire that is about to receive them. So here it is not necessary to fear them, for by the grace of Christ all their pursuits come to nothing.
25. “But they are treacherous and prepared to be changed and transformed into all shapes. Frequently, without becoming visible, they pretend to chant with sacred songs, and they recite sayings from the Scriptures. And even when we are reading, they are able to say right away and repeatedly, as if in echo, the same things we have read. While we are sleeping they arouse us for prayers, and they do this incessantly, hardly allowing us to sleep. It is possible, when they model themselves after the form of monks, for them to pretend to speak like the devout, so that by means of the similarity of form they deceive, and then drag those whom they have beguiled wherever they wish.
Nevertheless it is unnecessary to heed them, even if they awaken you for prayer, or counsel you to eat nothing at all, or pretend to level accusations and reproaches concerning actions for which, at another time, they excused us. They do not do these things for the sake of piety or truth, but so that they might bring the simple to despair, and declare the discipline useless, and make men sick of the solitary life as something burdensome and very oppressive, and trip up those who, opposing them, lead it.
26. “The prophet sent by the Lord called such creatures wretched when he said, “Woe to him that gives his neighbor a troubled drink” (Habbakuk 2:15). For such practices and thoughts are subversive of the way that leads to virtue. The Lord himself, even if the demons spoke the truth (for they said truly, “You are the Son of God” (Luke 4:41)), still silenced them and prevented their speaking, so they would not sow their own evil with the truth, and in order that he might train us never to heed such as these, even if they seem to speak the truth. For it is not fitting for us, who possess the holy Scriptures and the freedom of the Savior, to be taught by the devil, the one who did not maintain his own rank (Jude 6), but has turned his mind in one direction after another.
For this reason, even when he utters sayings from the Scriptures, the Lord stops him by saying: “But to the sinner God has said, Why do you declare my ordinances, and take up my covenant in your mouth?” (Psalm 49:16). For everything they do—they talk, they cause mass confusion, they pretend to be others than themselves, and they create disturbances—all this is for the deception of the simple. They also make crashing sounds and laugh madly, and hiss. But if one should pay no attention to them, they cry out and lament as though vanquished.
27. “Therefore the Lord, as God, silenced the demons. But it is fitting for us, since we have learned from the holy ones, to act as they acted and to emulate their courage. For when they saw these things, they used to say, “When the sinner stood in my presence, I was dumb, and humbled myself, and kept silence from good words” (Psalm 38:1-2), and again, “But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and was as a deaf man not opening his mouth. And I was as a man that hears not” (Psalm 38:13). Therefore let us also pay them no heed, treating them as strangers to us, and let us not obey them, even in the event that they arouse us for prayer, or talk to us about fasting. Rather, let us devote ourselves to our own purpose in the discipline, and not be led astray by them, though they do all things with cunning. We must not fear them, even though they seem to assault us or threaten us with death, for they are weak and have power to do nothing except hurl threats.
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 St. Anthony is, on the one hand, outlining how frightening the evil spirits can be in their attacks on the Faithful, and in this, is effectively recounting his own experiences. But on the other hand, he is affirming clearly that even the extremity of this attack shows that they have no power over us, for the Lord has trampled and destroyed their power, and we stand under His protection. Thus he turns and speaks rather of their craftiness, and of how they make a pretence of piety and prayer, in order to lead astray those who are seeking to draw near to the Lord. He doesn't make this point expressly here, but it is worth noting that this reality of deception and delusion is a strong part of the reason that monastics especially, who are usually the ones attacked in this way, live in such strict obedience to their spiritual father, as the spiritual father's guidance is a safeguard against the deceptions used by the demons. There is a great wisdom to a simple rule of faithfulness, and to give no heed to any voices, whether they urge us to be more strict, or less strict, with ourselves.)
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 9:1-12 (Man Born Blind Receives Sight)
Last week, we saw the end of the Lord's interaction with the people and the Pharisees in the Temple. After the conversation had gone back and forth several times, the Lord conclude by telling them explicitly Who He Is, saying: "Before Abraham was, I AM." At this point, they all took up stones to kill Him, but He passed through the midst of them, as it was not yet His time to offer Himself for us, and for the life of the world. This time, we will see what comes next, as He proceeds from the Temple along His way.
A Man Born Blind Receives Sight
9 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7 saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.”
He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
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 this brief story connects with everything that Jesus has been saying just before in the Temple. He repeats here that He is the Light of the world, and then He gives sight to a man blind from birth. He has just told the Pharisees and all the people that He Himself is Yahweh, the God of Israel, and then He does what only the Most-High God could do, in creating new eyes from clay for the man born without eyes. In all of this, the Lord is showing Himself clearly to be Who He says that He 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?