Day 1 (Monday)
Genesis 26:34-35; 27:1-40 (Esau’s Hittite Wives, Isaac Blesses Jacob)
Last time we saw God renew the Promise to Isaac, commanding him not to go into Egypt, but to remain as an alien in the land. We saw Isaac obey God, and exist in constant insecurity and movement as the residents of what eventually became Philistia drove him from well to well, until he finally came to a place where he could remain at peace with them. Having trusted and waited upon the Lord, he was finally granted a space of peace from outside. Now we will see more of what his family life is like…
Esau’s Hittite Wives
34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite; 35 and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.
Isaac Blesses Jacob
27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. 4 Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food to eat, that I may bless you before the Lord before I die.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. 9 Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he likes; 10 and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”
11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” 13 His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me.” 14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob; 16 and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she handed the savory food, and the bread that she had prepared, to her son Jacob.
18 So he went in to his father, and said, “My father”; and he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.”
22 So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” 25 Then he said, “Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said,
“Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give you of the dew of heaven,
and of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”
Esau’s Lost Blessing
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared savory food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father sit up and eat of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your firstborn son, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him?—yes, and blessed he shall be!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, me also, father!” 35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36 Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and look, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have already made him your lord, and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also, father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
39 Then his father Isaac answered him:
“See, away from the fatness of the earth shall your home be,
and away from the dew of heaven on high.
40 By your sword you shall live,
and you shall serve your brother;
but when you break loose,
you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that this passage is one of the most discussed passages in the Scripture. The apparent tension between Isaac and Rebecca regarding their respective favorites, the deception accomplished by Jacob and Rebecca, and the particular nature of the blessing given by Isaac to Jacob, when he thinks Jacob is Esau, are all remarkable and troubling. There are no clear and easy “good guys” in the passage; we see rather all the hallmarks of real and broken human beings in conflict with one another. One thought that may be worth considering is that, at this point, the blessing that both Esau and Jacob are seeking is wealth and power; it is notable that this is the blessing that Isaac gives to Esau, or rather to Jacob pretending to be Esau. It may be, as well, that this is why Isaac is so troubled when he realizes the deceit; Jacob has taken a blessing that is second-best, the one fit for Esau’s troubled character, beloved though he is to his father, but not fit for the bearer of God’s Promise of the coming Messiah. We will consider this more in the weeks to come.)
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)
Prayers at the End of the Prothesis & at the Small Entrance
Most of us are accustomed to the normal flow of the Sunday Divine Liturgy, but many of the prayers of the service are said silently by the Priest, either in preparation for the service, or as the clergy portion which is prayed while the Faithful are singing or praying their set parts. This “division of labor” is a normal part of our liturgical worship, but it is good to examine these silent prayers, in order to understand more clearly what is happening in the Liturgy, and how we should approach our worship ourselves.
Prior to the service, the Priest has already prepared the Bread and Wine that will be offered as our Eucharist, our Offering of Thanksgiving to God. At the conclusion of that preparation, he says four prayers, which we will read today. Then, after the service has begun, at the point of the Small Entrance, when the clergy carry the Gospel onto the Solea and then sing: “Come, let us worship and bow down to Christ…,” there is another prayer that reflects the history of the Small Entrance as the formal moment of entering the Church in the ancient Liturgy. What these five prayers have to say are helpful for us, expressing what we are doing when we take part in the Divine Liturgy, so we will read them today.
Prayers at the Conclusion of the Prothesis (Preparation of the Gifts)
Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one. Your Cross do we worship, O Christ, and Your holy Resurrection do we hymn and glorify. For You are our God, we know no other but You, we call upon Your name. Come all the faithful, let us worship the holy Resurrection of Christ; for behold through the Cross, joy has come in all the world. Ever blessing the Lord, we extol His Resurrection. For enduring the Cross for us, He destroyed death by death.
Then these three Troparia:
With Your body You were in the grave, with Your soul in Hades as God; and in Paradise with the thief, and on the throne with the Father and the Spirit, O Christ, the Uncircumscribed One, filling all things.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
Your tomb, O Christ, has been manifested as the source of life, more beautiful than Paradise, and truly, as the font of our resurrection it is more brilliant than a royal bridal chamber.
Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Rejoice, O sanctified divine temple of the Most High; for through you, Theotokos, joy has been given to those who cry out: “Blessed are you among women, all-blameless Lady.”
And then, much later, after the Liturgy has begun and the Antiphons have been sung:
Prayer at the Entrance of the Gospel
Master and Lord our God, You have established in heaven the orders and hosts of angels and archangels to minister to Your glory. Grant that the holy angels may enter with us that together we may serve and glorify Your goodness. For to You belong all glory, honor, and worship to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should point out how the initial prayer “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ…” sums up what the Lord has done for us, and what our response is to His Cross and Resurrection. The other prayers affirm several essential points: first, that the Lord is not limited or containable, even in the moment of His death, but remains present everywhere, remains fully Divine, even as He immerses Himself in death and descends into Hades. Second, that by His death and resurrection, the tomb itself becomes a fountain of blessings, and third, that the Theotokos is also the wellspring of joy for us. Finally, the prayer of the Entrance reflects on how our worship here on earth is united with the ongoing worship of the angels before the Throne of God on high. So the summary of all this is that the Lord has united Himself with us in His Passion and Resurrection, and thus calls us to be united with Him, and it is this call that we answer every time we celebrate the Eucharist.)
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 2:1-25 (Wedding at Cana, Jesus Cleanses the Temple)
Last time, we saw the Lord call his first disciples, beginning with the two that St. John the Baptist sent to follow Him, and continuing with their brothers, James and Peter, and then with Philip and Nathanael of Bethsaida. Having called these disciples, and told them that they will see the heavens open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man, we will now see Him begin His ministry and miracles.
The Wedding at Cana
2 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”
17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
23 When he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone.
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 a few things. First, it is significant that the Lord begins His ministry at a wedding, blessing the union, and blessing the celebration of that union, with a transformation of water into something more than water. This passage is read at the Orthodox wedding service, and among other things, the water being changed into wine is an image of what God does to a man and woman when they come for marriage, changing and calling them to something more than what they naturally are themselves. Second, it is striking that St. John shows the Lord’s next action being to go to the Temple and to cleanse it, claiming it as His Father’s house. This is before He does anything else except for blessing the marriage; so John is making absolutely explicit that the Lord is, and claims to be from the very beginning, the eternal Word and Son of God.)
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?