Day 1 (Monday)
Daniel 6 (Daniel in the Lions’ Den)
Last time, we saw the end of the Babylonian Empire, as the Medes and Persians came and conquered Babylon. God sent a final warning to the son of the king, Belshazzar, as he was in the midst of a great and sinful party, using the vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem to drink wine, and Daniel interpreted the warning even as it was being fulfilled. This time, we will see how Daniel fares in the kingdom of the Medes and Persians.
The Plot against Daniel
6 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, 2 and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Soon Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom.
4 So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. 5 The men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”
6 So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to anyone, divine or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict.
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
10 Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously. 11 The conspirators came and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God. 12 Then they approached the king and said concerning the interdict, “O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human, within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions?”
The king answered, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 13 Then they responded to the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day.”
14 When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. 15 Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”
16 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” 17 A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.
Daniel Saved from the Lions
19 Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. 20 When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.”
23 Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.
25 Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: “May you have abundant prosperity! 26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:
For he is the living God,
enduring forever.
His kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion has no end.
27 He delivers and rescues,
he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;
for he has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Reading 15 – 897 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note first of all that this is Daniel’s opportunity to once again show faithfulness to God in the face of a threat; we saw his friends, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael do the same in the story of the Fiery Furnace, and now Daniel faces the same choice, and he shows faithfulness to God, and God is faithful to him, protecting and preserving him from the lions. We should also address a historical point with this text; it speaks of the Persian king being Darius. History tells us that the first king of the Persians was Cyrus, and that he was succeeded by his son Cambyses, and then after a series of successions and coups, Darius the Great came to the throne in 522 BC. If Daniel was around 10 years old in 601 BC, when Nebuchadnezzer took him and brought him into Babylon, then that would make Daniel very old at this point, 79 or 80 years old. It’s also possible that the names have become confused, and the Scripture writer is calling Cyrus by the name of Darius, but it seems more likely to me that they are simply skipping over Cyrus’ reign to reach this relevant story from the life of Daniel.)
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)
Irenaeus – Against Heresies 6
Last time we read some additional excerpts from Book 3 of 5 from “Against Heresies,” in which Irenaeus spoke about how the Lord Jesus Christ, in His Incarnation, united Himself with humanity, and therefore brought incorruption and glory to our nature. This time, we will move on to Book 4, and will see him speak Christ as the One speaking to and through Moses and the prophets, and then we will see an exegesis on one of the Lord’s parables, and an expansion of some of the Lord’s words about His relationship with the Father. We are drawing these selections from a recent condensation of this very substantial work by an academic named James Payton; anyone who would like to purchase this book can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Irenaeus-Christian-Faith-Condensation-Heresies/dp/1608996247/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
St. Irenaeus of Lyons – Against Heresies – Book 4 (excerpts 1)
Book 4, Preface
The serpent beguiled Eve, by promising her what he did not have himself. This is also what these heretics do with their pretensions to superior knowledge and acquaintance with ineffable mysteries.… The aim of him who envies our life is to get people to disbelieve their own salvation, and to get them to blaspheme against God the creator. For whatever the various heretics have advanced, even with utmost solemnity, they eventually come to the point that they blaspheme the creator and deny the salvation of the body, which is God’s handiwork.… (4:pref,4)
Book 4, Chapters 2
Since the writings of Moses are the words of Christ, he himself declares to the Jews, as John recorded in the gospel, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” [John 5:46–47]. He thus indicates in the clearest way that the writings of Moses are his words. If, then, this was the case with Moses, then beyond a doubt, the words of the other prophets are also his, as I have pointed out. And again, the Lord himself presented Abraham as saying to the rich man with regard to those who were still alive, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” [Luke 16:31]. (4:2,3)
With that story, he not only told us about a poor man and a rich one. He also warned us against leading a luxurious life, one of worldly pleasures and constant feasting, lest we become slaves to our lusts and forget God: he said, “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day” [Luke 16:19]. Through Isaiah the Spirit warned about being the kind of people “whose feasts consist of lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine, but who do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands” [Isa 5:12].
Lest we incur the same punishment as these people did, the Lord reveals their end, showing at the same time that if they had obeyed Moses and the prophets, they would believe in him whom Moses and the prophets had preached. The one they thus preached was the Son of God, who rose from the dead, and bestows life upon us.… Many who are of the circumcision do believe in him: these have rightly heard Moses and the prophets announcing the coming of the Son of God.… (4:2,4)
Book 4, Chapter 6
The Lord, who revealed to his disciples that he himself is the Word who grants knowledge of the Father, and who reproved the Jews who imagined that they had God but nevertheless rejected his Word, through whom God is made known, declared: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” [Matt 11:27; cf. Luke 10:22]. This is the way Matthew put it; Luke and Mark do so in similar words; John omits this passage. The heretics, however, who would be wiser than the apostles, explain the verse … as if the true God were known to no one before our Lord’s advent, and that the God who was announced by the prophets was not the Father of Christ. (4:6,1)
But if Christ only began to have existence when he came into the world as human, and if the Father only remembered to provide for human beings’ needs in the time of Tiberius Caesar, and if his Word has not always coexisted with his creatures, then it was not necessary for another God to be proclaimed; instead, the reasons for such great carelessness and neglect on his part should be made the subject of investigation. No question like that should even arise and gather enough force both to alter God and destroy our faith in the creator who supports us through his creation. For as we direct our faith towards the Son, so also should we possess a firm and immoveable love towards the Father.… (4:6,2)
No one can know the Father unless the Son reveals him; neither can anyone know the Son, except by the good pleasure of the Father. But the Son accomplishes the good pleasure of the Father, for the Father sends and the Son is sent. The Word knows, as far as regards us, that his Father is invisible and infinite. Since he cannot be declared by anyone else, he himself declares him to us; on the other hand, it is the Father alone who knows his own Word. Our Lord declared both these truths. So, the Son reveals the knowledge of the Father through his own manifestation: indeed, this constitutes the knowledge of the Father, for all things are made known through the Word.
Therefore, so that we might know that the Son who came is the one who grants to those who believe in him a knowledge of the Father, he said to his disciples, “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” [Matt 11:27]. In this way, he presented himself and the Father, so that we may not receive any other Father except the one who is revealed by the Son. (4:6,3)
… The Lord taught us that no one is capable of knowing God, unless that person is taught by God; that is, God cannot be known without God. And this is the express will of the Father, that God should be known. For those to whom the Son has revealed him will know him. (4:6,4)
End of Reading 6 – 972 words
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (The Leader should note that, in these excerpts, we are jumping through several distinct thoughts from St. Irenaeus. First, we see him speak of the serpent’s temptation of Eve, and then of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and draw some essential conclusions from each story. Then, we see him reference a saying of the Lord that is recorded in three of the four Gospels, which shows us that he knew the four Gospels, and only those four, even at the time he wrote this in the middle of the 2nd century. Finally, the rest of the time is spent in reflecting on the relationship between the Father and the Son, and how the Son reveals the Father to us, but is Himself sent to us by the Father, so that the two (and we may extend this principle to the three persons of the Holy Trinity) reveal one another to us.)
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 13:1-20 (Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet)
Last time we saw the Lord engage for the last time with the crowds and with the people, as He hid Himself from them because of their anger and unbelief; He urges them to walk in the light, and warns them that the light will not be with them forever, and that there is a judgment coming, not from Him, but from the word that He has preached so clearly to them, which will itself judge them in the simple fact of their rejection of it and Him. This time, we will begin the Mystical Supper, and see the Lord wash the feet of His disciples.
Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
13 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.
17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But it is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ 19 I tell you this now, before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he. 20 Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.”
Reading 34 – 471 words –
+120
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, as the Lord washes the feet of His disciples, He is simultaneously showing them two things. The first is an essential and implicit rebuttal to the kind of program that they are wanting Him to establish; they want Him to be a conquering hero, but such heroes never abase themselves in this way and wash the feet of their followers. The second point is the one that the Lord makes explicit; He tells them that they should imitate Him in this, and not seek to accumulate power or respect, but should rather humble themselves and serve one another, and all the world. They are not to seek to gain the coercive power and domination that the rulers of the world seeks to wield.)
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?