Day 1 (Monday)
Proverbs 24:1-34; 25:1-28
This reading and reflection marks the beginning of the fifth year of the Religious Education Initiative. Each week, we will provide three readings for the parish. Everyone is urged to participate; families should participate together, reading the selections Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (or three other days/times, whatever works best for the family). Anyone can take the lead, but we recommend that the father and mother in each household do so to start with. Whoever takes the lead, we strongly recommend that each household take this opportunity to make it a priority to do these readings and reflections as an entire and whole family, all together. Also, since fathers often get left out of religious matters in the home, because of their other responsibilities and obligations outside of the home, wherever possible it is best if the father takes the lead in these readings, either reading the selection and guiding the discussion himself, or delegating the reading to someone else.
As we begin the new Church year, and our fifth year of the Religious Education Initiative, we will start with another selection from the book of Proverbs. At this point in the book of Proverbs, we are simply reading through a collection of wise sayings of Solomon. In all of these, the general theme is the contrast between what the Church has often referred to as the way of death, versus the way of life. We pray that these reminders will remind us all of the sacred responsibilities placed in our hands, and that we will run with patience and faithfulness the race that is set before us, not just this year, but over our entire lives.
Note: this is a longer selection, as may be appropriate for families with older children, etc. Families with younger children may certain consider reading only a portion of the following, as seems appropriate to the parents. If you read the entire selection, it should take a little over six to eight minutes, so feel to adjust accordingly. A simple way to shorten the selection is to read only the one of the two chapters; reading them in advance will let you see which chapter contains more helpful or relevant proverbs for your household at present.
Further Sayings of the Wise
24 Be not envious of evil men,
nor desire to be with them;
2 for their minds devise violence,
and their lips talk of mischief.
3 By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
5 A wise man is mightier than a strong man,
and a man of knowledge than he who has strength;
6 for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool;
in the gate he does not open his mouth.
8 He who plans to do evil
will be called a mischief-maker.
9 The devising of folly is sin,
and the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not requite man according to his work?
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14 Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, there will be a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
15 Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;
do not violence to his home;
16 for a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again;
but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased,
and turn away his anger from him.
19 Fret not yourself because of evildoers,
and be not envious of the wicked;
20 for the evil man has no future;
the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, fear the Lord and the king,
and do not disobey either of them;
22 for disaster from them will rise suddenly,
and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These also are sayings of the wise.
Partiality in judging is not good.
24 He who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations;
25 but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
and a good blessing will be upon them.
26 He who gives a right answer
kisses the lips.
27 Prepare your work outside,
get everything ready for you in the field;
and after that build your house.
28 Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
29 Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man without sense;
31 and lo, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles,
and its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw and considered it;
I looked and received instruction.
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.
Further Wise Sayings of Solomon
25 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
so the mind of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver,
and the smith has material for a vessel;
5 take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
or stand in the place of the great;
7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than to be put lower in the presence of the prince.
What your eyes have seen
8 do not hastily bring into court;
for what will you do in the end,
when your neighbor puts you to shame?
9 Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
and do not disclose another’s secret;
10 lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
and your ill repute have no end.
11 A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
12 Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
is a faithful messenger to those who send him,
he refreshes the spirit of his masters.
14 Like clouds and wind without rain
is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.
15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
and a soft tongue will break a bone.
16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
lest you be sated with it and vomit it.
17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house,
lest he become weary of you and hate you.
18 A man who bears false witness against his neighbor
is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.
19 Trust in a faithless man in time of trouble
is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.
20 He who sings songs to a heavy heart
is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
and like vinegar on a wound.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat;
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.
23 The north wind brings forth rain;
and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
24 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
27 It is not good to eat much honey,
so be sparing of complimentary words.
28 A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that any of these verses will bear closer consideration and reflection; they purposely are seeking to provide deeper insight to common experiences. For an example, these verses from early in the selection can be interpreted on at least two levels, depending on whether we read them together, or separately:
“10 If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.”
If we read them separately, then the first is simply an observation that those who get tired when life gets hard are weak, and the second is an admonition to help those who are being enslaved. But if we read them together, then the import becomes an admonition to build up our strength, or rather, our dependence upon the Lord in our weakness, in the times when we are not facing adversity, because by preparing in ourselves the habit of waiting upon the Lord, entrusting ourselves to Him, we will prepare and provide assistance and rescue (from the Lord Himself) for ourselves in the future when we are being taken away to death, stumbling to the slaughter…and thus we will be found to have great strength in the day of adversity, not in ourselves, but in the Lord in Whom we have learned to live and move and have our being.
At any rate, any of these proverbs bear careful consideration, and it is worth listening to hear what strikes your attention, and to go back and reflect on it throughout the day.)
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)
Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos
As we begin the new Church Year, we always make a start with the celebration of the feast of the Birth of the Theotokos, the Mother of God. Her birth marks the formal beginning of the Lord’s work of His Incarnation, so it is fitting that we start the Church Year with this commemoration. This feast emphasizes the long waiting and hoping of the people of God for deliverance and salvation, looking to the birth of the Mother of God as the moment when these hopes begin to see their fulfillment. It is a fitting thing for us not just to celebrate this fulfillment, but as we celebrate this great feast, to also take the occasion, then, to read together some of the significant hymns of the Feast.
5th Hymn of the Kekragaria
Today is the proclamation of universal joy! ⁄ The barrenness of humans is pardoned, ⁄ for the barren Anna becomes a mother ⁄ of the virginal Mother of the Creator! ⁄ The One Who is God by nature ⁄ has taken our human nature ⁄ and has worked salvation in the flesh ⁄⁄ Christ the Lover of mankind and the Redeemer of our souls.
3rd Hymn of the Liti
What is this sound of feasting we hear? ⁄ Joachim and Anna keep mystic festival. ⁄ Adam and Eve cry: Rejoice with us today! ⁄ For if by your transgression you closed the gate of Paradise to those of old, ⁄ we have now been given a glorious fruit, ⁄ Mary, the child of God ⁄⁄ who opens its entrance to us all!
2nd Kathisma Hymn of the Orthros
Unto us is born today Mary the child of God, * as the branch from Jesse's root, and as the fruit of David's loins, * and all creation is re-created and deified. * O heaven and the earth, rejoice in unison. * Sing praises unto her, O all you Gentile clans. * Joachim is exultant, and Anna is keeping festival, crying out: * "The barren woman bears the Theotokos, * the nourisher of our Life."
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 the reflections on the barrenness of Anna connect with the spiritual barrenness of old Israel, and with the helplessness and brokenness of fallen humanity at large, and that the inability for a woman to bear children, while it functions in a demeaning way in the societies of the time, reducing a woman to her ability to bear offspring, is here universalized as the true state of all of humanity apart from the grace and mercy of God. Thus, God comes bringing help to the helplessness and lifelessness of humanity, raising up a miraculous offspring for the barren Anna, and in her creating new life in barren and fallen humanity, so that this living branch of the dead root of Jesse becomes the vessel for the Lord and Master of Life to enter His Creation and grant life to all.)
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)
Acts 1:1-26 (The Ascension, Promise of the Holy Spirit, Matthias Chosen)
In Year 5 of the REI, we will read the Book of Acts. To this point, we have read one of the Gospels each year, and we must note from the outset that the book of Acts is not a Gospel, and therefore should not be ranked as important as they are. Nonetheless, the book of Acts provides us with an account of the life and history of the Church in its earliest days, during the time in which the Apostles were preaching and establishing communities throughout the Mediterranean world. It takes us from the Lord’s Ascension all the way to St. Paul’s arrival in Rome, and thus from A.D. ~30 through about ~60. We should watch for the points of connection between the early Church and our current experience, both in the positive elements, and in the challenges which have faced the Church from the very beginning.
The Promise of the Holy Spirit
1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The Ascension of Jesus
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, 16 “Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their language Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms,
‘Let his homestead become desolate,
and let there be no one to live in it’;
and
‘Let another take his position of overseer.’
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” 23 So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
Reading 1 -673 words –
Goal 481
+192
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 book of Acts is written by St. Luke, basically as a continuation of the story given in his Gospel. Luke himself seems to have been an eyewitness of many of these events, being, as it seems, the unnamed disciple who was with Cleopas on the road to Emmaeus when the Lord came and journeyed with them, and explained to them all the things from the Scriptures that spoke of His coming, of His passion, and of His Resurrection. We should note, as well, that we see here a listing of the 11 Disciples, and we also see Peter initiate the replacement of Judas Iscariot with another disciple who had been with them from the beginning, and probably one of the 70 that the Lord had sent out. In the mind of the Church, however, the twelfth disciple is not St. Matthias, but St. Paul, who is chosen by the Lord Himself, as we will see in the coming weeks. This is not to demean St. Matthias, who is truly counted among the ranks of the Apostles, but at the same time, we have a necessary reminder that, even as we who are the Church act in the best good faith and conscience, we can make mistakes…and that the Lord Himself will correct those mistakes.)
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?