Day 1 (Monday)
4 Kingdoms 18:1-37 (Hezekiah’s Reign in Judah, Sennacherib Invades Judah)
The last couple weeks, we’ve read from the book of 2 Chronicles, where we saw the life of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah. He was righteous, and was pleasing to the Lord, and the Lord was with him throughout his life, despite some mistakes that he made. The biggest mistake was the alliance that he made by means of the marriage of his son to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Because of this, his son and grandson did not follow him in faithfulness, and his son died after reigning for only eight years, and his grandson was killed after ruling for only one year, along with the rest of Ahab’s family while visiting them in Israel. When he died, Athaliah murdered all the descendants of Jehoshaphat except one, an infant named Joash, who was protected by one of the priests. When he grew older, the priests and army commanders overthrew Athaliah and placed Joash on the throne. He was righteous in his youth, and evil during his maturity, and the kings who followed him during the final days of Israel followed the pattern of his life, which is to say, some were better, and some much worse. The worst so far was Ahaz, who sacrificed one of his children to the demon gods of the nations, made an alliance with the Assyrians, and changed the altar of sacrifice at the Temple to match the pagan altar of the Assyrians (4 Kingdoms 16). When he died, however, his son Hezekiah succeeded him, and he was righteous in a way that we have not yet seen.
Hezekiah’s Reign over Judah
18 In the third year of Hoshe′a son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezeki′ah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechari′ah. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Ashe′rah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had burned incense to it; it was called Nehush′tan.
5 He trusted in the Lord the God of Israel; so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 6 For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; wherever he went forth, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria, and would not serve him. 8 He smote the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city.
9 In the fourth year of King Hezeki′ah, which was the seventh year of Hoshe′a son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmane′ser king of Assyria came up against Samar′ia and besieged it 10 and at the end of three years he took it. In the sixth year of Hezeki′ah, which was the ninth year of Hoshe′a king of Israel, Samar′ia was taken. 11 The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded; they neither listened nor obeyed.
Sennacherib Invades Judah
13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezeki′ah Sennach′erib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 14 And Hezeki′ah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.” And the king of Assyria required of Hezeki′ah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 And Hezeki′ah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezeki′ah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the doorposts which Hezeki′ah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.
17 And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab′saris, and the Rab′shakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezeki′ah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. 18 And when they called for the king, there came out to them Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the secretary, and Jo′ah the son of Asaph, the recorder.
19 And the Rab′shakeh said to them, “Say to Hezeki′ah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this confidence of yours? 20 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? On whom do you now rely, that you have rebelled against me? 21 Behold, you are relying now on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.
22 But if you say to me, “We rely on the Lord our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezeki′ah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”? 23 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders upon them. 24 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.’”
26 Then Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, and Shebnah, and Jo′ah, said to the Rab′shakeh, “Pray, speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand it; do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 27 But the Rab′shakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?”
28 Then the Rab′shakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezeki′ah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand. 30 Do not let Hezeki′ah make you to rely on the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ 31 Do not listen to Hezeki′ah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat of his own vine, and every one of his own fig tree, and every one of you will drink the water of his own cistern;”
32 “until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live, and not die. And do not listen to Hezeki′ah when he misleads you by saying, The Lord will deliver us. 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharva′im, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samar′ia out of my hand? 35 Who among all the gods of the countries have delivered their countries out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”
36 But the people were silent and answered him not a word, for the king’s command was, “Do not answer him.” 37 Then Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Jo′ah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezeki′ah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of the Rab′shakeh.
Reading 13 – 1357 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 what the text says about Hezekiah, that he was more righteous and faithful than any king we have seen so far, even Jehoshaphat, and perhaps even David. Second, he should note that Hezekiah was also not cursed with too much success along with his faithfulness; he instead humbled himself before the king of Assyria, and sent him the precious things from the Temple, the things that he had himself set up there in the Temple. But when the king of Assyria did not keep his agreement, and came to conquer Jerusalem anyway, at that point he leaned entirely upon the Lord. We will see next week how the Lord cares for Hezekiah and his people. In the meantime, we provide also a few explanatory points. What we see here is part of the Assyrian campaign in Judah, which is well documented (if in somewhat boastful terms) in Assyrian annals independent of Scripture). Rabshekah is the title of the Assyrian chief steward, as Tartan is the Vizier and Rabsaris is the high chamberlain. So basically, Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, has sent three high officials with part of his army to threaten Jerusalem and attempt to reduce it without battle. This is the point of the threats that are made here.)
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)
Gregory the Theologian – On Theology and the Office of Bishops – 1
Last time we finished the homily of St. Gregory the Theologian on the Feast of Theophany, from the year 381, when he was the new bishop of Constantinople. We will wrap up this fifth year of the Religious Education Initiative by reading another homily delivered around the same time, probably a few months before the Theophany homily. In this one, we will see similar themes addressed, but somewhat more directly and concisely than in the other.
ORATION 20
On theology and the office of bishops.1
WHEN I AM CONFRONTED with the longwindedness so prevalent today among the instant experts and ordained theologians, who think that they have only to wish it and they are wise, I yearn for the supreme wisdom and, like Jeremiah, I seek out a wayfarers’ lodging place2 and feel the need to withdraw by myself.
Nothing appeals to me more than, by blocking out my senses, severing all ties with the flesh and the world, placing myself beyond the reach of human concerns except for the unavoidable, and communing with myself and with God, to live the life that transcends visible nature, ever containing within myself the reflections of the divine, their purity unclouded by the false images here below, and be and ever come to be a spotless mirror, as it were, of God and the divine, capturing light with light and the brighter through the more dim until we reach the fount of those rays that penetrate human existence and we finally attain the blessed goal, our mirrors shattered by the reality of truth.
For whether one were to pursue the study of philosophy in depth and gradually dissociate the noble and luminous element of the soul from the slough of darkness to which it is tied, or were to meet with a propitious God, or were successful in both respects and were to devote himself wholeheartedly to the contemplation of reality on high, it would only be with difficulty that he could gain mastery over the world of matter that drags him down. But before we rise above it as far as possible and sufficiently purify our ears and minds, I think it is dangerous either to accept the responsibility for other souls or to take up theology.
2. And so that you will not think me an inveterate worrier but may actually commend me for my prudence, I shall explain how I come to be apprehensive on this score by citing the testimony of Moses himself when he heard the words of God.3 A great number had been summoned to the mountain, including Aaron and his two sons who were priests. The rest were all bidden to worship from afar. Only Moses was to approach. The people were not to go up with him.
Now shortly before this, lightnings and thunder and trumpets and the mountain wrapped in smoke4 and dire warnings and similar terrors kept the others down below. It was truly a great thing for them simply to hear God’s voice, and this only after they had been thoroughly purified. But Moses went up and entered the cloud and spoke with God and received the Law, for the multitude the Law of the letter, for those above the multitude the Law of the spirit.5
3. I am familiar, too, with the stories of Eli6 the priest and, shortly after him, Uzzah.7 The one paid the penalty for his children’s outrageous behavior in desecrating the sacrifices, and this despite the fact that he had refused to endorse their impiety but had on the contrary administered to them many a rebuke on many occasions. Uzzah, on the other hand, dared merely to touch the ark, which had been jostled from its place by the ox, and, though he managed to save it, he himself perished. In this way did God preserve the sanctity of his ark.
I know, too, that the multitude could not touch even the walls of the sanctuary with impunity8—it was for this reason that other, exterior walls were required—and that the sacrifices themselves could only be consumed by deserving persons and at a sanctioned time and place. No one so much as dreamed of entering the Holy of Holies and looking upon or touching the curtain or the mercy seat or the ark.
4. So, knowing these things, and that no one can be worthy of our great God, who was both victim and high priest, unless he first presents himself to God as a living sacrifice,9 or rather, becomes a living holy temple of the living God,10 how could either I myself blithely launch into a discussion about God or countenance anyone who, without further ado, does the same? That is not a commendable ambition; the attempt is fraught with peril.
In fact, this is why one must first purify oneself and then enter into converse with the pure if we are not to share the fate of Manoah and, when we have beheld a vision of God, declare, We are destroyed, dear wife; we have seen God;11 or, like Peter, urge Jesus to leave the boat because we are unworthy of so great a presence;12 or, like the centurion in the Bible, seek healing but decline to receive the healer. So long as anyone of us is a centurion, with more than his share of wickedness and still in the service of Caesar, the universal ruler of creatures that creep on the ground, let him likewise say, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.13
But when I see Jesus, though I am small in spiritual stature, like the famous Zacchaeus, and climb the sycamore,14 putting to death what is earthly in me15 and wasting my lowly body,16 then I shall both receive Christ, who will say to me, Today salvation has come to this house,17 and I shall obtain salvation and live a more perfect life, distributing in virtue what I have garnered in wickedness, be it coin or doctrine.
Gregory Nazianzus, Select Orations, ed. Thomas P. Halton, trans. Martha Vinson, vol. 107, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2003), 107–116.
Reading 1 – 936 words
Footnotes:
1 PG 35.1065A–80C. Because of its content, this homily has been closely linked to Or. 2, 6, 23, and the Theological Orations 27–31. Although it is generally agreed that Or. 20 was delivered at Constantinople in 380, the precise date and occasion of its delivery, as well as its chronological relationship with the Theological Orations (Fall, 380), remain uncertain. One of the difficulties concerns the title and the phrase περὶ … καταστάσεως ἐπισκόπων (“on the office of bishops”), which has been seen as particularly problematic because Or. 20 does not involve the ordination or installation of bishops, the normal sense of κατάστασις in this context. Yet Gregory himself offers a way out of the difficulty at the very end of the first section, where he links the responsibilities of the theologian and bishop: ἢ ψυχῆς ἐπιστασίαν δέξασθαι ἢ θεολογίᾳ προσβαλεῖν οὐκ ἀσφαλές (“it is dangerous either to accept responsibility for other souls or to take up theology”). In Or. 20, Gregory thus develops the theme that one ought not to undertake theology or the episcopacy lightly, but because he does so in a general way, that is, without reference to a specific individual or situation, it is difficult to indentify the precise circumstances of its composition. For a full discussion with bibliography, see Mossay’s introduction in SC 270, pp. 45–53.
2 Jer. 9:2.
3 Ex 19:21–24.
4 Ex 19:16–18.
5 Ex 24:12–15; cf. Rom 2:29, 7:6; 2 Cor 3:6–8.
6 1 Sm 2:12–4:18.
7 2 Sm 6:6–7.
8 Nm 17:13 (17:28 LXX).
9 Rom 12:1.
10 2 Cor 6:16.
11 Jgs 13:22.
12 Lk 5:8.
13 Mt 8:8.
14 Lk 19:2–4.
15 Col 3:5.
16 Phil 3:21.
17 Lk 19:9.
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. Gregory is approaching this question, once again emphasizing the enormity of the task when one undertakes to approach any discourse about God. We must prepare ourselves first, we must purify ourselves, which is to say, we must lay aside the things in our lives that are unworthy of the Lord, or at least undertake to do so. But the enormity of the task does not forbid us from approaching; we must simply do so in the right manner, taking Zacchaeus as our example. The Lord comes to us indeed; we must not presume to raise ourselves up to Him in pride, however, but receive Him in repentance and humility.)
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 26:1-18 (Paul Defends Himself before Agrippa, Tells of his Conversion)
Last time we saw the new governor, Festus, tell King Agrippa (Herod Agrippa II, I believe) about St. Paul, and his appear to Caesar, and the enmity which the chief priests and other leaders of the people in Jerusalem had for him, and of the whole situation so far. It seemed clear that Festus was working to recommend himself to Agrippa as a prudent and just governor, but also to be seeking Agrippa’s perspective, so when Agrippa asked to meet with Paul, Festus jumped at the opportunity. This time, we will see St. Paul present his story to Agrippa and Festus and the others present there.
Paul Defends Himself before Agrippa
26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:
2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.
4 “All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, 7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews! 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
9 “Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. 11 By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.
Paul Tells of His Conversion
12 “With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.’ 15 I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Reading 47 – 505 words
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 part of St. Paul’s story which we didn’t see originally in St. Luke’s account of this toward the beginning of the book, that the Lord says to Paul when He appears to Him on the road to Damascus that: “It hurts you to kick against the goads.” Which is to say, the Lord is guiding Paul like a herdsman guides an animal, but if the animal kicks against the stick which the herdsman uses, it hurts itself. Paul is resisting the will of the Lord, and is only hurting himself; the Lord comes to call him to lay aside this resistance and to instead serve the Lord with joy and love and fervor. This image is one which we should all hold in mind; the Lord is doing for us in our lives whatever is necessary for our healing, purification, and salvation. Sometimes it feels like surgery (probably because it is surgery, as the Lord removes from us what is harmful and unsound in our lives). We are inclined to avoid and resist and resent the Lord’s work in our lives. But if we can instead submit to Him, then…well then we can actually begin to live as we were created to live, in communion with the Lord. Like St. Paul, we will still suffer, but…we will be with the Lord!)
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?