July 29, 2012
Reflection
on Lectoring
It seems a little hard to believe. Highly improbable at best. Yet, there is no question that it happened.
In the days when most people got around by walking (approximately fifteen to twenty miles a day), something remarkable was happening in a dozen or so cities around the Mediterranean. Meeting in peoples’ homes, groups of men and women began to think of themselves in a different way, even though their neighbors may have thought they were a little peculiar.
Some of these people owned the homes where the groups met. Some of the people were poor. Some of the people were merchants and tradesmen. Some owned slaves but encouraged them to join the group.
There were no articles of incorporation for these groups. There were no preconditions for joining. The qualifications for group leadership were fluid, and there was a belief that everyone had something to contribute. And although only the basic beliefs were sketched out, they were all sure of one thing - they knew that Christ had died for each of them.
How could a collection of often disorganized groups be the start of a movement that would change the landscape of the Roman world? When lectors today proclaim passages from the New Testament, they give their hearers essential insights into how early Christianity spread so rapidly. Lectors are modern-day storytellers for their parishes. Every Sunday, the stories they tell from the Scriptures reveal how the Spirit remains alive in the church today.
It seems a little hard to believe. Highly improbable at best. Yet, there is no question that it happened.
In the days when most people got around by walking (approximately fifteen to twenty miles a day), something remarkable was happening in a dozen or so cities around the Mediterranean. Meeting in peoples’ homes, groups of men and women began to think of themselves in a different way, even though their neighbors may have thought they were a little peculiar.
Some of these people owned the homes where the groups met. Some of the people were poor. Some of the people were merchants and tradesmen. Some owned slaves but encouraged them to join the group.
There were no articles of incorporation for these groups. There were no preconditions for joining. The qualifications for group leadership were fluid, and there was a belief that everyone had something to contribute. And although only the basic beliefs were sketched out, they were all sure of one thing - they knew that Christ had died for each of them.
How could a collection of often disorganized groups be the start of a movement that would change the landscape of the Roman world? When lectors today proclaim passages from the New Testament, they give their hearers essential insights into how early Christianity spread so rapidly. Lectors are modern-day storytellers for their parishes. Every Sunday, the stories they tell from the Scriptures reveal how the Spirit remains alive in the church today.
__________________________
"What
I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered
proclaim on the housetops.”
- Matthew 10:27______________________
First Reading - 2 Kings 4:42-44
Two Skeptics
Gehazi was the prophet Elisha’s servant and travelling companion. He watched as Elisha performed some amazing miracles like bringing the Shunammite woman’s son back to life, or creating an abundant supply of oil from a single jug belonging to a poor widow.
You would think that Gehazi would not question Elisha’ instruction to feed a hundred people with twenty barley loaves and some fresh grain in the ear. But he does.
In today’s Gospel, Andrew plays the role of a latter-day, doubting Gehazi when he questions how five barley loaves and two fish could feed five thousand.
These two Scripture passages may leave you wondering how can Gehazi and Andrew be so obtuse? What does it take for them to understand what God can do?
Perhaps, you might also think about the quiet confidence that Elisha and Jesus have that God the Father will provide what people need. Perhaps the people who hear your proclamation this weekend might also experience a quiet confidence that God really does care
_______________________
Second Reading - Ephesians 4:1-6
E Pluribus Unun
In Roman times, class status meant everything. There was limited upward mobility. You knew your place, and you did well to
remember it. Then came Jesus who had a bigger
picture in mind.
In the early Christian communities, the faithful recognized that different people played different roles in society. In many of these home-based assemblies, there were rich people and poor, slaves and freedmen, people with influence and people who earned a living with their hands. While acknowledging the complexities of social structure, Paul often wrote in his letters that there was something more important than class. That “something” is the theme gloriously stated in today’s second reading.
Unity is the unmistakable story of this passage. Even from a casual reading, the seven appearances of the word “one” jump out at you. In Baptism, the faithful were initiated into a new unity - the one body of the risen Christ overriding the differences between Jew and Gentile, men and women, rich and poor.
How you proclaim to the assembly, “one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father” will make all the difference in the world. Equally important, how you feel about your unity and connection with the assembly will also make all the difference in the world.
© 2012, George Fournier
In the early Christian communities, the faithful recognized that different people played different roles in society. In many of these home-based assemblies, there were rich people and poor, slaves and freedmen, people with influence and people who earned a living with their hands. While acknowledging the complexities of social structure, Paul often wrote in his letters that there was something more important than class. That “something” is the theme gloriously stated in today’s second reading.
Unity is the unmistakable story of this passage. Even from a casual reading, the seven appearances of the word “one” jump out at you. In Baptism, the faithful were initiated into a new unity - the one body of the risen Christ overriding the differences between Jew and Gentile, men and women, rich and poor.
How you proclaim to the assembly, “one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father” will make all the difference in the world. Equally important, how you feel about your unity and connection with the assembly will also make all the difference in the world.
© 2012, George Fournier
