Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 30, 2012

Reflection on Lectoring

Last week, we started this series of reflections by looking at some of the possible reasons why you choose to answer God’s call as a lector.  We recalled Jeremiah’s words about feeling strongly encouraged by God to proclaim his word, even in adversity.

This week, we’ll consider a lector’s desire to share compelling Scripture stories about people, their faith and their calling from God.

In An Introduction to the New Testament, Raymond Brown lets St. Paul tell his story of personal commitment in his own words:

“Often near death; five times I have received thirty-nine lashes from Jews; three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I have been shipwrecked; a night and a day I passed on the watery deep; on frequent journeys; in dangers from rivers; in dangers from bandits; in dangers from my own kind; in dangers from Gentiles; in dangers in the city; in dangers in the wilderness; in dangers on the sea; in dangers from false brethren; in toil and hardship; many times without sleep; in hunger and thirst; many times not eating; cold and not clothed; and besides other things, there is on me the daily pressure constituted by anxiety for the churches”  (2 Corinthians 11:23-28).

This above Scripture story is about a real person and his real faith.  The Bible is full of many similar stories just like Paul’s.

In today’s first reading (see below), you will read about another person who was stretched to the limits of human endurance, all because he followed God’s call.  As a lector, you get to be inspired by these stories.  You also get to inspire others through your proclamation at Mass.  A very good reason to be a lector.

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First Reading  -  Numbers 11:25-29
As Much Help as Possible

The Old Testament seems to make no effort to hide the crankiness of the Israelites.  First, they demanded something to eat, and the Lord gave them manna.  Then, they began to remember all the “fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic” (Numbers 11:5).  That memory caused them to complain, “If only we had meat for food!” (11:4).

Moses could not take all this griping anymore, and told the Lord, “I cannot carry all this people by myself. . .   if this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face my distress”  (11:14-15).

So the Lord decided to help Moses who was recognized as being “very humble, more than anyone else on earth” (12:3).  The solution was to find seventy of the elders of Israel to share the burden.

That brings us to today’s first reading.  And to more griping.

Joshua is unhappy that Eldad and Medad were included among the seventy elders upon whom the Lord bestowed his spirit and the gift of prophesy.  But Moses, who wanted as much help as possible, responds, “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!”

 At Mass, the Lord’s spirit is available to the entire assembly.  There are no specially privileged people.  Everyone can help.  And the lector is privileged to proclaim to all of them.

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Second Reading  -  James 5:1-6
James, Jesus and You

Today’s second reading completes a five-week exploration of the Letter of James.  Throughout its five chapters, this letter offers guidance on moral and ethical behavior.  Like Old Testament Wisdom literature, it presents advice and exhortation (parenesis is the technical term) that guide productive interactions with other members of the early Christian community.

Today’s specific advice warns against pursuing riches at the expense of the poor.   Although “the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud,” the rich, who have withheld their wages, are told that they will “weep and wail over your impending miseries.”  In the end, the rich will suffer more than their mistreated workers.

Last week, although we suggested that much of the advice given by James involves basic fairness and common sense, that does not mean there is no benefit to hearing it repeated.  The challenge is to proclaim this somewhat harsh message in a way that does not turn people off.

Perhaps the way Jesus said the same thing during the Sermon on the Mount might help:   “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.  But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.  For where you treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Matthew 6:19-20).

When James, Jesus and the lector offer advice in a way that shows they care about their listeners, the advice is more likely to be heard.

 © 2012 George Fournier

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 23, 2012

Reflection on Lectoring

 

We started this series of reflections on your role as a lector by considering why God selected you to serve. This week, and in the weeks that follow, we’ll consider some of the possible reasons why you decided to answer God’s call.

If you asked the prophet Jeremiah why he chose to serve God, he might direct your attention to the following quote:

“You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped, you were too strong for me and you triumphed.  All the day I am an object of laughter, everyone mocks me.   .  .   I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more.  But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it”  (Jeremiah 20:7, 9).

This passionate statement was not an intellectual analysis of the pros and cons of accepting an assignment.  Jeremiah does not ask: “Do I have the time?  Can I do this well enough?  Isn’t there someone else who could do it better?”  Jeremiah’s answer to the question, “Should I do this?” is not about thinking.  It is about feeling.   It is about having something burning inside that needs to come out.  It is knowing that you must try, because there is nothing worse than not trying.

When sharing the Scriptures burns in your heart, it consumes your entire being.  It is not about having a good voice, clear diction, or even a respectable suit of clothes.  It is about every part of you  -  your beliefs, the things that make you happy, the things that make you sad, the love you have for others, and the love you have for God.  When lectoring becomes part of you, you begin to understand what consumed Jeremiah when he says, “I grow weary holding it in.  I cannot endure it."

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“To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.”

                                                                                - Jeremiah 1:7

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First Reading  -  Wisdom 2:12, 17-20
Anger, Sadness or Hope

All three of today’s readings could make you angry - very angry.

In the first reading, the wicked say, “With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test.”  In the second reading, James asks where do the wars and conflicts come from?  He supplies the answer when he warns, “Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?”  In the Gospel, Jesus tells his apostles that he will be killed, but incredibly they seem more interested in knowing which of them holds the highest rank in the group.

You could get very angry, or very sad.  Or maybe there is another option.

In a strange way, the wicked in the first reading may have the answer to reconciling the harsh reality of human frailty and the promise of something better.  Perhaps when they say, “for according to his own words, God will take care of him,” they might grudgingly be admitting that there is a real answer that cannot be assailed.

What tone or feeling should the assembly hear in the words of today’s first reading?  Anger, sadness or hope?  Is there a reason to be hopeful in the midst of intolerance, injustice and conflict?  It is a question that the lector must first resolve for himself or herself before ascending to the ambo.

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Second Reading  -  James 3:16 - 4:3
Wisdom and Common Sense

In the beginning of his letter, James tells his readers/hearers, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly” (James 1:5).   In today’s second reading, he shows that wisdom and common sense have a lot in common.

Envy can destroy a community and the people in that community, including the person who possesses envy.  On the other hand James says, “righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.”  So simple, so obvious, yet so hard to do without God’s help.

As we saw in the selections from James over the past couple of weeks, the author is concerned with the kinds of behaviors that strengthen the individual and the community.  People don’t live in isolation, and a person’s behavior touches everyone else around him or her.

As was true for the first reading, the tone of your proclamation may be the one thing that people at Mass remember most.  Will they hear the comforting words “peaceable, gentle, compliant,” and be encouraged?  Or will they hear the angry words “kill and envy,” and feel reprimanded?  Or will they hear both sets of words, and recognize that “wisdom from above’ and a little common sense will “cultivate peace.”  How well you proclaim these words may significantly influence what they hear and remember.

© 2012 George Fournier

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 16, 2012

Reflection on Lectoring

Are the Scriptures divinely inspired?  The Second Vatican Council had this to say: “The books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching firmly, faithfully, and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation” (Dei Verbum 3.11).

Dei Verbum (Word of God) also acknowledged that the human authors of the Scriptures had a role to play in their creation.  These authors wrote from their own historical and cultural perspectives.  And they wrote for specific purposes with specific hearers/readers in mind.

What God knew, and what these human authors did not, was that their words would continue to reveal God’s truth for many centuries to people living in vastly different times and places.

Last week, we suggested that God has a reason for choosing different people to serve as lectors.  It is a reason that goes beyond a lector’s ability to speak clearly or pronounce words correctly.  God chooses individual lectors to be his genuine and faith-affirming witnesses to people with whom they share many of contemporary life’s experiences.

Lectors are people of all different backgrounds and perspectives, speaking to people of all different backgrounds and perspectives.  They bring to their proclamation different life experiences and different experiences of faith and Christian identity.  They mirror the depth and richness of the Scriptures  -  the kind of depth and richness that can never be exhausted, never become dated, and will always serve as a source of spiritual meaning for people of all ages.

God chose you to be a lector because of who you are, because of the way you find meaning in his words, and because you want others to find that meaning for themselves.

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"God graciously arranged that the things he had once revealed for the salvation of all peoples should remain in their entirety, throughout the ages, and be transmitted to all generations."

                                                                           - Dei Verbum 2.7
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First Reading  -  Isaiah 50:4c-9a
God and Me

Today’s first reading uses some of the same verses from Isaiah that are used in this year’s first reading for Palm Sunday.  The part about having “a well-trained tongue” is omitted from the beginning of the passage, and Isaiah closes with a challenge to his adversaries by asking, “who will prove me wrong?”

In this brief passage, Isaiah is not shy about talking about himself and his difficulties.  The first person pronouns: I, me, or my, prove the point by appearing a remarkable twenty-one times.

Under normal circumstances, talking so much about oneself might become a little tiresome to an audience.   Sometimes, however, the opposite happens.  When a speaker, in this case Isaiah, talks sincerely from the heart about a matter deeply felt, people naturally want to hear how the story ends.

Also, when a speaker demonstrates real humility, people recognize that self promotion is not the goal.  In this case, Isaiah clearly acknowledges that, “The Lord God is my help.”

In this passage, Isaiah demonstrates the qualities of a Suffering Servant - the same qualities demonstrated in the highest degree by Christ in today’s Gospel reading, a reading which states that the Son of Man will ”suffer greatly. . .  be rejected . . .  killed, and rise after three days."

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Second Reading  -  James 2:14-18
Faith and Social Consciousness

Some people are not afraid to tell it like it is.  Jesus once said “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21).  James is equally direct when he says, “So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Despite concerns from Protestant reformers like Martin Luther that James emphasizes good works over faith, James is more accurately encouraging people who already believe in the Messiah to translate that belief into practice.

As we also saw in last week’s reading from James, this is a letter with a social conscience.  Being concerned for the needs of others is a genuine response to having faith in Christ.  It is also a clear demonstration that real faith is more than just empty words like, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well.”

In just a few short verses, James clearly states the case that there is a direct link between faith in God and caring for God’s children.  And part of effectively making that case lies in how well the lector proclaims these verses.

© 2012 George Fournier

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 9, 2012

Reflection on Lectoring

For the next few weeks, we’ll present a few reflection questions that will offer some insights into your role as a lector.

In the beginning, deciding to become a lector involved answering some important, initial questions.  Does God really want me to do this?  Am I worthy to proclaim sacred Scripture to hundreds of people?  Will I be able to overcome the fear of public speaking, especially in a church, especially during a liturgy?  What do I know about the Scriptures anyway?

The fact that you became a lector meant you had some answers to these questions.  Although you may never have all the answers, you trusted that God knew what he was doing when he invited you to serve.

Now, and for the next few weeks, we’ll turn to another set of questions that may prompt some deeper reflections for those who have answered God’s invitation to serve.

Although they were among Israel’s greatest prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah had strong reservations about why God chose them to speak in his name.  Moses also questioned God several times about why God should choose him lead his people out of slavery.

Lectors would do well to ask the same question.  Why did God choose you and not someone else?  It was not an arbitrary decision on God’s part. He wanted you.  Why?

We’ll consider this question further next week.

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"Go them!  It is I who will assist you in speaking and will teach you what your are to say."

                                                                                - Exodus 4:12

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First Reading  -  Isaiah 35:4-7a
Here is Your God

Think about going from a hot, noisy and dirty place where people are yelling and screaming at each other to a cool, serene forest scene with a quiet stream running in the background.  Sitting beside a quiet stream feels all the better when compared to scenes of anger, confusion and destruction.

That is why Chapter 35 of Isaiah is so comforting.  If you look at Chapter 34 right before it, you find bloody scenes where people are being massacred, the land is turned into burning pitch, and smoke rises forever.  This was a time when nobody got along with anybody.  Cities were burned, kings and their armies fought with other kings and their armies, and the Assyrian king Sennacherib was about to shut up Judah’s king Hezekiah “like a bird in a cage” in Jerusalem.

There was a lot to fear back then.  There can still be a lot to fear today.  People still need to be comforted.  People still need to feel that there is a place to find peace.  People, like those who hear your proclamation this weekend, need to know that there is a reason to “Be strong, fear not!”

But just saying, “don’t be afraid” is not enough. That’s too easy.  And for people who have fears and concerns, it is not very reassuring.  This is the kind of reading in which every word is important, every sentiment must be sincere, and every reassurance must come from the heart.  It must be the kind of proclamation which enables your hearers to believe in their souls, “Here is your God."

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Second Reading  -  James 2:1-5
Fairness not Favoritism

Two people bring a case before one of the community’s elders.  One complainant is poor and wears shabby clothes.  The other party has gold rings and fine clothes.  Who is likely to prevail?

Ideally, it should be a matter of fairness not favoritism.

However, things do not appear to go so well for the shabby guy.  He is told to “stand there.”  While the rich guy is treated with deference, “Sit here, please.”

James makes it clear that this was no way to create a sense of unity, identity and family in early Christian communities.  Perhaps, this might work in a club for the rich and famous.  Not in a church that believes that every person is an equally important member of the body of Christ.

The message to be heard in this reading is not a reprimand.  Neither is it an invitation to be smug about our sensitivity towards the needs of the poor.  Rather, it is an invitation for the faithful at Mass to see the value in each person sitting next to them.  It is also an invitation to the lector to see his or her hearers as brothers and sisters, rich and poor, equally valued as God’s children.


© George Fournier 2012