November 4, 2012
Reflection
on Lectoring
How does a lector know whether the words he or she proclaims make a difference? Or if those words really minister to peoples’ needs?
As we pointed out in last week’s Reflection on Lectoring, God said his words do make a difference. “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11).
There is still more encouragement for the lector in Isaiah 40:6, 8, “A voice says, ‘Proclaim!’ I answer, ‘What shall I proclaim?’” The answer comes back, “The word of our God stands forever.”
In his book “Jesus of Nazareth,” Pope Benedict XVI makes an insightful point about the words of Jesus that announce the coming of the Kingdom. The Messiah’s words are an example of performative speech - the kind of speech (as distinguished from merely informative speech) that has the power to save and to transform. It is the kind of speech that can touch the hearts of those who hear. It is the Good News that really does change the world.
The words that lectors proclaim do much more than provide a simple history lesson, or identify ancient places in the Bible, or inform us about the genealogies of people who lived centuries ago.
The words read by every lector at every Mass are transformative words that make a real difference today. They are words that change people’s lives. They are words that renew our parish, our community, and our world.
God himself said so.
How does a lector know whether the words he or she proclaims make a difference? Or if those words really minister to peoples’ needs?
As we pointed out in last week’s Reflection on Lectoring, God said his words do make a difference. “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but shall do what pleases me, achieving the end for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11).
There is still more encouragement for the lector in Isaiah 40:6, 8, “A voice says, ‘Proclaim!’ I answer, ‘What shall I proclaim?’” The answer comes back, “The word of our God stands forever.”
In his book “Jesus of Nazareth,” Pope Benedict XVI makes an insightful point about the words of Jesus that announce the coming of the Kingdom. The Messiah’s words are an example of performative speech - the kind of speech (as distinguished from merely informative speech) that has the power to save and to transform. It is the kind of speech that can touch the hearts of those who hear. It is the Good News that really does change the world.
The words that lectors proclaim do much more than provide a simple history lesson, or identify ancient places in the Bible, or inform us about the genealogies of people who lived centuries ago.
The words read by every lector at every Mass are transformative words that make a real difference today. They are words that change people’s lives. They are words that renew our parish, our community, and our world.
God himself said so.
__________________________
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all fleash shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
- Isaiah 40:5
______________________________
First Reading - Deuteronomy 6:2-6
Words That Last Forever
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!”
There could not be a better example of performative speech than the above words taken from the Book of Deuteronomy. They are words that moved people centuries before Christ. And they continue to move people today.
They are words that convey our basic belief about the essential nature of God. He is the one God. The creator of everything. The “I am who am” who spoke to Moses. The eternal and all-powerful being about whom Moses instructs the Israelites in today’s first reading.
The Book of Deuteronomy contains all the “statutes and commandments” by which the people of Israel are to be governed. Deuteronomy also contains words that describe who God is and how we must respond to his love.
In today’s Mass, the words of the great commandment, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength,” will be proclaimed twice, once from Deuteronomy, once from the Gospel of Mark. They are powerful words that continue to move people today.
__________________________
Second Reading - Hebrews 7:23-28
Pericope
- Isaiah 40:5
______________________________
First Reading - Deuteronomy 6:2-6
Words That Last Forever
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!”
There could not be a better example of performative speech than the above words taken from the Book of Deuteronomy. They are words that moved people centuries before Christ. And they continue to move people today.
They are words that convey our basic belief about the essential nature of God. He is the one God. The creator of everything. The “I am who am” who spoke to Moses. The eternal and all-powerful being about whom Moses instructs the Israelites in today’s first reading.
The Book of Deuteronomy contains all the “statutes and commandments” by which the people of Israel are to be governed. Deuteronomy also contains words that describe who God is and how we must respond to his love.
In today’s Mass, the words of the great commandment, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength,” will be proclaimed twice, once from Deuteronomy, once from the Gospel of Mark. They are powerful words that continue to move people today.
__________________________
Second Reading - Hebrews 7:23-28
Pericope
The Gospels contain many pericopes - brief stories about what Jesus said or did assembled
together to form a continuous narrative.
These pericopes often serve as the text for the Gospel readings proclaimed
at Mass. In a similar way, the first and
second readings at every Mass are short selections of Scripture that also form a
coherent unit or complete thought.
At times, these short Scripture passages may seem fragmentary, or lacking some of the background information that a longer passage might provide. One way to offer additional perspective is to select several sequential passages from the same New Testament letter or Old Testament book and proclaim them over the course of several Sundays. That is what is found in today’s second reading - the fifth of seven passages from the Letter to the Hebrews.
In today’s reading, Jesus is described as the perfect high priest who “has a priesthood that does not pass away.” Jesus has brought with him a new covenant that has none of the limitations of the old law of Moses and the old levitical priesthood.
What meaning will people in the assembly derive from a passage about the eternal priesthood of Jesus? Some of that meaning will be shaped by the way the Scripture is proclaimed by the lector. Through prayer and reflection, the lector brings to his or her proclamation an informed perspective - the kind of perspective that gives real meaning to this reading’s concluding words, “but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.”
A pericope may give us only a partial understanding of the whole story. In reality, however, no amount of words will ever enable us to understand completely our infinitely perfect high priest. But every word can bring us closer.
© 2012, George Fournier
At times, these short Scripture passages may seem fragmentary, or lacking some of the background information that a longer passage might provide. One way to offer additional perspective is to select several sequential passages from the same New Testament letter or Old Testament book and proclaim them over the course of several Sundays. That is what is found in today’s second reading - the fifth of seven passages from the Letter to the Hebrews.
In today’s reading, Jesus is described as the perfect high priest who “has a priesthood that does not pass away.” Jesus has brought with him a new covenant that has none of the limitations of the old law of Moses and the old levitical priesthood.
What meaning will people in the assembly derive from a passage about the eternal priesthood of Jesus? Some of that meaning will be shaped by the way the Scripture is proclaimed by the lector. Through prayer and reflection, the lector brings to his or her proclamation an informed perspective - the kind of perspective that gives real meaning to this reading’s concluding words, “but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.”
A pericope may give us only a partial understanding of the whole story. In reality, however, no amount of words will ever enable us to understand completely our infinitely perfect high priest. But every word can bring us closer.
© 2012, George Fournier
