November 11, 2012
Reflection on Lectoring
As with most parishes, my parish in Florida offers several
ministry opportunities for its parishioners.
There are ministries to the sick, a music ministry, a peace and justice ministry,
and, of course, a ministry of the Word.
In addition to performing a variety of good works, is there a common quality that all parish ministries share? In what way do they qualify to be called a “ministry?”
Perhaps the way my parish’s ministry directory describes the Lector Ministry may suggest an answer to this question. In part, the description reads, “God’s Word is alive and active and the presence of Christ radiates from its proclamation at the Liturgy. Thus, the Reader is entrusted with the awesome task of being the ‘proclaimer’ amidst the assembly.”
There are two parts to this description. The second part describes the activity of the lector. He or she is a “proclaimer.” The first part (perhaps the more important part) describes the result of proclaiming the Scriptures - the Word of God becomes alive and active, and the presence of Christ radiates throughout the assembly. These things really do happen when the lector and the proclamation are Spirit-filled.
Regardless of the specific activity that characterizes each ministry, there is one result that is common to all - the presence of Christ. When performed with love, each ministry enables the face of Christ to shine more brightly in the world.
In addition to performing a variety of good works, is there a common quality that all parish ministries share? In what way do they qualify to be called a “ministry?”
Perhaps the way my parish’s ministry directory describes the Lector Ministry may suggest an answer to this question. In part, the description reads, “God’s Word is alive and active and the presence of Christ radiates from its proclamation at the Liturgy. Thus, the Reader is entrusted with the awesome task of being the ‘proclaimer’ amidst the assembly.”
There are two parts to this description. The second part describes the activity of the lector. He or she is a “proclaimer.” The first part (perhaps the more important part) describes the result of proclaiming the Scriptures - the Word of God becomes alive and active, and the presence of Christ radiates throughout the assembly. These things really do happen when the lector and the proclamation are Spirit-filled.
Regardless of the specific activity that characterizes each ministry, there is one result that is common to all - the presence of Christ. When performed with love, each ministry enables the face of Christ to shine more brightly in the world.
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"Lord of hosts, restore us; let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved."
- Psalms 80:20
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First Reading - 1 Kings 17:10-16
A Couple of Sticks
- Psalms 80:20
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First Reading - 1 Kings 17:10-16
A Couple of Sticks
What picture do you have in your mind when you read about
a destitute widow collecting “a couple of
sticks” at the entrance of her town?
How do you feel about the prophet Elijah who asks for some bread and
water from this same widow who has almost none left? What would think if you were told that it was
Elijah himself who foretold the three-year drought that caused all this
hardship in the first place?
This short story is imbedded in a larger story about bad king Ahab who sanctioned the worship of Baal, the pagan god of rain. Elijah tells Ahab that the God of Israel is the only true God, and will punish him with a drought. Then, after Elijah defeats 450 of Baal’s prophets on Mount Carmel, the rain returns (Kings 18: 25-45).
When viewed from the perspective of the entire story, Elijah’s trip to Zarephath can be seen as God’s desire to remember the needs of the simple people who have limited status, even while dealing with powerful people like king Ahab.
This short story concludes with some remarkably touching and reassuring words: “The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lords sends rain upon the earth."
______________________________
Second Reading - Hebrews 9:24-28
The Face of God
This short story is imbedded in a larger story about bad king Ahab who sanctioned the worship of Baal, the pagan god of rain. Elijah tells Ahab that the God of Israel is the only true God, and will punish him with a drought. Then, after Elijah defeats 450 of Baal’s prophets on Mount Carmel, the rain returns (Kings 18: 25-45).
When viewed from the perspective of the entire story, Elijah’s trip to Zarephath can be seen as God’s desire to remember the needs of the simple people who have limited status, even while dealing with powerful people like king Ahab.
This short story concludes with some remarkably touching and reassuring words: “The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lords sends rain upon the earth."
______________________________
Second Reading - Hebrews 9:24-28
The Face of God
Despite Moses’ close friendship with God, when he asks to
see God’s face, the Lord says, “You
cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). The gift of seeing the face of God directly
had to wait for the Incarnation.
In a similar way, again anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, God gives Moses a model of a sanctuary that is made by hands - one that is only “a copy of the true one” to be found only in heaven.
For the next several centuries, the high priests of Israel entered the earthly sanctuary on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) to make sacrifices “with blood that is not his own.” It was a sacrifice that, under the old covenant, had to be repeated over and over by an imperfect priesthood.
The Incarnation of Christ changed all of that, and brought with it a new covenant and a new high priest who sacrificed himself once “to take away the sins of many,” and “bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.”
The Letter to the Hebrews is a carefully crafted examination of the ways in which Christ fulfills the Old Covenant’s foreshadowing of a perfect high priest. Your hearers at Mass might not have all the background to this Scripture passage, but they can experience in your proclamation the excitement that comes from the promise of seeing God’s face directly.
In a similar way, again anticipating the arrival of the Messiah, God gives Moses a model of a sanctuary that is made by hands - one that is only “a copy of the true one” to be found only in heaven.
For the next several centuries, the high priests of Israel entered the earthly sanctuary on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) to make sacrifices “with blood that is not his own.” It was a sacrifice that, under the old covenant, had to be repeated over and over by an imperfect priesthood.
The Incarnation of Christ changed all of that, and brought with it a new covenant and a new high priest who sacrificed himself once “to take away the sins of many,” and “bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.”
The Letter to the Hebrews is a carefully crafted examination of the ways in which Christ fulfills the Old Covenant’s foreshadowing of a perfect high priest. Your hearers at Mass might not have all the background to this Scripture passage, but they can experience in your proclamation the excitement that comes from the promise of seeing God’s face directly.
© 2012, George Fournier
