Third Sunday of Lent
March 3, 2013

Reflection on Lectoring

In the recently published The Infancy Narratives addendum to his book Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI states there is more to interpreting Scripture than just historical exegesis.  Although the Scriptures were written from the perspective of a specific historical time, their message is true for people of all times and places.

According to Pope Benedict, those who hear God’s words expressed in the Scriptures today have a right and a responsibility to ask the following two questions:

            - Does it concern me?

            - If so, how?

Real conversation with anyone is a dialogue.  It requires active listening - the kind of listening that is made possible by the two questions recommended by the Pope.   This kind of listening is essential for a personally meaningful understanding of what God is saying in the Scriptures.

It is also the essential starting point for lector preparation.  If lectors don’t listen to the voice of God, the assembly is not going to listen to the voice of the lector.  Worse still, they might not hear the voice of God in the readings.

In his book, Pope Benedict shows that he has listened to and thought about the opinions of other scholars and sources.  But you quickly sense that he listens to God first.  Perhaps the people in the assembly should sense the same thing about the person who is their lector.

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First Reading  -  Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15
Year C
Here I Am

There is something frightening about standing all by yourself, alone and exposed, and saying, “Here I am.”  Once you said it, you can’t take it back.  The words belong to you.

Three weekends ago in the sixth chapter of Isaiah, despite his fears, we heard Isaiah say, “Here I am, send me.”  That was his answer to God’s question about whom to send in his name.

In today’s first reading, Moses’ curiosity gets the better of him.  He investigates a curious burning bush.  And when his name is called out from the bush he responds, “Here I am.”  Despite repeated efforts to convince God to find another messenger, Moses can’t take back his “Here I am.”

Telling other people that the Creator of the universe gave him an important job to do was a frightening prospect for Moses.  Who would believe such a thing?  Nevertheless, God had made his choice, and Moses, however reluctantly, accepted the call.     

Although the details of Moses’ encounter with God are quite dramatic, the story of his call is the story of everyone’s call.  With a little fear and trembling, everyone is called to be God’s messenger.  That is true for the lector, and true for the people who hear the lector.  Perhaps those who hear the story of Moses at Mass this weekend will be reminded of that call. Perhaps they will be moved to say, “Here I am.”

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Second Reading  -  1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Year C
Sorting Out What Is Good

Today’s second reading and the Gospel make two very strong statements.  Paul tells the Corinthians, “Whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” Jesus tells the people gathered around him, “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.”  To make the point even more forcefully, Jesus makes the same warning again using the same words.

In both of his letters to the Corinthians, Paul also makes some very specific warnings about bad behavior and confused thinking.  In a cosmopolitan city like Corinth, there were many cultures and ways of thinking.

Perhaps, not surprisingly, some of those ways of thinking seemed very convincing to many people. Many people also felt great pressure to make accommodations to current pagan customs.

In many ways, the pressures of living in Corinth two thousand years ago continue today.  Your hearers at Mass live in a cosmopolitan world where many non-Christian practices and philosophies exist.  Sorting out what is good and what is not so good is an ongoing and not always successful undertaking.  However, a little encouragement from the Scriptures to “take care” always helps.

©  2013 George Fournier

Second Sunday of Lent
February 24, 2013

Reflection on Lectoring

Somehow they know.  Somehow the people at Mass know how important the Scriptures are to the lector who proclaims them.

Commenting on what the people in the assembly intuitively sense, Father Joseph Champlin in his book, Messengers of God’s Word says, “The interior qualities of the reader become apparent to listeners almost without a single word being proclaimed.”

Father Champlin is talking about how much the lector loves the Scriptures, and how much he or she prays and prepares before proclaiming the Scriptures.  These are essential ingredients for all effective proclamation.

Last week, we continued our consideration of Lectio Divina as a method for lector preparation.  It is a way to start a personal conversation with God with the help of the Scriptures.  It is the kind of conversation that lectors can then extend to include the assembly at Mass.

Fr. James Martin, who wrote the book My Life with the Saints, describes Lectio Divina as a way to pray and reflect on the Scriptures that involves answering four questions:  1) What does the text say?  2) What does the text say to me?  3) What do you want to say to God about the text?  4) What difference will this text make in my life?   

In a few weeks, we shall continue the discussion of lector preparation with the question of whether that preparation is a chore or something to look forward to.  Perhaps Lection Divina offers one way to answer that question.

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First Reading  -  Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18
A Moment in Time

This reading about the far distant past describes a truly momentous and historic event.  Abram looks up at the limitless night sky.  He sees a creation filled with stars that seem to stretch to infinity.  He sees a reflection of the infinite God who is speaking directly and personally to him.

But even more remarkably, he hears from God that his descendants will fill the earth.  A promise this grand and limitless is impossible to comprehend.  Reason and logic scream out against its vastness.  Only faith can take it in.  And then only with help.

And Abram does ask for help.   How is it possible that this wanderer will possess the land from the “Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates?”   He asks, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

God answers Abram with a profound and mystical experience.  And he seals his promise with a solemn rite.  He makes a covenant whose terms can never be altered - a covenant that will continue for all time.

Will your hearers at Mass hear only the strange details of a strange ritual, or will they recognize in your reading how radically history was altered when Abram asked for help with his unbelief?

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Second Reading  -  Philippians 3:17 - 4:1
Enemies and Citizens

There is a lot of emotion in this passage from Philippians.  Philippi is a church community founded by Paul that was being influenced by people with an agenda different from his.  Instead of strengthening the bond among believers, the “enemies of the cross of Christ.” were causing dissension.

This is very painful news for Paul who is confined in prison some distance away.   The choice he presents to his readers is between people whose minds “are occupied with earthly things,” and those who recognize that their true “citizenship is in heaven.”

People did not always agree with each other in Paul’s time; they don’t always agree now.  Although he was willing to accept and promote radical change, Paul was not the kind a person to compromise on the things that really mattered.  At the same time, he also longed for a mutually supportive community in which all people’s faith could thrive.

Knowing the right thing to do or say when divergent opinions are present is never easy, never open to simple solutions.  This is a reading that should cause lectors and their hearers to think about ways in which both “enemies and citizens” might receive God’s grace and have their faith strengthened.

© 2013 George Fournier

First Sunday of Lent
February 17, 2013

Reflection on Lectoring

Here is something to think about.

Why not choose just one person for the job of parish lector, and have him or her proclaim the Scriptures at every Mass?

One reason for not doing that might be the desire to engage as many of the laity as possible in liturgical ministry.  Perhaps more might simply be better.

Or perhaps there might be an additional, more important reason than just quantity.

Think about what it would be like if there was only one musician in the world.  Or only one artist.  Or only one book author.  No matter how good those individuals might be, there would be only one perspective and only one set of life experiences for us to hear, or see, or read.

The same applies to lectors.  Each lector proclaims differently because each lector is different.  And those human differences allow the assembly to hear new and different insights every time a Scripture passage is proclaimed.

Last week, we began our discussion of Lectio Divina by suggesting that it can help lectors hear what God is saying in the Scriptures in a new and personal way.  In turn, lectors may be better prepared to proclaim the Scriptures with a broader perspective and deeper insights.

Lectio Divina is not an esoteric form of communication with God appropriate only for saints and Scripture scholars.  Neither is it just for lectors.  Next week, we shall see how Lectio Divina can make a significant difference in how we all read the Scriptures.

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"It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will.”

                                                                  -  Verbum Dei , n. 2

                                                                      Documents of Vatican Council II

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First Reading  -  Deuteronomy 26:4-10

"Thank You"

The Book of Deuteronomy can be read as Moses’ last will and testament to his people as he prepares to leave them.  The Lord had brought the Israelites to the edge of the promised land, and Moses gives them a brief history of what went before.  He also puts forth a compilation of the laws that bind the Israelites to their God.

In the midst of a long list of does and don’ts, Moses reminds his people to say “thank you.”  Gratitude is a central theme of today’s first Scripture passage.

When their fathers wandered about in foreign lands, God gave them a direction and a promise.  When things were bad in Egypt, God came to their rescue.  When there was nothing to eat in the desert, God gave them food.  The wandering people finally had a home.  And God gave it to them.

This is a story that can describe individual nations as well as individual people.  We are all wanderers, all dependent, all in need of help.  We all have a reason to be grateful.  Perhaps, your hearers at Mass may also be prompted to say “thank you.”

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Second Reading  -  Romans 10:8-13

Suggestions from a Friend

Chapters nine through eleven in Paul’s Letter to the Romans deal with the question of why so many of God’s chosen people now seem to be on the outside looking in.  Or not looking in at all.  Although they obediently followed Torah, the Jewish people were now being asked to take a very difficult next step, a big leap of faith.  Was God being fair?

In response, Paul’s says that the law and the prophets always pointed to the messiah, to the path of true salvation.    And whether you were Jew or Gentile, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Taking the next step is not always easy, particularly if it means grappling with your relationship with God.  Torah spelled out the rules.  Going beyond Torah meant journeying in a new and unfamiliar landscape.  It meant being guided by the example of the risen Christ and being open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  Although it continued to mean worshiping in community, it also meant communicating with God in an individual and very personal way.  The way of faith.

When you reassure your hearers in the assembly that “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,” you might take some comfort for yourself in knowing that God is always ready to talk, and listen, and offer suggestions.

© 2013, George Fournier

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 10, 2013

Reflection on Lectoring

God speaks directly to us.  To each one of us.  About this, we can be absolutely certain.

God spoke to Adam and Eve, to Abraham, to Moses and the prophets.  He spoke to them in a very human language.  In the course of time, he spoke most powerfully through Christ, the Word made flesh.

But all of this is more than just past history.  God continues to reveal himself to us today by sending us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth.  About this, we can also be absolutely certain.

This kind of certainty is essential for lectors.  They must believe they can hear God in the words of the Scriptures they proclaim.  If lectors don’t believe, neither will their hearers.

One method for helping lectors and everyone who reads Scripture to hear the voice of God is called Lectio Divina or divine reading.   It is a way for encountering God in the Scriptures that was endorsed by Pope Benedict XVI when he said, “If it is effectively promoted, this practice will bring to the Church - - I am convinced of it -- a new spiritual springtime.”

Lectio Divina involves reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation.  It involves the kind of communication with God that can illuminate a lector’s proclamation of the Scriptures.  More on Lectio Divina next week.

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“Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit.”

                                                                  -  Verbum Dei , n. 9

                                                                      Documents of Vatican Council II

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First Reading  -  Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8
"Here I am."

“Here I am,” I said, “send me.”

What thoughts go through a person’s mind when he or she says to God, “Here I am”?  All three of today’s readings can give us some possible answers.

It was around the year 742 B.C. when King Uzziah died.  During every transition of power in ancient Judah there were multiple opportunities for mischief.  From outside, it came from countries like Syria and then Assyria.  From inside, troubles arose as the powerful sought more power.  The timing of the start of Isaiah’s career foreshadowed the many shattering events that would mark his entire career.

The immediate circumstances of Isaiah’s call were no less intimidating.  He is in the temple while it is filled with incense, and a vision of “the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne” appears.  And he is scared.  “Woe is me, I am doomed!”   He knows he is a sinner, and so does the seraphim carrying a burning ember from the altar.

Despite all of this, Isaiah still says, “Send me.”  Paul says the same thing when he is knocked off his horse.  Peter says the same thing when he leaves everything to follow Jesus.  What thoughts went though their minds?  What thoughts will go through your mind as you say, the words, “Send me” to the assembly this weekend?

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Second Reading  -  1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Without Reservation

In today’s second reading Paul says, “I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle.”   But that did not stop him.  He heard the risen Lord talking to him, and that was all he needed.

Paul does not appear to be the kind of person who was satisfied with doing anything halfway.  Consequently, we might be right to suppose that his “Yes” was accompanied by few reservations.  He knew he was not perfect.  He had persecuted Christians. He had a thorn in his flesh that got under his skin.  But none of that stopped him.

Today’s second reading brings to a close the four weekends that we will spend on First Corinthians.  Paul told the Corinthians that the health of their community depended on a respect for diversity and on a love for their brothers and sisters.  Today, he makes it clear that without a belief in the resurrection, the church would not survive.

Paul wrote, “I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received.”  Perhaps an appropriate “Yes” for a lector might involve handing on to others in the assembly what God has revealed to you - with as few reservations as possible.

© 2013 George Fournier