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