The Catholic Lector

Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 17, 2013

Reflection on Lectoring

“The relation to a human being is the proper metaphor for the relation to God.” With these words from his book I and Thou, Jewish theologian Martin Buber suggests that our relationships with one another offer us insights into our relationship with God.

Can a lector’s relationship to his or her hearers in the assembly give insights into his or her personal encounter with God? Can these insights have an impact on the way the assembly hears God’s word proclaimed in the Scriptures?

In past lector reflections, we presented the idea that an effective proclamation of the Scriptures must first involve the lector listening to God’s voice in the Scriptures. Then the lector responds back to God in prayer. This is the first stage of a dialogue that serves as preparation for proclamation.

At Mass the dialogue comes full circle. Not only does the lector, serving as God’s instrument, speak to the assembly, the lector also encounters God in the vital relationship with his or her fellow worshippers.

Real sharing can only happen when the people with whom we share are real people to us, not just anonymous faces sitting in the pews before us. When we share God’s word with real people - our brothers and sisters - we then experience a dialogue and a relationship that has come full circle.

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First Reading - Isaiah 43: 16-21
Confounding Expectations

In last Sunday’s first reading, we left the chosen people as they entered the promised land after their long exile in Egypt. This Sunday, the Israelites are back again in exile, this time in Babylon. This time, it is Isaiah’s job to remind the Israelites that God helped them once, and will help them again.

This part of the Book of Isaiah is commonly called the “Book of Consolation.” In 587 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and deported much of its population. Then in 538 BC, King Cyrus of Persia allowed the Israelites to return, and Isaiah tells them that God will lead them again out of exile. But he also advises against simple expectations by saying that God is “doing something new!”

There are patterns in history. The idea of return is a pattern familiar to the Jews. Although they retain echoes of past patterns, there are, nevertheless, exciting new things that go beyond simple repetition.

When Christ came on earth, the Jewish people were again a conquered people looking for a familiar pattern: the return of a glorious king and savior like David who would throw out the Romans. What they got was indeed a savior, but a savior who confounded their expectations - as you will see in today’s Gospel story of the woman caught in adultery.

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Second Reading - Philippians 3:8-14
Lass, Gain and What Lies Ahead

You can always depend on Paul to say something colorful. He is not afraid to speak his mind. Despite being one of the most widely read authors in the history of the world and the source of a significant portion of New Testament wisdom, Paul seems to be completely in character when he uses a common word like “rubbish” to describe what he has lost.

Paul could have phrased things more nicely by saying, “I ‘misspoke’ when I persecuted the followers of Christ.” Instead, he unabashedly repudiates his past misguided actions and focuses on “the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Loss and gain are key words in this reading. It is important to recognize that Paul’s “loss of all things” is not just a rhetorical exaggeration. He is writing from jail. He has lost his freedom. It is also important to recognize that Paul’s loss is more than fully compensated by his hope that “I may gain Christ and be found in him.”

How does Paul keep his focus in times of loss? Today’s second reading ends with the worlds: “Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.”

Monday, March 11, 2013