Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 6, 2014

Reflection on Lectoring

Lectoring is a unique ministry.  During your career as a lector, you will tell people about miracles and mysteries, sin and sanctity, life and death.  About all the things that are beyond our ability to comprehend completely.

You will tell people about love and hate, self-sacrifice and selfishness, dignity and shame.  About all the things about ourselves that are difficult to comprehend.

You will tell people that Jesus came to change the world, not by eliminating pain and suffering, but by allowing us to believe that there is something beyond pain and suffering.

You will tell people that there is a reason to hope.

You will give people an image of church in which people can love and forgive, console and encourage, embrace and hold tight.  You will give people reassurance that there is a reason to pray - for ourselves and for others.  You will give people, while they are here on earth, a small glimpse of what awaits them when they see God in heaven.

During your career as a lector you will show people the widest possible spectrum of emotions, beliefs, hopes and dreams.  Through the Scriptures you will offer reassurance that God has a plan for our salvation.

Lectoring is a unique ministry through which God speaks to his people in a profound and loving way.

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First Reading  -  Zechariah 9:9-10

To the End of Time and the Ends of the Earth

Sometimes we need to hear that there will be an end to suffering.  That there will be an end to war.  That good will overcome evil. That God wills all his children to be with him forever at the end of time.

“Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!”

We cannot know for certain what heaven will be like, or what we will see when we are face to face with God.  But we can be certain that we have a just savior who came in peace to make salvation a real hope for everyone

“See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he.”

In Hebrew, the name Zechariah means “Yahweh has remembered.”  God has not forgotten his promise. “They shall be my people and I shall be their God” (Jeremiah 32:38).  Zechariah did not know about Jesus or about how he would bring salvation to a broken world.  But the words of the prophet convey a sense that we all need a savior whose “dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

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Second Reading  -  Romans 8:9, 11-13

A Right to Hope

Do we have a right to hope?  Do we have an obligation to hope?  Today’s second reading tells us that we do.  As Paul says, there is a reason that Jesus came to earth, died and was resurrected. “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.”

Faith, hope and trust are all intimately intertwined.  If we trust in God, if we trust that his Son came to save us, and if we trust that God deeply loves us, we must also have faith and hope that, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth” (Psalms 125:8).

Today’s second reading puts us on notice.  We have a responsibility to put life before death.  We also have an obligation to trust that the Spirit supports us in doing this.

As lector, when you read the words “. . . but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live,” you share with the assembly why we all have a right to hope.

© George Fournier, 2014 

Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
June 29, 2014

Reflection on Lectoring

Only God can make something out of nothing.

If we acknowledge the truth of the above statement, what is left for people to make?  Is our ability to make something unique limited to reworking old ideas over and over?  

God created us to do more than memorize and repeat simple facts and formulations.  Instead, he asks us to be active and reflective collaborators in the ongoing process of our salvation.  He asks us to discover for ourselves the depth of his love and his great desire for us to be with him.

Even if we could live several lifetimes, we would never fully plumb the depth of his love.  Nevertheless, we are invited to continue discovering how much he cares for us and our ultimate happiness.

There is a theory of artistic creation that places the artist in the role of the discoverer - someone who finds truth and beauty in God’s creation.  The artist seeks to discover and express in his or her own way the wonder in everything God has made.  It is a journey of discovery not limited to the artist, but available to every one of us as God’s children.

In a similar way, lectors are asked to find and express the truth and beauty revealed by God in the Scriptures.  It is a collaborative process, because God has chosen lectors to work with him on the project.

“Making a find” is how art historian Richard Shiff describes the creative process of discovery.  What can people, including lectors, make?  To the best of our abilities, we can make discoveries about how God manifests himself to us.  It is truly a collaborative effort between God and us.

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First Reading  -  Acts of the Apostles 12:1-11
The Price of Belief

To get an idea of how important Peter was, consider the fourth verse of today’s first reading.  It says that sixteen soldiers were assigned to guard him.  Later on in verse 19, it says Peter’s jailbreak was such a serious matter that Herod Agrippa had all sixteen soldiers tried and executed.

The story of Peter’s imprisonment and potential death is not something to be proclaimed lightly.  The safe and familiar surroundings of our parish church should not mitigate the reality of the dangerous and life-threatening conditions existing in Judea around 44 AD.  Believing in Jesus came with a high price.

Peter especially recognized the price.   Today’s reading parallels a remarkably similar story found in chapter five of Acts in which Peter is arrested by the Sanhedrin and again slips past the guards with the help of an angel.

In some ways, these stories remind us of the stories of religious persecution reported almost daily in today’s news.  These horrific stories are often accompanied by the heroic stories of people who refuse to compromise their beliefs.

For Peter, and for many people living today, risking everything becomes the price for following one’s beliefs.  It is a heroic story of heroic and inspiring people.

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Second Reading  -  2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
The Ultimate Price

Paul, like Peter, was also someone who refused to compromise his beliefs. He was someone who “kept the faith.”  But what did he get for his faithfulness?

“Five times at the hands of the Jews, I received forty lashes, minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked” (2 Corinthians 11:24-25).  He also spent years in jail, and was ultimately martyred in Rome.  He paid a high price for remaining faithful to his mission and beliefs.

In today’s second reading Paul knows he is going to die.  He is about to experience the most frightening event of his life.  Far more frightening than all of the trials he endured.  For him death will be the final reality, the ultimate loss of control, the final end of all his travels.  It will be the time when Paul most needs to trust in God’s mercy.

Perhaps at Mass we can pray with the entire assembly that we will face death with Paul’s level of faith and trust.  In the final verse of the second reading he says with great hope, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom.  To him be glory forever and ever.  Amen”

© George Fournier, 2014

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
June 22, 2014

Reflection on Lectoring

A lot depends on how you say the words.

“It is finished.”

Think of all the ways you can say, “It is finished.”  You can say these words with a sigh of relief.  You can say them with a sense of accomplishment and completion.  You can say them with a sense of resignation and failure.  You can say them a dozen different ways.

According to the Gospel of John, “It is finished” are the last words spoken by Jesus before he died.  Try imagining how he said them.

As a lector, you accept the challenge of finding meaning and conveying meaning in the words you proclaim.  They are words that have the power to move people’s hearts, guide their decisions, and provide meaning in an often confusing world.  They are all words that must be spoken and heard with prayerful reflection.

No Scripture passage resonates in exactly the same way with every person.  The Scriptures were authored by God in a way that makes individual prayer and reflection essential.   And it is no easy task to proclaim the Scriptures with a combination of humility and confidence in a way that both speaker and hearer can find meaning. 

When spoken aloud, the meaning of Scripture is textured by inflection and brought to life by expression.  When these things are lacking, or when personal understanding is missing, part of the message is lost.

At every Mass, a lot depends on how you understand and say the words.

We acknowledge the insights into Jesus’ final words found in Rev. Richard John Neuhaus’ book, Death on a Friday Afternoon.

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First Reading  -  Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a
A Time to Remember

Forty years is a long time.

Forty years is enough time to witness countless events both big and small.  Encounter thousands of people and ideas.  Experience many feelings of happiness and joy, pain and sorrow.

It is also time enough for memories to fade.

Today’s first reading comes in two large sections.  The first is a command by Moses to remember.  The second is an admonition by Moses not to forget.

It was the Israelites’ own fault that they wandered forty years in the desert.  They could have avoided all the dust and dryness, serpents and scorpions if they had trusted God and gone directly into Canaan.  But they got scared at the prospect of fighting the Canaanites and said “no” to God.

Now, after forty years, out of the original group that left Egypt, only Moses, Joshua and a guy named Caleb were left.  All the rest were second and third generation.  And they all needed to be reminded.

A lifetime is filled with a lot of things to remember, both good and bad.  It is only God who can take all those things and offer us something to look forward to - if only we remember that he has been with us every step of the way.

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Second Reading  -  1 Corinthians 10:16-17

Paul's Vision Statement

Today’s Gospel says it all in one short sentence.  “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”  When we receive Jesus into our hearts, the union is complete.  We are no longer alone.  God is in us.

The vision statement on my parish says, “Called into relationship by the Holy Spirit and centered in the Eucharist, we are a welcoming community sent to serve as Christ did.”  As parish members we acknowledge that we, who are centered in the Eucharist, have been called into a relationship with God and with each other.

When he wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul must also have had a vision statement in mind.  It is a vision that contains an intimate “participation” in the very substance of Christ.  He then takes it one step farther.  He makes this participation a pivot point for our relationship with each other.  He says, “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”

Perhaps as you proclaim this vision at Mass, you might make a special effort to look out at the assembly and say directly to them, “for we all partake of the one loaf.”  They may just agree with you.

© George Fournier, 2014

The Most Holy Trinity
June 15, 2014

Reflection on Lectoring

Lectoring is more than reading.

A lector is more than someone who reads.

Every Christian ministry, including lectoring, involves more than just performing a specific function or service.  Much more.  People who volunteer in food banks do more than hand out food.  People who visit the sick do more than talk. People who serve as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion do more than distribute Communion.  They are all living witnesses to the living presence of God.

Think of the young child receiving Holy Communion for the first time.  For all the years that follow, his or her belief in the Real Presence is aided by the grace of the Holy Spirit.  In addition, the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion also performs an essential role.  When spoken with conviction by the Eucharistic Minister, the words “the Body of Christ” and “the Blood of Christ” encourage a lifelong belief in the presence of God.

People desperately need ministry.  Not just because they need food, or shelter, or comfort, or clothes to wear.  People need to feel God’s presence.    They need to experience God at work in their lives.  They need to see the face of God shining upon them.

“The Lord bless you and keep you!  The Lord let his face shine upon you and be gracious to you!  The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!” (Numbers 6:24-26).  When God instructed Moses to use these words as a blessing for the Israelites, he understood what they needed most.  They needed to see his face.

When people hear the words of Scripture proclaimed with conviction at Mass, they also see God’s face.  When that happens the Holy Spirit is at work.  When that happens we can be certain that the Holy Spirit is also at work guiding the lector.

Like Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, lectors must sincerely believe in God’s real presence, and must not be afraid to show it.  Lectoring is much more than reading.

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First Reading  -  Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9
What Moses Did Not Know

In some ways, Moses’ prayer at the end of today’s first reading is a strange prayer.  Speaking for all the Israelites, he asks God to, “receive us as your own.” 

Did Moses not know that God had already chosen the Israelites as his people?  Had he forgotten that God brought them out of slavery in Egypt?  Was he not reassured when God gave them manna in the morning and water from the rock?  Did God not speak directly to Moses saying he is, “the Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity”?

Perhaps Moses was overcome with a sense of guilt when he witnessed the Israelites worshiping the Golden Calf.  Perhaps God’s words still rang in his ears when he heard God say, “Let me alone, then, that my anger may burn against them to consume them” (Exodus 32:10).

Perhaps it would have been easier for Moses to recognize God as a compassionate God if he had known about the Incarnation and the sacrifice of the cross.  Perhaps he would have been reassured if he had heard Jesus’ words at the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” 

Perhaps today’s first reading may help all of us understand the important balance between trusting in God and recognizing our need for forgiveness.

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Second Reading  -  2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Real Presence

“. . .  and the God of love and peace will be with you.”  Today’s second reading says very directly that the God of love and peace will be with us if we do certain things.  But what exactly does that mean?

Will God love us more if we “agree with one another”?  Will God compound our peace if we first “live in peace”? Will we experience more of God’s presence if we “greet one another with a holy kiss.”?

It is very easy to read that the God of love and peace will be with us without giving much thought as to what that really means, or what that might look like in our lives.

Perhaps this week’s Reflection on Lectoring might offer one small way to think about this.  Whenever we minister to others in love, we make God’s presence more real, more visible.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul passionately defends his preaching and seeks a reconciliation among all believers.  But he also knows it is hard to see God’s face when there are divisions and animosities.  Perhaps that is why he ends his letter by praying that, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”

Perhaps Paul’s words can also tell us that in our own simple actions of caring for others we can catch a small glimpse of the infinite grace, love and fellowship of God.

© George Fournier, 2014

Pentecost Sunday
June 8, 2014

Reflection on Lectoring

“For your sake I your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth.”

The above quote from an anonymous second century homily is found in the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday.  God is talking to Adam and Eve (and by extension to all of us), calling himself our son, the descendent of our first human parents, being born in human likeness.  Becoming a real human being in everything but sin.

It is said that with enough data any puzzle can be solved.  Mysteries, on the other hand, can never be solved.  They can only be believed with the help of faith.  Mysteries, like the Incarnation, are not the source of intellectual knowledge.  They are the source of wonder.

Perhaps in an age of technology, wonder and mystery (and anything else that cannot be proven scientifically) seem like the stuff of fabrication and fantasy.  If this is so, however, the realities of our lives are severely limited, and our faith, that transcends scientific proof, fails. Scripture too, with its claim to be divinely inspired, would seem to be a product of someone’s creative imagination.

To be effective in their ministry, lectors must take a firm hold on the fullness of reality.  They must find the wonder and mystery contained in every Scripture passage they proclaim.  They must recognize that wonder and mystery can never be exhausted.  They must accept their responsibility to go beyond simple explanations, and explore the wonder and mystery for themselves.

Lectors must rely on the teaching authority of the Church, but they must also make a personal effort to pray and meditate on the Scriptures in order to hear what God is saying to them.  Lectors must believe that the wonder and mystery of God’s words can never be exhausted.

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First Reading  -  Acts of the Spostles 2:1-11
Miracles and Wonders

There is a great deal of wonder to be found in today’s first reading.  How could an ordinary group of men stand up in front of strangers from all over the world and keep them spellbound?  The apostles’ audience included travelers from Egypt and Rome and Mesopotamia, most of whom had little, if any, prior contact with Jesus - a man who during his ministry never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was born.

How could something like this happen?  The verse immediately following today’s first reading says, “They were all astounded and bewildered.”  And later in the chapter it says that after hearing Peter, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day” (v.41).  These things seem almost miraculous.

Perhaps what happened on Pentecost is miraculous.  Perhaps every time the Holy Spirit fills our hearts and minds, we experience the very real miracle of God’s presence in our world. 

A modern day newspaper account that just presents the facts could never adequately describe what happened on Pentecost.  Only the inspired words of the Bible can do that.

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Second Reading  -  Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 
Not with Our Eyes Alone

If the first reading causes us to marvel at the mystery of how God works, the second reading tells us how human beings are able to see beyond just sensory knowledge.  The faith necessary to see what our eyes alone cannot comes from the Holy Spirit.  “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.”

Perhaps it is not uncommon for human beings to reduce mystery to something more manageable.  To take the miraculous and make it mundane.  That is what the people of Corinth were doing with the gifts and talents given them by the Holy Spirit.  They compared the gifts they had with the gifts others had.  They took something sacred and made it a profane competition.

Perhaps their behavior reflects an element of human nature that cries for transformation.  Perhaps it is the kind of transformation that Paul identified when he says, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”  Perhaps it is a transformation that needs continuous refreshing through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Lectors have an important role in the continuing transformation of their own hearts and the hearts of their hearers.  With every proclamation of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit has a new opportunity to make his grace available.  A new opportunity to help the people in the assembly see what our eyes alone cannot.

© George Fournier 2014