Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 3, 2014

Reflection on Lectoring

“Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).

There are two different ways lectors can share the Scriptures at Mass.  They can read the words in a way that invites the assembly to follow along and read the text for themselves.  Or lectors can proclaim the Scriptures in a way that invites people to fix their attention on what they hear.

When people read along, there is an emphasis on clarity.  The reading is paced and guided by the lector so that the words, phrases and sentences are more easily understood.  On the other hand, when the lector invites people to listen to the proclamation with their hearts and minds, there is an emphasis on experiencing the joy and sorrow, hope and struggle, wonder and mystery contained in the words and phrases.

Here is an experiment you can try. The next time you attend Mass, try listening to the readings with your eyes closed.  What do you hear in the proclamation?    Is there an emphasis on keeping up with the flow of the words; or do you sense that God is speaking at that moment directly to you?  Do you hear just words; or do you experience a moment of grace?

Lectors do not need to have great public speaking skills to invite people to hear.  More importantly, lectors need to speak as if the words ultimately come from God.  They also need to believe that the Holy Spirit provides sufficient grace for people to truly hear those words. 

Lectors and those with whom they worship are all participants in a grand conversation.   It is a conversation in which we hear God’s voice, and in that hearing our faith is strengthened.

_________________________

First Reading  -  Isaiah 55: 1-3
A Voice of Hope

There is an impassioned voice speaking to us in the words of today’s first Scripture passage.  It is a voice of encouragement that offers hope for a better future.  It is a voice filled with love and compassion.  It is a voice that speaks to the chosen people in a way that continues to be heard today.

Today’s Reflection on Lectoring suggests that there is a difference between hearing and reading.  It is one thing for a person to read from a book some encouraging words.  It is another thing to hear comforting words spoken by someone who deeply cares about us.

God’s words came to the chosen people at a time when they did not feel very chosen.  They were in exile, and their homeland had been destroyed.  They very badly needed to hear some personal words of reassurance.

A great deal of sensitivity is needed by the lector when speaking words like these to fellow worshipers, many of whom have experienced loss, disappointment and doubt.  False promises fall flat.  And a flat proclamation offers no hope. 

A great deal of sincerity and empathy is required when you, as the lector, proclaim, “Listen, that you may have life.”

_______________________________

Second Reading  -  Romans 8: 37-39

Absolutely Confident

During the last four weekends we have heard ringing in our ears several verses from the eighth chapter of Romans.  Today we come to the powerful and glorious conclusion.

The three verses at the end of the eighth chapter create a crescendo that demands to be spoken aloud and proclaimed with conviction.  Even the questions stated in the reading are more like exclamations.  “What will separate us from the love of Christ?”

Nothing will.

Paul is absolutely confident.  “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities. . . .”

Nothing will be able “to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This weekend, the lector must be equally confident.  In fairness to Paul, to Paul’s message of hope and trust, and to the people who will hear you at Mass, there must be no hesitation in your own belief in the power of God’s love.

© George Fournier, 2014

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 27, 2014

Reflection on Lectoring

You have only one chance to make a positive first impression.

The above statement is frequently applied to occasions when you meet someone for the first time.  It can also be applied to every time you proclaim the Scriptures.

Think about the people at Mass with whom you will share your assigned reading.  Most don’t know your name.  Most have not read the Scripture passage prior to Mass.  Many of your hearers might be visitors or people who have not attended Mass for some time.   As a lector, you have the daunting task of getting their attention, making a connection with them as a fellow worshiper, and presenting a message that has real importance in their lives.  And you have only two or three minutes to do it.

It sounds like an almost impossible task.

There are all kinds of places you can go for advice (including these weekly lector reflections).  Perhaps, however, you already know what to do.  Perhaps you already know the answer.

You already know how it feels when someone talks with you in a way that engages you.  You already know how it feels when someone talks with you in a way that shows he or she cares about you.  You already know how it feels to hear someone who sincerely believes in what he or she is saying to you.

Your task is to be that person who engages, cares and believes.  A person who leaves a positive first impression.  You already know how to do it because you know what it feels like.

___________________________

First Reading  -  1 Kings 3:5, 7-12

A Breathtaking Epic

The first eleven chapters of the First Book of Kings are a breathtaking, yet tragic epic that describes the rise and fall of the 40-year reign of King Solomon.  Numerous intrigues and assassinations secured his succession to the throne following the death of King David.  Downright stupidity and egregious infidelity caused the ultimate and permanent breakup of his kingdom.

In between, Solomon pleases the Lord with his humble prayer for wisdom, builds a magnificent temple, and leads his nation during a period of unparalleled prosperity.

Solomon is a man of complex motivations.  One of his first acts as king is to create good relations with Egypt by marrying the Pharaoh’s pagan daughter, something no self-respecting Jew would do.  Later, he defies the Lord by marrying numerous other pagan women.  Among them were Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hitties - seven hundred in all.  Despite all of this bad behavior, “The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put into his heart” (1 Kings 10:24).

What are we to make of this flawed man who brought his country international fame, but in the end heard God say, “Since this is what you want, and you have not kept my covenant and the statues which I enjoined on you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant” (1 Kings 11:11)?

Today’s first reading suggests that God hears sincere prayer, but that true wisdom requires continued recognition of the real source of that wisdom.

______________________________

Second Reading  -  Romans 8:28-30

We Know

“We know. . . ”

All of Chapter Eight of Romans, including the verses of today’s second reading, provide the answer to the question posed by Paul in  Romans 7:24:  “Miserable one that I am!  Who will deliver me from this mortal body?”

He confidently answers the question by saying, “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

Without question, it is God who predestines us to be called, justified and glorified.  And there can be no better person than the Spirit to justify our hope in everlasting life because, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Next week, the five weeks of readings from Chapter Eight of Romans conclude with a joyful declaration that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  Perhaps while proclaiming today’s second reading, the lector can anticipate some of that confident joy.

© George Fournier 2014

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 20, 2014

Reflection on Lectoring

How did he accomplish so much?

“He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.  He grew up in still another village where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty.”

How could someone from such a poor, working-class background ever amount to anything?

“He didn’t go to college.  He never visited a big city.  He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was born.”

How could someone with no money hope to get so many people’s attention?

“While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth.”

Why would anybody remember someone who died as a criminal?

“All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life.”*

 

Sure, you could say that since he was God, Jesus could do anything.  But that would not explain it.  God never forced anyone to do anything.  Jesus never compelled anyone to follow him.

Amazing things like the above story happen all throughout the Scriptures.  They portray the events that occur in the lives of real men and women.  They have all the drama and complexity that come from our human desires and emotions.  Every time a lector proclaims a Scripture passage, he or she tells a very real story and a very real part of the human drama.

* Excerpts from One Solitary Life written by James Allan Francis

_______________________________

First Reading  -  Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
Justice and Mercy Together

It is very apparent from the words spoken at Mass, that Catholics have a hopeful outlook on things.

During the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer the priest prays, “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may always be free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ..”  In the same way, the last verse in today’s first reading tells us it is ok to hope for our eternal salvation. “And you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.”

Although TV crime shows often suggest that justice and mercy are two separate and distinct things, today’s reading tells us that since our God has “mastery over all things” he is in no hurry to write anyone off.  Psalms 33, v.5 also suggests that there is room for both justice and mercy: “He loves justice and right.  The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.”

Today’s reading from the Book of Wisdom challenges the lector to consider how justice and mercy can be reconciled.  Do they really have to be mutually exclusive? Perhaps 1 John 4:16-17 offers us a good way to think about this:  “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.  In this is love brought to perfection among us that we have confidence on the day of judgment.”

_______________________________

Second Reading  -  Romans 8: 26-27

Five in a Row

For five weekends in a row, the second reading is taken from the eighth chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Today’s second reading is the third in the sequence.

To make sense of today’s two-verse reading it would be very helpful to read it in the context of the entire chapter.  In some ways, all the parts of the chapter lead up to a wonderfully stirring and glorious ending.   (It’s ok to take a peek at verses 37 through 39.  You won’t spoil the ending.)

The entire chapter is about the struggle between the spirit and the flesh.  It tells us that there is a glory to be revealed after the futility of the present age.  It reassures us that faith and hope enable us to endure suffering and slavery.

Today’s second reading focuses on one main point: we are not alone during our struggles because, “the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness.”  The Spirit even makes up for our somewhat imperfectly worded prayers.

Your hearers at Mass will probably not know that there will be a total of five second readings all connected together.  But if you read the entire chapter as you prepare for today’s proclamation, you will know, and your proclamation will have greater authenticity.

© George Fournier 2014

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 13, 2014

Reflection on Lectoring

“Did you hear that?  That was God talking.  I heard him speaking directly to me during the proclamation of the Scriptures at Mass.”

Is that the kind of reaction people have when they hear the proclamation of the Word at Mass?  Do they believe God is speaking directly to them?  Equally important, do lectors believe that God is speaking directly to them and through them?

If God came to talk directly to you, how would you feel?  What expression would be on your face?  Would you forget everything else around you and see only the reality of God’s presence?

Chapter 34 of Exodus says that Moses’ face became radiant after encountering God on Mount Sinai.  After that encounter, the Israelites could tell God really had spoken to Moses by just looking at his face. 

Perhaps mountain-top experiences are not everyday occurrences.  And perhaps not every proclamation will be equally inspiring.  That is for God, by means of his grace, to decide.  It is, however, certain that the Scriptures should always be proclaimed with reverence and with the kind of enthusiasm that recognizes who is really speaking.

“Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow” (Isaiah 60:5 - the first reading from the Mass of the Epiphany of the Lord).

Isaiah understood that it is hard to be casual when God manifests himself to us.  It is also hard to be unenthusiastic when proclaiming his Word.

__________________________

First Reading  -  Isaiah 55:10-11
Who Is in Charge Here?

Isaiah felt well justified in saying God’s word gets things done.  In 586 B.C. the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish people were hauled off into exile.  Not long afterwards, in 539 B.C., the Persian king Cyrus came along and told the Jews they could go home.   Just like in the exodus from Egypt, God had a plan, and was ultimately the person in charge.

Today, we are more likely to put our faith in more rational and scientific reasoning.  The rules of science work pretty well, and provide reliable explanations for how things get done.  But where does that leave God? 

Perhaps Isaiah was scientifically unsophisticated.  Perhaps he thought the trajectory of history was determined more by God’s plan then by the patterns of human behavior. Perhaps today, relying on our modern knowledge and perspectives, we find Isaiah’s perception of reality somewhat uninformed.

This weekend’s first reading presents a real challenge.  Unequivocally the lector will proclaim that God’s word “shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”  How should the lector reconcile the idea of God at work in the world with the view that the world seems to work well enough by following its own set of rules?

______________________________

Second Reading  -  Romans 8:18-13
Wait and Hope

There are times when you might be justified in wishing that just a couple more verses would have been included at the end of the reading. . .  just two more verses.

The two verses immediately following today’s second reading are, “For in hope we were saved.  Now hope that sees for itself is not hope.  For who hopes for what one sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance” (Romans 8:24-25).

How do you deal with the “futility” that is an inescapable part of our present lives?  How do you reconcile yourself to pain and suffering and to the absolute certainty that, no matter how hard you try, the world will never be a perfect place?

Where do you find “the glorious freedom of the children of God”?

Hope is a difficult virtue.  As Paul says, when hope becomes certainty, it is no longer hope.  Almost paradoxically, uncertainty is a prerequisite for hope.  Perhaps that is why, “Our hope is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth” (Psalms 124:8).

© George Fournier 2014