August 31, 2014
Reflection on Lectoring
There is a difference between collecting and verifying
the facts of history and understanding their timeless meaning. This is uniquely true when studying the life
of Jesus. You can study the historical details
of his life, or you can take the next step and commit to believing that Jesus
was God incarnate. You can recognize
that truth comes in two flavors - the truth of facts and the truth of faith.
African missionary-doctor Albert Schweitzer understood
this when he wrote in his book, The Quest
of the Historical Jesus, “Jesus means something in our world because a
mighty spiritual force streams forth from Him and flows through our time
also. This fact can neither be shaken nor
confirmed by any historical discovery.
It is the solid foundation of Christianity” (p.397). The facts of history can give us
perspective. But Jesus’ apostles, who
had a very first-hand cultural and historical perspective, followed Jesus
because they believed - not because they completely understood.
When we encounter the Scriptures today, thousands of
years later, we do it through the eyes of faith. When we do, we encounter the kind of truth
that is inexhaustible. Like a great work
of art or literature, the Scriptures offer us a truth and beauty to which we
can return again and again. When done
with prayer and reflection our encounter with Scripture is always new, never
rote or repetitive, always open to deeper insights and inspiration.
Lectors partake in what must be a profound encounter with
the Scriptures. They help make the
proclamation of the Scriptures an encounter of faith - the kind of encounter
that must always be new and renewing.
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First Reading - Jeremiah 20:7-9
Holding Nothing Back
Can you imagine anyone at Mass vehemently declaring that
God deceived him or her? And saying it
out loud so that everyone can hear? That is exactly what will happen this
weekend. And it will be the lector who says
it.
“You
duped me O Lord, and I let myself be duped.”
These words from Scripture are not being said by someone
who is pretending, or by someone who is just trying to make an extravagant
statement - a statement that he will later suggest was only a colorful attempt
to teach some completely noncontroversial or unassailable point about our
relationship with God. Jeremiah was really
angry. He was really despondent. He was really disgusted. A few verses later
in Chapter 20 he says, “Cursed by the day
on which I was born!”
Today’s reading is taken from a remarkable chapter in
which Jeremiah tells his boss Pashhur, the chief officer of the house of the
Lord, that he and his friends will die in Babylon because he has “prophesied lies to them.” Jeremiah then expresses his frustrations to
God when he says, “You were too strong
for me, and you triumphed.”
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Second Reading - Romans 12:1-2
Then and Now
With this weekend’s reading from Romans, Paul begins a
section full of exhortations - exhortations on how to live a life that is
pleasing to God and in harmony with others in the community. Unlike today’s preachers, Paul does not have
church council documents, papal encyclicals or even a canon of New Testament books
to serve as resources. He is offering
guiding principles meant to address the current and specific needs of the people
who live in early Christian communities.
In today’s second reading, Paul is telling his hearers
that they have an individual responsibility to live harmonious lives. The Old Testament law and its sacrificial
rituals have been superseded by a way of life modeled on the example of Christ
and by the self-sacrifice of each individual believer.
Following the two verses of today’s reading is the
well-known passage about mutual interdependence, “For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have
the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually
parts of one another.” (v.4-5).
© George Fournier, 2014
