September 2, 2012
Reflection on Lectoring
he Scriptures are an essential resource for understanding our Christian identity. In the same way, lectors who proclaim the Scriptures are an essential resource to the assembly as they explore who they are and what they believe.
Over the course of the last several weeks, our Reflections on Lectoring have considered some of the positive results of effective lectoring. Through their proclamation, lectors encourage their hearers to recognize their dependence on a transcendent Creator, deepen their relationship with their Redeemer, and experience the power of renewal that flows from the Holy Spirit.
Most recently, we have reflected on our membership in a church that grew exponentially even during times of persecution, even when there were few formal structures, even before there was an official canon of Scriptures.
In the early days of the church, sharing the Gospel stories and reading the letters of the apostles were instrumental in making that growth possible. They helped Christians understand who they were in relation to their God and to each other.
There is a Greek term, anamnesis, that describes a recollection of the past that enlivens and empowers the present. The Scriptures today provide that kind of recollection - a recollection of God’s intimate relationship with his people down through the ages. It is the same recollection that every lector shares with his or her hearers at every Mass.
he Scriptures are an essential resource for understanding our Christian identity. In the same way, lectors who proclaim the Scriptures are an essential resource to the assembly as they explore who they are and what they believe.
Over the course of the last several weeks, our Reflections on Lectoring have considered some of the positive results of effective lectoring. Through their proclamation, lectors encourage their hearers to recognize their dependence on a transcendent Creator, deepen their relationship with their Redeemer, and experience the power of renewal that flows from the Holy Spirit.
Most recently, we have reflected on our membership in a church that grew exponentially even during times of persecution, even when there were few formal structures, even before there was an official canon of Scriptures.
In the early days of the church, sharing the Gospel stories and reading the letters of the apostles were instrumental in making that growth possible. They helped Christians understand who they were in relation to their God and to each other.
There is a Greek term, anamnesis, that describes a recollection of the past that enlivens and empowers the present. The Scriptures today provide that kind of recollection - a recollection of God’s intimate relationship with his people down through the ages. It is the same recollection that every lector shares with his or her hearers at every Mass.
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"Do this in remembrance of me."
- 1 Corinthians 11:25
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First Reading - Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8
A Good Kind of Pride
- 1 Corinthians 11:25
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First Reading - Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8
A Good Kind of Pride
Like Christians today, the Jewish people of the Old
Testament found much of their identity in the Scriptures. Today’s first reading from Deuteronomy
(second law) illustrates part of the reason that the Hebrews considered
themselves to be the “chosen people.”
Deuteronomy was written in a time when the Jewish people’s future was in grave doubt, most likely during the Babylonian exile. The writers of Deuteronomy were not compiling a simple historical account with Moses as the main character. They were encouraging their dispirited hearers by making their ancient traditions speak again. They were creating a recollection of the past that would enliven and empower the present.
Deuteronomy did not describe a situation where “statues and decrees” made people feel restricted and oppressed. Rather, it showed that, “observance of the commandments of the Lord” liberated them, freed them from arbitrary, man-made laws, and gave them the guidance to fulfill their role in a covenant made with God.
The law also gave the Jewish people a sense of pride and identity. You can hear that pride when you read the words, “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God is to us whenever we call upon him?”
Perhaps your hearers at today’s Mass can feel some of that same pride as people joined together in the New Covenant initiated by Jesus Christ.
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Second Reading - James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27
A Powerful Combination
Deuteronomy was written in a time when the Jewish people’s future was in grave doubt, most likely during the Babylonian exile. The writers of Deuteronomy were not compiling a simple historical account with Moses as the main character. They were encouraging their dispirited hearers by making their ancient traditions speak again. They were creating a recollection of the past that would enliven and empower the present.
Deuteronomy did not describe a situation where “statues and decrees” made people feel restricted and oppressed. Rather, it showed that, “observance of the commandments of the Lord” liberated them, freed them from arbitrary, man-made laws, and gave them the guidance to fulfill their role in a covenant made with God.
The law also gave the Jewish people a sense of pride and identity. You can hear that pride when you read the words, “For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God is to us whenever we call upon him?”
Perhaps your hearers at today’s Mass can feel some of that same pride as people joined together in the New Covenant initiated by Jesus Christ.
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Second Reading - James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27
A Powerful Combination
With today’s second reading, we begin a five-week
exploration of the Letter of James. In
tone, it is similar to the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament, offering
good counsel and directing the faithful to live moral and virtuous lives.
For James, virtue is achieved by action, the kind of action that is directed toward the needs of others. In today’s reading, for example, the afflictions of orphans and widows are specifically mentioned.
The process starts with people hearing and welcoming “the word that has been planted in you.” After that, a response is required: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” It is not a question of either faith or works. But a combination of faith, works and love that makes us think beyond our own wants and needs.
James’ letter was a circular letter meant to be heard by Christian churches everywhere. It was meant to strengthen these churches and foster a faith that bore fruit in love and service to others. It is a formula for strong communities that remains equally valid today.
For James, virtue is achieved by action, the kind of action that is directed toward the needs of others. In today’s reading, for example, the afflictions of orphans and widows are specifically mentioned.
The process starts with people hearing and welcoming “the word that has been planted in you.” After that, a response is required: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” It is not a question of either faith or works. But a combination of faith, works and love that makes us think beyond our own wants and needs.
James’ letter was a circular letter meant to be heard by Christian churches everywhere. It was meant to strengthen these churches and foster a faith that bore fruit in love and service to others. It is a formula for strong communities that remains equally valid today.
© 2012 George Fournier
