September 9, 2012
Reflection on Lectoring
For the next few weeks, we’ll present a few reflection
questions that will offer some insights into your role as a lector.
In the beginning, deciding to become a lector involved answering some important, initial questions. Does God really want me to do this? Am I worthy to proclaim sacred Scripture to hundreds of people? Will I be able to overcome the fear of public speaking, especially in a church, especially during a liturgy? What do I know about the Scriptures anyway?
The fact that you became a lector meant you had some answers to these questions. Although you may never have all the answers, you trusted that God knew what he was doing when he invited you to serve.
Now, and for the next few weeks, we’ll turn to another set of questions that may prompt some deeper reflections for those who have answered God’s invitation to serve.
Although they were among Israel’s greatest prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah had strong reservations about why God chose them to speak in his name. Moses also questioned God several times about why God should choose him lead his people out of slavery.
Lectors would do well to ask the same question. Why did God choose you and not someone else? It was not an arbitrary decision on God’s part. He wanted you. Why?
We’ll consider this question further next week.
In the beginning, deciding to become a lector involved answering some important, initial questions. Does God really want me to do this? Am I worthy to proclaim sacred Scripture to hundreds of people? Will I be able to overcome the fear of public speaking, especially in a church, especially during a liturgy? What do I know about the Scriptures anyway?
The fact that you became a lector meant you had some answers to these questions. Although you may never have all the answers, you trusted that God knew what he was doing when he invited you to serve.
Now, and for the next few weeks, we’ll turn to another set of questions that may prompt some deeper reflections for those who have answered God’s invitation to serve.
Although they were among Israel’s greatest prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah had strong reservations about why God chose them to speak in his name. Moses also questioned God several times about why God should choose him lead his people out of slavery.
Lectors would do well to ask the same question. Why did God choose you and not someone else? It was not an arbitrary decision on God’s part. He wanted you. Why?
We’ll consider this question further next week.
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"Go them! It is I who will assist you in speaking and will teach you what your are to say."
- Exodus 4:12
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First Reading - Isaiah 35:4-7a
Here is Your God
- Exodus 4:12
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First Reading - Isaiah 35:4-7a
Here is Your God
Think about going from a hot, noisy and dirty place where
people are yelling and screaming at each other to a cool, serene forest scene
with a quiet stream running in the background.
Sitting beside a quiet stream feels all the better when compared to
scenes of anger, confusion and destruction.
That is why Chapter 35 of Isaiah is so comforting. If you look at Chapter 34 right before it, you find bloody scenes where people are being massacred, the land is turned into burning pitch, and smoke rises forever. This was a time when nobody got along with anybody. Cities were burned, kings and their armies fought with other kings and their armies, and the Assyrian king Sennacherib was about to shut up Judah’s king Hezekiah “like a bird in a cage” in Jerusalem.
There was a lot to fear back then. There can still be a lot to fear today. People still need to be comforted. People still need to feel that there is a place to find peace. People, like those who hear your proclamation this weekend, need to know that there is a reason to “Be strong, fear not!”
But just saying, “don’t be afraid” is not enough. That’s too easy. And for people who have fears and concerns, it is not very reassuring. This is the kind of reading in which every word is important, every sentiment must be sincere, and every reassurance must come from the heart. It must be the kind of proclamation which enables your hearers to believe in their souls, “Here is your God."
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Second Reading - James 2:1-5
Fairness not Favoritism
That is why Chapter 35 of Isaiah is so comforting. If you look at Chapter 34 right before it, you find bloody scenes where people are being massacred, the land is turned into burning pitch, and smoke rises forever. This was a time when nobody got along with anybody. Cities were burned, kings and their armies fought with other kings and their armies, and the Assyrian king Sennacherib was about to shut up Judah’s king Hezekiah “like a bird in a cage” in Jerusalem.
There was a lot to fear back then. There can still be a lot to fear today. People still need to be comforted. People still need to feel that there is a place to find peace. People, like those who hear your proclamation this weekend, need to know that there is a reason to “Be strong, fear not!”
But just saying, “don’t be afraid” is not enough. That’s too easy. And for people who have fears and concerns, it is not very reassuring. This is the kind of reading in which every word is important, every sentiment must be sincere, and every reassurance must come from the heart. It must be the kind of proclamation which enables your hearers to believe in their souls, “Here is your God."
___________________________
Second Reading - James 2:1-5
Fairness not Favoritism
Two people bring a case before one of the community’s
elders. One complainant is poor and
wears shabby clothes. The other party
has gold rings and fine clothes. Who is
likely to prevail?
Ideally, it should be a matter of fairness not favoritism.
However, things do not appear to go so well for the shabby guy. He is told to “stand there.” While the rich guy is treated with deference, “Sit here, please.”
James makes it clear that this was no way to create a sense of unity, identity and family in early Christian communities. Perhaps, this might work in a club for the rich and famous. Not in a church that believes that every person is an equally important member of the body of Christ.
The message to be heard in this reading is not a reprimand. Neither is it an invitation to be smug about our sensitivity towards the needs of the poor. Rather, it is an invitation for the faithful at Mass to see the value in each person sitting next to them. It is also an invitation to the lector to see his or her hearers as brothers and sisters, rich and poor, equally valued as God’s children.
© George Fournier 2012
Ideally, it should be a matter of fairness not favoritism.
However, things do not appear to go so well for the shabby guy. He is told to “stand there.” While the rich guy is treated with deference, “Sit here, please.”
James makes it clear that this was no way to create a sense of unity, identity and family in early Christian communities. Perhaps, this might work in a club for the rich and famous. Not in a church that believes that every person is an equally important member of the body of Christ.
The message to be heard in this reading is not a reprimand. Neither is it an invitation to be smug about our sensitivity towards the needs of the poor. Rather, it is an invitation for the faithful at Mass to see the value in each person sitting next to them. It is also an invitation to the lector to see his or her hearers as brothers and sisters, rich and poor, equally valued as God’s children.
© George Fournier 2012
