February 2, 2014
Reflection on Lectoring
This week’s reflection on lectoring is a thought
experiment.
Just imagine you have been invited to hear Abraham
Lincoln deliver his Gettysburg Address along with a few hundred other people. It was 150 years ago that he first delivered his
historic, 272-word address, and you are looking forward to hearing his timeless
words in person.
As you sit down you find someone has placed a printed
copy of the address on your seat. In a
few minutes Mr. Lincoln arrives, looks out at his audience and begins his
address.
What are you likely to do while he is speaking?
Are you likely to read along with the printed words you
were given? Or do you feel drawn to the
speaker? Do you put your full attention
on the speaker and on what he is saying?
Many people at Mass find benefit in reading along as the
lector proclaims the words of Scripture.
For many hearing alone is not enough.
For them reading is necessary for a fuller appreciation of the meaning.
Why is that? Why
do people read along? Lectors might well
ask themselves, “Why for some in the assembly is hearing not enough?”
_________________________
First Reading - Malachi 3:1-4
A Messenger by Any Name
As sometimes happens, having knowledge about the sometimes
unclear “facts” found in some Scripture readings may not add much to our basic
understanding. For instance, in today’s
first reading some scholars suggest that Malachi really means “messenger” and
is not the name of a real person.
In addition, precisely to whom the “messenger” refers is
also open to multiple interpretations.
Is the messenger Malachi? Is he
an angelic being, or God, or the imminent presence of God? There is even some question whether the “my messenger” who will prepare the way
is the same as the “messenger of the
covenant.”
However confusing these questions may be, they should
never be the main focus of a proclamation.
What is happening in this reading relates to the poor observance by the
Jewish priests and people of their covenant relationship with God. The temple has been rebuilt after its
destruction by the Babylonians, but people’s hearts needed more work.
Whether they read along in their books or just listen to
the lector’s proclamation, your hearers at Mass are unlikely to understand all
of the “facts” relating to Malachi’s pronouncements. However, that is not what an effective
proclamation of this reading is all about.
It is not meant to be a history lesson.
What is clear for
certain is that God will be pleased when the Jewish people and we today
recognize our covenant relationship with him.
Fortunately for us God will send us a “messenger” to help make all these
things clear.
_______________________________
Second Reading - Hebrews 2:14-18
Authenticity
Christ did not come to eliminate death. Or the fear of death. Or the grief one feels at the death of a
loved one.
During his life Christ experienced grief, understood the
fear of death, and died in the most physically and emotionally painful way
possible.
Christ never dismissed the pain. Neither does today’s second reading. It helps us accept the authenticity of the
pain we experience by showing us that God’s son experienced the pain too.
There is comfort in
knowing that Christ really understands our deepest feelings and did not shy
away from them while here on earth. It
is through his sharing of these feelings that he helps us see how much our
relationship with him is real. A relationship with him that is just as real today
on earth as it will be when we see him face to face in heaven.
© George Fournier, 2104
