May 11, 2014
Reflection on Lectoring
In today’s first reading, Peter stands up in front of
hundreds, maybe thousands of people whom he did not know. In Jerusalem at the time there were large
numbers of people from out of town milling about. There were also some people in the crowd who had
a role in condemning and killing Peter’s friend and teacher.
And yet, he still took the risk of telling people something
he hoped they would hear. He took a big
chance.
Perhaps lectors are not asked to risk as much as Peter,
but at Sunday Mass they still must look out at a large number of people, many
of whom they do not know. And in only two
or three minutes, lectors must share with a sea of faces something they hope
they will hear.
In their own way, lectors take a big risk.
One way to minimize the personal risk is to concentrate
solely on the words and not on the people who hear the words. If you get the words right, no one will think
poorly of you. By remaining separate, even
though in plain sight at the ambo, lectors can be almost as anonymous as the
unseen person in the last pew.
Or you can reach out with your arms to your brothers and
sisters and say I am willing to be open and vulnerable. I am willing to show how deeply I care about you
and about what I am saying. Even if I stumble
on some of the words, I will not hide behind them. I am here to serve you and not myself.
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First Reading - Acts of the Apostles 2:14a, 36-41
Real People
Because we have become so familiar with the story of
Peter at Pentecost it is easy to assume that he could effortlessly tell the
crowd, “Save yourselves from this corrupt
generation” without any feelings of self doubt or fear.
We might also think that Peter, our first pope had total
confidence in himself and in his qualifications to tell others what to do. If this were so, he would be quite different from
our current pope who asks, “Who am I to judge?”
Complete self confidence is a lot to expect of Peter, a man
who denied Christ three times only a few weeks before. What is clear, however, is his absolute
determination not to let doubts or fear stop him, despite being twice arrested
by the Sadducees, flogged, and later arrested by Herod.
At the end of the play Damien by Aldyth Morris, Father Damien is portrayed as a very real
person who confronts his personal doubts by saying to God, “And I know that
whatever I may have done for good or ill, I am still your priest. I trust in your prodigious love. You are the Christ. And you are my God!”
Real people like Peter, or Saint Damien or any one of us,
are very likely to have fears and self doubts.
Real people really need the Lord’s love to overcome their doubts and declare,
“You are my God!”
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Second Reading - 1 Peter 2:20b-25
If the lector is not careful, today’s second reading can
sound like a statement that is strong on logic, but weak on acknowledging human
doubts and weakness. In this reading Peter advises us to be patient with
suffering, “because Christ also suffered
for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.”
Suffering is the kind of mystery that allows for no easy
answers. There are none. And a reading that lasts only two or three
minutes will not fill in all the gaps in our understanding.
Perhaps this reading should be approached with a degree
of humility. Think about your own
experiences with suffering, meditate on the reading, and reflect on how it
answers your questions.
During a proclamation
of only two or three minutes your hearers at Mass will have little time to
connect this reading to their own suffering.
Perhaps instead we should simply acknowledge our mutual experiences of
suffering and strive to believe that the Good Shepherd listens and understands. Perhaps in this way we can turn a statement
of logic into a statement of love.
© George Fournier, 2014
