September 14, 2014
Reflection on Lectoring
Our Christian faith and the Scriptures that instruct our
faith are rich in thought-provoking questions.
They are the kind of questions that can deepen our understanding of what
it means to be a Christian.
Perhaps the Book of Job is best known for difficult questions
that cause us to think. Why did God
allow the devil to afflict Job with every conceivable kind of suffering? Even Job who resisted the temptation to turn
away from God cannot answer that question.
Only Job’s foolish friends think they are sufficiently privileged to
have all the answers.
The Book of Numbers is also filled with examples of
people who had questions. After living
in exile in Egypt for more than 400 years, why was another 40 years added to the
Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land?
The question took on added urgency because every Israelite 20 years and
above (with the exception of Caleb and Joshua), already knew that he or she
would never make it to the Promised Land.
That is because the Israelites, who reacted in fear to the dangers that
awaited them in the land of Canaan, were told by God that the desert would be
their permanent home (ch.13-14).
Like many people depicted in the Scriptures, we too
struggle with difficult questions. Why must
we live for a short, sometimes difficult time here on earth before seeing God
face to face? Why must the promise of the
Beatific Vision be a matter of hope rather than a matter of certainty? Things would
be so much easier if God had chosen another plan for our lives. These are just some of the many perennial questions
that are powerfully addressed throughout the Scriptures.
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First Reading - Numbers 21:4b-9
Desert Food
Even before the events depicted in this weekend’s first
reading, the Lord had already complained to Moses that the people whom he
brought out of Egypt “have put me to the
test ten times already and have not obeyed me” (ch.14 v. 22). Now, after a
number of adventures in the desert, the Israelites are complaining again - this
time about the “wretched food.”
Perhaps, it may appear that the Israelites are a fickle
bunch who fail to recognize the beneficence of the Lord. Or perhaps, as discussed in the above Reflection
on Lectoring, they were just scared and filled with many uncertainties. Being bitten by poisonous serpents probably
did not do much for their confidence.
Perhaps today’s first reading might also legitimately suggest
that the Israelites were certain about one thing - they needed God.
Lectors might do well to give the Israelites the benefit
of the doubt. Perhaps the stories about
their grumbling may too easily suggest a one-dimensional response to the
struggle for survival. Perhaps also, the
moral of the story found in today’s Scripture passage has many layers.
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Second Reading - Philippians 2:6-11
Exaltation
Today’s second reading is an old friend. It is proclaimed every Palm Sunday. In a slightly longer form, it will again be proclaimed
in two weeks on the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Why was this reading also chosen for this
weekend?
Among all the beliefs held by Christians, the idea of an
incarnate God who died on the cross is the most profound and the most resistant
to simple explanations. How and why did
an eternal and transcendent God become a living human being who made the
ultimate sacrifice? Both his life and
his death remain a mystery - not a mystery to be solved, but a mystery to inspire
and give hope.
For many, the cross is too much of a mystery. Even when they try, they are unable to
reconcile the idea of God becoming a flesh-and-blood person who died horribly.
Paul acknowledges this difficulty when he says in First
Corinthians, “We proclaim Christ
crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (ch.1
v.23). Then, two verses later he seems
to revel in the counterintuitive proposition of God’s dying by saying, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than
human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
This weekend’s feast
is called the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Exaltation is the perfect word.
The cross is a mystery not to be solved, but an event to be celebrated -
an event that achieves salvation and causes every tongue to confess, “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.”
© George Fournier, 2014
