September 28, 2014
Reflection on Lectoring
During a recent conversation, our parish’s director of liturgy
reflected on some of the important aspects of the lector ministry.
She began by saying that a genuine love of the Scriptures
is an essential asset for everyone who shares God’s word with others. When a lector spends time in prayer with the
Scriptures, he or she is better able to invite others to hear what God is
saying.
She also said that lectors should have a two-fold sense
of confidence. It is a confidence that
comes from a belief that God is the ultimate author of the words being
proclaimed. And, with God as their
source, these words will have relevance and meaning for those who hear them.
There is also a confidence that comes from knowing that
the ministry of lector is an authentic calling from God. When God calls someone to be a lector, that
person can be confident that he or she is following God’s will, and that he or
she is fulfilling an important purpose.
Our director of liturgy also noted that effective lectors
should have an appreciation of the specific setting for each proclamation. That setting includes everything from the
liturgical season of the year to the specific character of each liturgical
celebration, whether exuberant and youthful or more traditional.
Perhaps most importantly, effective lectoring is best
achieved in a welcoming environment wherein people genuinely care about each
other. At Mass, the lector is a servant
to the people in the assembly. In
addition, effective proclamation must be performed with a recognition that people
who worship together are all servants to each other.
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First Reading - Ezekiel 18:25-28
Sins of the Fathers
Today’s first two readings offer insights into the constituents
of real fairness and the dangers of simple declarations about fairness.
At the time of Ezekiel, fairness was viewed somewhat differently
from the way it is today. In chapter 18,
verse 21 Ezekiel goes to great lengths to explain, “The son shall not be charged with the guilt of his father, nor shall
the father be charged with the guilt of his son. Justice belongs to the just, and wickedness
to the wicked.”
It was a concept of fairness and justice that dies
hard. Perhaps that is why 600 years after
Ezekiel Jesus had to explain that the man born blind was not being punished for
his sins or for the sins of his father. Fifteen-hundred
years later in The Merchant of Venice,
Shakespeare echoes the concept of generational sin when the character Launcelot
says to Jessica, Shylock’s daughter, “Yes, truly, for, look you, the sins of
the father are to be laid upon the children.”
However, before we allow ourselves to dismiss too lightly
the concept of “sins of the fathers” we must recall how Adam and Eve and all
their descendents (including us) were banished from the Garden of Eden.
Today’s first reading cautions us not to presume to know
totally the infinite mind of God. We
can, however, have faith that our loving Father wants what is best for us. Perhaps verse 23 of chapter 18 gives us the
best insight when God says, “Do I not
rejoice when they turn from their evil way and live?”
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Second Reading - Philippians 2:1-11
The Standard of Fairness
By today’s standard of fairness, Jesus’ actions and what
happened to him are completely unfair.
As Christians we understand that Jesus Christ is
consubstantial with the Father.
Nevertheless in today’s second reading Paul says, “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, who,
though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to
be grasped.”
Where is the fairness in Jesus’ not grasping his rightful
equality with the Father? And where is
the fairness in the next verse, “Rather,
he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave. . .”?
As a practical matter we must arrive at an understanding
of how to exercise fairness in our interactions with others. Some standards of fairness are codified into
law. More frequently, fairness takes the
form of a set of expectations that govern our interpersonal relations.
And sometimes, as in
today’s second reading, fairness takes on the added dimension of “compassion and mercy” demonstrated by
people who “humbly regard others as more
important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also
for those of others.”
© George Fournier, 2014
