November 16, 2014
Reflection on Lectoring
As we near the end of the present liturgical calendar, it
might be useful to consider a few of the many comforting and inspiring words we
as lectors have shared with the people in the assembly over the past year.
We have told them that they can have hope:
“For in hope we were saved.” (Romans 8:24)
We have told them that they can feel loved:
“For
I am convinced that neither death, nor live . . . nor any other creature will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:38-39)
We have told them that their lives have a purpose:
“To
each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefi.t” (1
Corinthians 12: 7)
We have told them that they have individual dignity and
worth:
“Do
you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells
in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Next Sunday we shall tell them that God will never
abandon them:
“The
lost I will seek out.” (Ezekiel 34:16)
This is just a small sample of the vitally important
things we have been privileged to share with others at Mass - the kinds of things
that everyone very much needs to hear.
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First Reading - Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
The Measure of a Person
What is the measure of a person’s true worth? Perhaps, at first glance, today’s reading from
Proverbs might suggest that an industrious woman, who can obtain wool and flax,
put her hands to the distaff, or ply the spindle, can also qualify through her productivity
and diligence as an “unfailing prize”
for her very fortunate husband.
What is the proper way to understand the worth of a wife
or husband? Should we feel blessed
because our spouse performs domestic tasks or adds to our wealth? Or should we love someone simply because he
or she is a person, a human being, someone with whom we share our life?
Today’s Gospel makes it clear that the person with fewer
talents is no less worthy of love and respect than the person with more
talents. Someone’s output is not a
measure the his or her goodness. Perhaps,
a better measure might be a person’s degree of commitment to the mission God has
given him or her (burying talents in the ground is never a good thing). Perhaps also, a more humanly important
measure would be a person’s reciprocal love for his or her spouse.
When proclaiming this
Scripture, lectors are called upon to consider the source of a person’s true
worth. What does it mean to have a value
that is “far beyond pearls.”
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Second Reading - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Scary Words
The thought of the end-time or the “day of the Lord” can
be pretty alarming, especially when envisioning an abrupt end to everything
that we know. An apocalypse. A cataclysm.
Today’s second reading uses words like “sudden disaster,” “not
escape” and “thief in the night.”
Is that what will be when God bursts onto the scene?
Perhaps, it is important to recognize that there will be
an individual end-time for each of us when we die. Time will come to an end. The familiar material things that anchored
our lives will be taken away. We will
face God.
However, being face-to-face with God is not a
disaster. Being reunited with the people
we knew and loved on earth will be a reason for joy. Finding out that our lives really meant
something will be a reassuring confirmation that God walked with us every step
of the way throughout our lives.
As you proclaim
today’s passage from 1 Thessalonians, you will be speaking many scary words. It will be a challenge to make the end-time
sound like a joyful homecoming and not an occasion for terror. Perhaps, you and your hearers may find some
comfort when you proclaim, “For all of
you are children of the light and children of the day.”
© George Fournier, 2014
