“This is the word of the Lord,” I said. “Thanks be to God,” they responded. Why? What’s this all about, and why is it important? We honor the weekly reading of Scripture, often standing when the Gospel is read. Our individual devotions are likely centered on a particular passage; and some of us meet regularly to debate the finer points of what we consider Holy.
The Book of Nehemiah (yes, that’s in the Hebrew Bible) recalls the Great Reading in Jerusalem which re-launched the Jewish nation. Finally the last of the exiles straggled in from Babylonia, only to find wreckage and ruin. After seventy years, only a few grandfathers remembered how the Temple had been. So Ezra the High Priest called them together in WaterGate Square and read aloud the Old Law–probably the Book of Deuteronomy– to re-identify the central points that were unique to this people, that is, to make them again a Nation Under God. All the people wept when they heard the words of the law: can we really be Holy before the Lord? But the leaders told them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” (chapter 8, verse 9)
St. Paul, still urging the Corinthians to level their playing field and love the diversity, urges a unity in the Body of Christ through the centrality of their own purpose together. We don’t know how this passage (I 12:12 and beyond) was received, yet we can bet that some crying turned into laughter….
St. Luke’s Gospel remembers the time Jesus went to his hometown synagogue in Nazareth (4:14-21). He asked to read, and chose a passage from Isaiah which spoke of the role of God’s Servant. They liked it until he began his remarks with, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Confronted with a Word we respect, we’re aware that something about our life must change! Those who read aloud to the nation/Body/people of Old First are charged to be audacious in their presentation, for the Life of the Community –the World? — hangs upon this.
God Bless Us,Every One! H B King
My Blog 
Leave a comment