Joshua 24:1-2a, 1-17, 18b + Psalm 34 + Ephesians 5:21-32 + John 6:60-69
Delivered at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Mustang, Oklahoma
Last
week I explained how receiving the Body and Blood of the Risen Lord
means
more than simply eating and drinking. It
means taking all that Christ is into us. Which
means putting on the mind of Christ and his heart, thinking
as He does and loving as He does.
We
come to know what Christ Jesus thinks is important and
learn how he loves through the Sacred Scriptures, especially the four Gospels. As
we listen and find our souls nourished by the word of God from the Bible, we
understand better the teachings of Christ. With
Peter, we can then proclaim: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
eternal life.”
Sometimes
his words are challenging:
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you…pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke
6: 27-28) OR “Whatever you
do to one of these least brothers or sisters of mine, you do for me.” (Mt. 25: 40) OR “If you do not forgive others, neither will
your Father forgive your trangressions.”
(Mt.
6:15)
Other
times His words are comforting: “Come to me all you who
labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28) “I am the Good Shepherd.”(John 10:11) “I am the Resurrection and the Life.” (John 11:25) OR “Take and eat, this is my
body. Take and drink, this is my blood.”(Matthew 26:26-28)
Today
we will review the 2nd part of the Mass, which is one of the 2 main
pillars
of
the Mass—the Liturgy of the Word. The
table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist cannot be separated—they
are one inseparable act of worship on which the Mass is founded. The
Liturgy of the Word begins with the First Reading and ends with
the Universal Prayer, or what we more commonly call the “Prayer of the Faithful.”
The
main part of the Liturgy of the Word is composed of readings from Sacred
Scripture together with the chants occurring between them—those
are the Responsorial Psalm and the Alleluia. Then
the Homily, the Profession of Faith, and the Prayer of the Faithful develop and
conclude the Liturgy of the Word.
The
General Instruction on the Roman Missal says the following about
the Liturgy of the Word (GIRM#29): “When the Sacred Scriptures
are read in the Church, God himself speaks to his people, and Christ,
present in his word, proclaims the Gospel.” God
speaks!!! Christ is present!!! We need to pay attention and listen carefully.
In
the Scripture readings at Mass, the table of God’s word is spread before the
faithful, and
the treasures of the Bible are opened to them. It
is appropriate that our response to this gift is one of gratitude: “Thanks
be to God.”
We
go forth from every celebration of the Mass with confidence in the future,
because
of God’s saving action in the past. The
stories from Sacred Scripture remind us again and again how
God has acted and enable us to see how God is acting even now in our lives.
The
mighty mystery of God’s love for us in Christ—how
God has become one with us forever in the flesh, died out of love for us, risen
to bring us new life—is like a multi-faceted jewel—we can scarce take it
all in.
Through
a yearly liturgical calendar and a 3-year cycle of Scripture readings,
we
are gifted with many different
perspectives, to
see more clearly what this mighty mystery looks like. The
word of God reveals to us the Extraordinary Story of God’s love for all
Creation, especially his favorite part of Creation—human beings—whom
God has made in his image.
What
we end up discovering when we listen attentively to God’s Word, when
we allow it to be life-giving food for our spirit, is
that the ordinary story of our lives
is
intertwined with this Extraordinary Story. That
God is still speaking to us today, still trying to break through our deafness, revealing
God’s self in love in a myriad of ways, if
we are but attentive and listen, listen, listen.
Active
listening calls for preparation, for when we prepare well, the
Living Word takes root in our lives and produces abundant fruit. All
of us expect our lectors, cantors and homilists to prepare for their role in
the Liturgy of the Word. Yet
we all share in the necessity of this preparation, in order that we might more fully,
consciously, and actively participate in
the Mass. Remember,
worship is not a spectator sport—we
are all called to be active participants at Mass.
So
we prepare to listen to the word of God by reading the Sunday readings
during
the week before coming to listen to them at Mass. The
Scripture passages for Sunday Mass are listed in the bulletin. We also
come early to Mass & read the readings again in the missalette.
We need
one another so that God’s word can take root in our hearts. So,
together we remain attentive to the proclaimed word, sing
the Responsorial Psalm and the Alleluia, and
say the spoken responses with conviction. Active
listening means just that—listening—not reading along in missalette. Unless
you have trouble hearing the Word proclaimed, put
the missalettes away during the
Liturgy of the Word and listen. If
we have prepared by reading the readings ahead of time and prayed with them,active
listening is much easier to do.
For
over 1500 years the word of God took root as communities of faith
gathered
at Mass to listen to this saving word of God. It
was not until the invention of the printing press in the 16th
century that individuals were
able to have their own Bibles, which became a blessing for private prayer and
study.
However,
the word of God is not meant to be read silently by the people while
it is proclaimed at Mass-attentive listening is what we are called to do. When
we listen attentively to God’s word, we almost always discover God
speaking to us in one way or another. I
am constantly surprised by what I hear when I listen to the Word of God proclaimed, usually
something I did not “hear” in my preparation for preaching on God’s word.
Because
the Liturgy of the Word involves “active listening,” please do not walk
into
the church while the Sacred Scriptures are being proclaimed here at the ambo. When
you do, you become a distraction, as our eyes control what our ears hear.
We
end up focusing on latecomers and active listening is discontinued. The
ushers have been instructed to seat people who come during the Liturgy of the
Word while the Responsorial Psalm is being sung or during the singing of the
Alleluia.
Remember
my talk about the 1st part of the Mass—the Introductory Rites—
when
I stressed that one of the important functions of the Introductory Rites
is
to prepare us to listen attentively to the word of God. This
is one reason why it is so important to be here when Mass begins.
What
about babies who are crying constantly during the Liturgy of the Word?
Because
this part of the Mass requires such active listening, parents
who have a child who is experiencing a bout of sustained crying need
to step out to calm their child. I
am not referring to a baby who cries every now and then, but
rather an ongoing, continual crying. Out
of respect for others, parents can step out into the gathering area and
calm down their child, or calm their child in the Cry Room. In
both places a parent can still hear what is going on at Mass.
We
should not be disturbed when a baby cries every now and then, for
their cry is a reminder of the great gift of new life for our community. However,
it is the sustained crying which a parent needs to address in some way.
Some
parents may choose to stay for the entire Mass with their young children
in
the Cry Room, but remember this room is only for parents and their young
children. The
Cry Room is not for adults who do not have young children, nor is it for
parents whose children are 7 years or older, unless the older child is a
sibling of a younger child.
Once
we have finished enclosing our Pavilion into five new classrooms, then
there will be space for Nursery in the Mayfield Center for children up to age
5. However, the nursery will be
available only at the 10:30 a.m. Mass initially.
As
this ministry grows and we have more volunteers, the
hope is to provide the nursery at other Masses as well.
The
Liturgy of Word, one of the two great pillars of the Mass, helps
us remember what God has done throughout salvation history. The
recurring sin of the People of God in the Old Testament, and
we who are the People of God today, is
forgetfulness.
The
stories of salvation remind us of who God is and what God has done for us in
Christ. These sacred stories remind
us who we are and what we are called to do. The
word of God demands something of us—it demands a response.
Thus,
the immediate response to the Word of God is thanksgiving, which
is what the word “Eucharist” means, and
is what the Liturgy of the Word prepares us to do—to “give
thanks” as we celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Hearing
this Word also results in a commitment to a relationship with
the Word-Made-Flesh, Jesus Christ. Jesus
as the Living Word of God calls forth from us a commitment to
live out who we are as the Body of Christ.
Fr. Joseph A. Jacobi
