Given at Mass of Institution of Readers at Allen Hall Seminary on Saturday 11th March 2017
At the end of the first week of Lent, when temptations will be stronger and resolutions possibly weakening, it is important to remind ourselves of the invitation which we heard on Ash Wednesday, ‘repent and believe in the gospel’. These words are very appropriate as we reflect on the ministry of reader into which I am pleased to institute Elliott and Tim today.
The word ‘repent’, metanoia¸ means to turn or change one’s heart and mind. As a people consecrated to Christ through baptism, we are called to open our hearts to ‘follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to his voice’ (as we heard in the Second Reading, Dt 26:16-19). We are called to see ourselves, other people and our common home, the gift of God’s creation, with the gaze of Christ. This ‘way of looking’ will lead over time to our becoming people full of gratitude and generosity. Just as Jesus offered himself continually in prayer and love to his Father, so we are called to imitate him in faith and reveal our love in action. The scriptures unlock this ‘way of seeing’ for us and lead us to conform ourselves more closely to Christ, and see with his eyes.
I remember many years ago buying a small pocket bible. I didn’t choose the one at the top of the pile as it is always the one which has been well-fingered and looked at by many others. I chose one from lower down in the pile, bought it and took it home. Opening it up, I saw that it had been bound into the cover upside-down; my initial reaction was annoyance and feeling cheated! Don’t always trust first reactions… When we open and pray the scriptures, our world should be turned upside down as the values of the kingdom of God shatter and clash with many contemporary, cultural values. Jesus reveals God’s mercy to the poor, the weak, the outcast, the excluded; harsh words are reserved for the rich, the proud of heart, those who bind others and those who lack mercy.
This morning’s challenging gospel invites you to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect and to be ready to go the extra mile in love of others. This perfection invites you to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. To love your enemies requires you to treat them as equals and commit yourselves to their good and wellbeing, to see them with the eyes of Christ. We might think of how Christ responded to those who opposed him, his ‘enemies’ in a general sense; having time for those who disturbed his prayers and attending to their needs, answering the questions of the Pharisees and the scribes who challenged him with patience and skill, welcoming the Canaanite woman who was shouting at the apostles and recognising her faith, feeling compassion for the crowd who were hungry, and probably rather fractious as people are when they are hungry, respecting the impetuous Peter with tender love, stopping and having time and being moved with compassion for the blind men who shouted for his attention and annoyed the crowd, answering Caiaphas and Pilate with truth, and accepting the scourges and the blows of the soldiers during his passion and cross. Look at him and be attentive so that you can learn to see with the eyes of Christ.
Elliott and Tim, you have received this ministry to read the word of God in the liturgical assembly, to help others to read well, and to instruct children and adults in the faith so that they may celebrate the sacraments worthily. The instruction on the ministry reminds you that you are called ‘to meditate assiduously on sacred Scripture’ and ‘to acquire that increasingly warm and living love and knowledge of Scripture’ that will make you more perfect disciples of the Lord.
You are called to share your love of Christ and the scriptures with others. A gift and ministry in the Church is bestowed on you always for the good of others and never only for yourselves. We are urged by Pope Francis to share this joy with others, ‘The study of the sacred Scriptures must be a door opened to every believer’ so that they receive the ‘sacred treasure of the revealed word’ (The Joy of the Gospel 175) and later, ‘The best incentive for sharing the Gospel comes from contemplating it with love, lingering over its pages and reading it with the heart. If we approach it in this way, its beauty will amaze and constantly excite us. But if this is to come about, we need to recover a contemplative spirit which can help us to realize ever anew that we have been entrusted with a treasure which makes us more human and helps us to lead a new life. There is nothing more precious which we can give to others.’ (The Joy of the Gospel 264)
A particular direction for your pastoral work in parishes is given in The Joy of Love. Pope Francis focuses our eyes on the evangelisation of the family and invites us to help a family to see itself as an icon, albeit imperfect, of God’s love, the Holy Trinity who lives in relationships of love. Through this ministry, you have the responsibility to help families develop their love of the scriptures since ‘All pastoral work on behalf of the family must allow people to be interiorly fashioned and formed as members of the domestic church through the Church’s prayerful reading of sacred Scripture. The word of God is not only good news in a person’s private life but also a criterion of judgement and a light in discerning the various challenges that married couples and families encounter.’ (The Joy of Love 227)
I pray that you will grow in wisdom formed by love of the Word of God. Commit yourself to pray the scriptures daily; it is part of your daily bread. Share it generously with others. In a few moments’ time, have courage to, ‘take this book of Holy Scripture and be faithful in handing on the Word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of his people.’