Do with me as you will

27Jun
What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
-Romans 6:1-4


The role of Lay Reader in our worship life is of foundational importance because our readers are the ones who literally give voice to Scripture, words chosen by apostolic tradition and ultimately codified as Sacred Scripture. Some scripture tells the story of God among us as Truth. Some; as in the letters of Paul, use words to teach the miracle of Christ’s gift of Grace; of justification by Faith. Some of Paul’s letters are outright teaching documents, others are conflict resolution positions, written to assure the survival of young churches. Certainly, they all teach. They all craft words into a forceful, unflinching message of justification by Faith through Christ. It is a tall order for the limited power of language to communicate the infinite breadth and power of Divine Love. 


A lay reader can deliver the words of Paul as disembodied prose or a reader can channel the passion and frustration of Paul teaching, in language, the intangible power of Faith and Divine Love. It was not easy for Paul; it is not easy for us.


Paul asks, “[In as much as we are Justified by Faith through Christ’s death alone], what are we to do; sin all the more because we are justified no matter what? Should we ratchet-up our inclination to sin and test the depths of God’s infinite grace?” Paul: “Are you out of your mind?! May it never be.” How such important words are read to us connects us directly to the miracle of Christ’s Table. We need to hear the words spoken with a visceral connection to Paul’s urgency. Paul grabs us by the ears and says, “Listen, beloved! Listen.”


How do I plumb the depths of God’s Love beyond the limitations of language? Certainly not by dismissing the pernicious effects of sin. The answer is Prayer. 


But isn’t that just more language? Faith is precedent to prayer. Faith IS. Faith is the antidote to the inadequacy of words. It is the bridge across which prayer crosses into the ineffable. C. S. Lewis observed, the more durable is our faith, the simpler we become. Stillness rewards.


Seeking simplicity, through prayer, we open ourselves to the immediate presence of God’s Grace. It is then that we accept the silence of God as the silent presence of God. It is then that we feel the burn of God’s words in our ears, remembering the burn of Paul’s grasp on our ears, urgently calling us to “Listen.”  

Musical Reflection - Song 9 (Arr. for Vocal Ensemble by Patrick Dunachie) - The King's Singers


In stillness I present myself to you Lord. Do with me as you will, whenever you will, for whatever purpose you will. In the stillness of prayer, help me to listen for your call into my next. Amen.

Prayer

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