This is what the Lord says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’
See,
I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of
the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and
women in labor; a great throng will return.
They
will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them
beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I
am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
Reading
2 – Hebrews 5:1-6
Every
high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in
matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to
deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself
is subject to weakness.
This
is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of
the people. No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God,
just as Aaron was.
So
Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But
God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”
And
he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of
Melchizedek.”
Reading
3 – Mark 10:46-52
Then
they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd,
were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus),
was sitting by the roadside begging.
When
he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of
David, have mercy on me!”
Many
rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of
David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to
the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”
Throwing
his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What
do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I
want to see.”
“Go,”
said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and
followed Jesus along the road.
I
see God’s sense of humor in sending us to a Catholic church on Reformation
Sunday. I have been to this church a few times for ecumenical services and
funerals, but this was our first Mass.
The
sanctuary is pleasant and tasteful. I like the chancel wall with panels in blue
shades and the great stained glass in the back wall. In a Catholic church I was
assured of a cross. I was impressed with the choir, small in number but great
sound. Sitting all the way in the back, I couldn’t see or hear much of the
children’s message.
There
was a song after the first Scripture reading that had a distinctive Jewish
sound to it.
The
homily was a little hard for me to hear but some points: a physical healing
from a renewal of baptismal vows, spiritual blindness and blindness of culture being
overcome by the light of the Holy Spirit.
So
often of late we have had the elements of Communion offered silently; it was
refreshing to hear the Bread of Life spoken.
Being
first-time visitors to a denomination with which we are not familiar certainly
limits us. The congregation seemed engaged with a good mix of young and old, so
it seems to be a healthy church.
Somehow
I did not expect our first visit to a Roman Catholic Church to fall on
Reformation Sunday, but it goes to prove God has a sense of humor.
Not
surprisingly, this visit was very different than most of our others, but I
noticed many things that were the same: in a church with more than one service,
almost no one ever recognizes a visitor; a good choir sounds good no matter
their number; and again I was reminded that God can be present even where I don’t
fully understand/agree with the theology.
We
recalled attending a community ecumenical service here a few years ago; the décor
is memorably bright and colorful and the signage is good.
The
Order of Worship is a tri-folded 11x17 sheet which was very helpful for a
visitor, especially one who is unfamiliar with Mass. I expected the service to
be difficult to follow, but it was actually fairly easy.
The
(seemingly) untitled homily wound around the universality of
spiritual blindness and the importance of adhering to Scriptural instruction. He
stated that if we are unfaithful stewards, God will not provide, so if we want
God to provide, we must strive to be faithful stewards. And when we are lost we
should cry out to Jesus as did Bartimaeus.
Had
we realized earlier that Communion would be offered we could have asked if it
was acceptable for non-Catholics to participate, but as it was we did not
partake. We were surprised during the sacrament to be able to hear the words “The
Body and Blood of Christ for you” spoken to each congregant.
We pray, Lord, that Your light will break through any “blindness” in this church. Let the light of Your Spirit shine brightly to guide the church forward in faith. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment