Lector's Notes
Birth of John the Baptist, Year C, June 24, 2007
The Church so reveres John the Baptist, last of the prophets, that, when his feast occurs on a Sunday, the feast supercedes the Sunday's readings in the liturgy.
In the middle section of the book of the prophet Isaiah, chapters 40-55, there are four short passages which scholars have called the Songs of the Suffering Servant. They're about a mysterious figure, who sometimes speaks in the first person, and whom God sometimes addresses. Sometimes the Servant is described as a prophet, sometimes as one whose suffering brings about a benefit for the people. In the original author's mind, the servant was probably a figure for the people of Israel, or for a faithful remnant within the people. Jesus saw aspects of his own life and mission foreshadowed in the Servant Songs. In Holy Week, meditating deeply on Jesus' suffering, the church proclaims the third Servant Song on Passion Sunday, Isaiah 50:4-7, and the fourth on Good Friday, Isaiah 52:13-53:12. The first is Isaiah 42:1-9.
Now read the whole passage to yourself and distinguish the various speakers and audiences. The passage seems to be a mixture of forceful proclamation (to "coastlands" and "distant peoples"), quotes of the Lord calling the servant, meditation on the difficulties of serving the Lord, and speculation about one's goals as servant. When you proclaim this to the congregation, pause and change your tone of voice whenever the speaker changes.
Theologically, the most significant sentence is the last. For the most part, Israel concerned itself with keeping its own religious house in order. Thus Jacob [i.e., the descendants of the patriarch Jacob, a.k.a. Israel] is to be brought back to the Lord. But the last sentence calls on Jacob/Israel to reach beyond itself, becoming a light to the nations [Gentiles], that the Lord's salvation may reach outside Israel to the ends of the earth. You don't hear this theme often in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus' own openness to Gentiles put him fatally at odds with Israelites of his day, as it did for Jesus' first followers. This sentence deserves a very vigorous proclamation.
This passage is from Paul's detailed historical speech in the synagogue of Antioch. The lector would do well to read all of Acts 13. Paul marshals his facts and interpretations with irresistible logic. He's like a modern lawyer giving the jury his summation of an airtight case. Paul summarizes the testimony of his last powerful witness, John the Baptist, and charges to his conclusion, the last sentence of today's passage.
That's how the lector should deliver this passage, too.
New! A collection of Web resources about this Sunday's readings is at The Text This Week. It includes commentaries, homilies, links to art works on Scriptural themes, and more.
See also The WORD, a column in America magazine, the Jesuit weekly.
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Last modified: Sun Jun 24 09:58:55 CDT 2007