Devotion for today: Rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength

It is time to resume our study of the Mass. I had wanted to do a brief review before we entered our contemplation of the Consecration, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to see the passage from Nehemiah as Sunday’s first reading! I have reprinted it here in its entirety and will comment after the segments to remind you of how this ties into our Liturgy of the Word.

Scripture for reflection: Nehemiah 8:2-4A, 5-6, 8-10

Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,
which consisted of men, women,
and those children old enough to understand.
Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,
he read out of the book from daybreak till midday,
in the presence of the men, the women,
and those children old enough to understand;
and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.
Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform
that had been made for the occasion.

Here we have the prototype for our Liturgy of the Word. For us, the men, women and children of the Church founded by Christ, our gathering takes place in parish churches each Sunday. Our churches are similar to the Water Gate, which was the only gate of the temple which had not been destroyed at this time. According to several commentaries I read, the Water Gate was a place of comfort to the Jews returning from the Babylonian exile, and it was to the Water Gate that they went in the worst of times to hear the Law being read. So it was associated with the Word of God. The Water Gate also brought water from the Gibeon Spring to relieve the physical thirst of the people. Our Church is our Water Gate. It is here for us to relieve our spiritual thirst for God’s words, which we receive in the readings and in the Gospel. Consider, too, that we usually find the lector and the priest standing elevated somewhat from the people in the congregation, so that the Word is proclaimed “out” to the people, as we find in Nehemiah.

He opened the scroll
so that all the people might see it
— for he was standing higher up than any of the people —
and, as he opened it, all the people rose.

Here is our prototype for the reading of the Gospel. The priest generally processes to the ambo with the Book of the Gospels held high for all the people to see. What do we do when this happens? WE STAND. Why? Because, just as the Jews recognized the awesome power which was about to be released to them through the proclamation of God’s law, so we, too, recognize the power and glory which we are about to receive from hearing the very words Christ spoke as He walked the earth.

Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God,
and all the people, their hands raised high, answered,
“Amen, amen!”

We sing Alleluia!!!

Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD,
their faces to the ground.
Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God,
interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.

You recall that this is exactly what happens when the priest finishes reading the Gospel. We don’t prostrate ourselves, but we sit and listen to the Word of God explained to us in the homily.

Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe
and the Levites who were instructing the people
said to all the people:
“Today is holy to the LORD your God.
Do not be sad, and do not weep”—
for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.

Wouldn’t it be something if we so understood the awesomeness of hearing the words of Jesus that we were moved to tears?

He said further: “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks,
and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared;
for today is holy to our LORD.
Do not be saddened this day,
for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!”

This is the way Sundays should be spent, with family and friends, sharing good meals and fine conversation, allowing our hearts to be filled with the love we just experienced at Mass and letting that love pour out onto our loved ones. Sunday is not a day to be tired, but to rejoice, for by resting and reflecting, we are able to live the rest of the week rejoicing in the Lord, who truly is our strength.  And now you know the rest of the story…!