7 – New Testament St. Paul and the apostles were formed by the same culture that gave us the Old Testament but now see the Scripture in the light of Christ. Now they see clearly how the objective of the Old Testament was to prepare the people not for the coming of a Messiah with temporal objectives of salvation but of the Christ healing, forgiving, and suffering for others as he leads us on the path to eternal peace in the Kingdom of God. The apostles reflect on the Death and Resurrection rather than creation and the history of Israel. The Reader proclaims what the Holy Spirit inspires these first believers to lead our assembly to the grasping of the mystery of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. As before, the Reader says, “The Word of the Lord.” In gratitude and amazement, we respond, “Thanks be to God.” We sit in silence as the reading settles into our hearts and minds. From this point on Jesus entrusts His Church to the apostles who witnessed the Resurrection. This witnessing passes on throughout the generations of Christians not by reappearances of Jesus but by faith in the witnessing of the apostles and under the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Our response to the witnessing of the apostles cannot be expressed in words of our own so we ponder in silence over how these Words of the Lord enter into our life and wait for the proclamation of the Gospel as the joyful climax of this entire part of the liturgy.
Acclamation before the Gospel The silence following the witnessing of the apostles ends as we stand and sing the Alleluia in praise of our Lord who rose from the dead and stands before his body, the Church. The Presence of our risen Lord intensifies. A procession carries aloft the Book of the Gospels from the altar to the ambo. Proclamation of the Gospel Whatever the Gospel reading tells us, its purpose lies in placing the full context of the mystery of the Passion before us. The Gospel provides the narrative behind the Church’s emphasis on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus eats, drinks, heals, forgives, suffers and socializes with those on the margins of society. In a very concrete form, He brings all together as one. God has been moving toward the world and in the life, death and resurrection of Christ, His anointed, the Father is revealed. In this climax of the Liturgy of the Word, Christ is now speaking directly to the assembly so the proclamation is made by the deacons ordained by the bishop (priest reading the Gospel do so because they were first ordained deacons).
Homily Just as the ordained proclaim the Gospel, they also deliver the homily. It’s not about the level of insightfulness. Truly, many lay would be extremely insightful preachers. Preaching by the ordained is meant to be a guarantee in the assembly that what is heard is the Church’s apostolic faith and not merely the private thoughts and experiences of an individual. The deacons are in communion with the bishop and the bishops of the world stand in communion with each other making certain that the apostolic faith remains preserved.