Opening the Scroll by Fran Salone-Pelletier

Readings: Nehemiah 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Action predominates the scene in today’s Scripture readings. When Ezra opens the scroll in the first reading, it is simultaneously the opening of God’s people to the hearing of God’s word. As he opens it, in the very process of activating acceptance, there is resurrection. The people rise, their hands raised high. From the depths of their being emerges a resounding response: “Amen! Amen!”

Ezra’s opening of the scroll was more than the gesture of a lector finding the right spot to begin. Ezra was energizing the effects of God’s word. His action was a blessing of God and God’s people.

Ezra’s community was deeply moved. Their body language did not simply fall into an accepted prayer posture. It was inspirited movement that could no longer contain itself. Guardedness, self-righteousness, privatization exploded in radical expression. Divisions ceased to be important. Parameters gave way to possibilities. Indeed, that day was holy to God and made holy by and for the people of God.

It is not so much what Ezra’s community did that impresses me as why they did it and what happened as a result. In my mind I can see a massive crowd of people rising with the mightiness of the moment. I feel no sense of crowd hysteria, no mania connected with Ezra’s charismatic appearance. I am touched by the people’s belief. I am in awe of their response to the blessing they truly believed was contained in the very act of opening the scroll: the creation of a pathway for the emergent word of God. Having spoken their response, standing and raising their hands high, the awesomeness of their experience overwhelmed them. “Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground” (Neh 8:6).

From his stance on a platform high above the people, Ezra’s vision and perspective were clear. He was able to see what the people could not see. When he read from the book of God’s law, he plainly interpreted it so all could understand. Whatever he said profoundly affected his listeners, moving them to tears. Ezra reminded the people to focus on God’s graciousness: “Then he said to them, ‘Go your way; eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength’” (Neh 8:10). Here lies the crucial difference between understanding the word of God as law and attending to the word of God in love.

When Jesus reads from the scroll in today’s gospel passage, his posture differs from Ezra’s. Jesus proclaims God’s word as he stands among God’s people, not above them. As Ezra opened the scroll of God’s law for the people, so Jesus releases the word of God’s love. The law is enfleshed and anointed with the perfume of commissioned presence. Law is made incarnate in love. Nehemiah’s reminder to rejoice in daily holiness is underscored by Isaiah’s call to serve and Jesus’s promise of fulfillment.

We can only be gladdened by the news that God’s spirit is upon us, anointing us for service. As such, our vocation is to bring good tidings to the poor—not preached on a platform removed from their plight, but standing with them in their midst. There is nothing as comforting as the realization that we are not alone in our poverty and pain, our imprisonment and blindness. We stand together in our fragility and become strong.

I remember a time when I had to go through a medical procedure. My fear was palpable, and I kept repeating, “No, don’t do it!” The doctor’s response was coldly professional. He informed me that the procedure would be done with or without my cooperation. At that moment, I looked to another physician attending me and begged him to hold my hand while the work was being done. Amazingly, he did, and I felt no pain or discomfort at all. I experienced the palliative power of the presence of another.

Each of us is called to break open the word of God and unroll the scroll of our life. In it we will find the passage from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor” (Luke 4:21). No matter what we think is our ability to do so, we are enough for God. Whether our role is public or private, large or small, we are all necessary for the salvific functioning of the Body of Christ.

Until we give release, there can only be bondage. Until we lift the veils of ignorance, bias, and prejudice, sight will never be recovered. Until we forgive and announce reprieve, God’s favor will remain inaccessible. Freedom’s feast begins when we roll up the scrolls and become attentive to the word of God. ♦

Fran Salone-Pelletier holds a master’s degree in theology. She is the author of a trilogy of scriptural meditations, Awakening to God: The Sunday Readings in Our Lives, in which a version of this reflection originally appeared. She is also a religious educator, retreat leader, lecturer, and grandmother of four. Reach her at hope5@atmc.net.

Image: Taylor Flowe / Unsplash
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