(2 Tim 1:1-8; Ps 96 1-2,7-8,10; Mk 3:31-35)
I’m glad that I don’t have to make announcements at Church. Some are done at the start of Mass when everyone is still chatting with their pew partners, and others are done at the end of Mass when people are thinking about eating breakfast. It is a challenge to make announcements in such a way as to get everyone’s attention and to make an impression on them.
Whether or not we like the job, each of us is called to be an announcer. And our announcements are more important than what we hear at the start and end of Mass. And, more than likely, our audiences are not as friendly as those we see in church.
The author of Psalm 96 (1-3, 7-8, 10) gives us our assignment and some specific suggestions on how we are to carry it out.
He begins by telling us to sing. Now that’s a great way to get people’s attention; maybe we need to sing announcements at Mass. He says it three times: “Sing to the Lord…Sing to the Lord…Sing to Lord.” This is an important exhortation because it is said three times. How many times a day do we “sing to the Lord?” Do we wait till Sunday Mass and then mumble in a tone low enough so no one will hear us?
Then after telling us to sing to the Lord, he tells us to, “Announce his salvation, day after day.”
Do you think this was written to the handful of people who give announcements in church? We know to whom it was written—us, each of us. And we are not announcing the time and place of a fish fry, but the most important news in the world—that God is in the saving business and his door is open, ready for business. Crowds are passing up God’s “store” because no one is announcing what’s going on there; or at least they are not announcing it in a way that grabs people’s attention. Did we catch the “day after day” part. My understanding is that this means not only weekdays but Saturday and Sunday as well.
As though the Psalmist did not put enough on our plates, he adds another layer: “Tell his glory among all peoples…give to the Lord glory and praise…say among the nations the Lord is king.”
Did we hear this? “All peoples…among nations.” We don’t like this assignment. It is much more comfortable and reasonable to make our announcement within our small circle of friends. If we start telling all peoples and nations about Jesus, we just might get laughed at or even persecuted.
I suppose if we really take this word to heart, we are all getting pretty uncomfortable right now. We’d rather have a less risky job like counting money after Mass.
“Give the Lord glory and praise” puts this all in perspective. It is about “giving” to God what is his due. It is not about us and what makes us happy or comfortable. It is not about what people will think of us or how they will treat us if we “announce his salvation day after day.”
“Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations” (response to today’s Psalm).
