Preparing to read

Over time I have come to believe that the reading of scripture in public worship is as important as expounding on scripture (i.e., preaching). As a friend says, “A good reading is expounding.”

I am appalled at the way some traditions and congregations take such a casual attitude toward the reading of scripture in worship. It’s treated sometimes as the role “anybody can do.” Not anybody can do it, and it takes practice. I get the sense sometimes that people are reading the assigned text for the first time when they read it in worship.

Whenever I’m asked to read, I read the lectionary texts beforehand repeatedly, both quietly and aloud. If there are particular phrases or words I’m apt to stumble over, I go back over these even more, just like I would when practicing a hard part in a piano solo.