The First Reading
After the Penitential Rite and the Gloria, Scripture is read at
Mass. The Scriptures are proclaimed from a lectern called
the ambo.
The first reading at a Sunday Mass is normally taken from one of
the books of the Old Testament. The exception to this is the Easter
Season. From Easter until Pentecost, the first reading is taken from
the Acts of the Apostles, the first book of the New Testament after
the Gospels.
Why does the Church give such emphasis to the Old Testament?
After all, aren’t we a “New Testament” Church? In the three-year
cycle of readings in the liturgy, the Church unfolds the story of
salvation. This started “in the beginning,” with the Book of Genesis
37
and continued to Christ and the Church. Jesus Himself said,
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” Thus, we need to know
what it is that Christ came to fulfill.
You see, the Old Testament points to the New. The prophesies
about the Messiah in the Old Testament all pointed to Jesus. And
the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old. You can’t fully
understand one without the other. So the first reading helps us to
understand part one of the greatest story ever told!
For further study:
Matthew 5:17-18 • The whole Bible!
Notes