Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John 14, 21-26
Whoever holds to my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me; and whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and reveal myself to him.'
Judas -- not Judas Iscariot -- said to him, 'Lord, what has happened, that you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?'
Jesus replied: Anyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him.
Anyone who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father who sent me.
I have said these things to you while still with you;
but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Gospel continues Jesus’ farewell discourse to his disciples. He is about to leave them, but the love he has for them does not end. He tells them, “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me.” It is an affirmation that could seem obvious: in fact to follow the teaching of someone is usually a sign of esteem and appreciation. Jesus highlights, though, that to live the Gospel out of formal respect is not enough. One must involve oneself with one’s entire life. And this requires the love that Jesus speaks of. The Gospel, which, like a vessel, contains the love of Jesus, does not propose one of the many ideologies that, from time to time, have guided human behaviour. The Gospel contains the very love of Jesus. In fact, this love is not only the reason for observing the commandments, but it is the very substance of the commandments. To be a Christian does not mean belonging to a civilization or a culture, to a club or to any human organization, as nicely deserving as that may be. The Gospel asks us to bind our lives to Jesus. Already in the Old Testament regarding wisdom it was noted: “Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her. And love of her is the keeping of her laws” (6:12, 18). Jesus continues saying that love attracts even the heart of the Father in heaven and He will show himself to those who love him. It is the spiritual experience that each believer is called to live. The apostle Judas Thaddeus, one of the Twelve, asks Jesus to show himself to everyone and in a flashy way. Poor Judas who still reasons using the common messianic categories! Jesus does not respond directly to Judas’ question, but takes the opportunity to clarify what it means to see him after the resurrection. Love pushes to put in practice the Gospel, and the disciple becomes the dwelling place of Jesus and the Father: “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” If love is missing, the Gospel will be only mute words and people will find themselves alone with themselves, far from God and prey to the violent and wicked force of evil. Jesus warns the disciples of this danger and promises them the Advocate. The Father himself will pour the Spirit into their hearts. The Spirit will accompany them throughout history, teaching them everything and remembering the words of Jesus that are the precious inheritance to be transmitted generation after generation. Through the action of the Spirit that helps us understand the Gospel ever more deeply, the Lord continues to be present among us and to work for the good of humanity.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
