Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Ecclesiastes 8,1-9
Who compares with the sage? Who else knows how to explain things? Wisdom lights up the face, enlivening a grim expression.
Obey the king's command and, because of the divine promise,
be in no hurry to depart from it; do not be obstinate in a bad cause, since the king will do as he likes in any case.
Since the word of a king is sovereign, what is the point of saying, 'Why do that?'
One who obeys the command will come to no harm; the heart of the sage knows the right moment and verdict,
for there is a right moment and verdict for everything; but misfortune lies heavy upon anyone
who does not know what the outcome will be, no one is going to say how things will turn out.
No one can control the wind and stop it from blowing, no one can control the day of death. From war there is no escape, no more can wickedness save the person who commits it.
I have seen all this to be so, having carefully studied everything taking place under the sun, while one person tyrannises over another to the former's detriment.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Qohelet has already warned (cf. 3:1-9) that there is a "time" for everything. And the one who knows "the interpretation of a thing" (v. 1), that is, who can interpret reality correctly is wise. The ideal of wisdom is therefore not an abstract knowledge, but the ability to make a historical judgment of one’s era. But who has this wisdom? Qohelet, who is never categorical, replies that "no one knows." He, therefore, leaves open a possibility. But whoever is capable of such wisdom has a luminous appearance; their face loses its hardness and the impudence of the superficial. Rather they have a look of tolerance and benevolence toward reality. In short, wisdom brings about a spiritual elegance and the absence of hardness. Qohelet then chooses an example: how to behave before the king. Since the king has power to do "whatever he pleases" (v. 3b) it is prudent to not "delay when the matter is unpleasant" (v. 3), that is, be disloyal to him. It is necessary to ponder well when to be faithful to him and when to not heed his orders. Not all situations are the same. Wisdom can judge the opportune times. This attitude toward the commands of the king should likewise be observed in the face of "evil." Evil falls upon human life continuously, and it is a burden which cannot easily be shaken off. It is necessary to discern wisely the way to avoid being crushed. Ignorance of the future (v. 7), or rather "ignorance of the future consequences" of one’s conduct does not allow one to easily choose the way or the moment in which to avoid evil. Much vigilance is necessary. Qohelet warns: "No one has power over the wind to restrain the wind, or power over the day of death; there is discharge from the battle, nor does wickedness deliver those who practice it" (v. 8). Human existence is comparable to a war that cannot be escaped: we are always in a situation of struggle. And we cannot allow ourselves to do evil, thinking it will fall only on others. No one can flee the battle of life and even wisdom has its own insurmountable limits. Qohelet does not counsel abandoning the search for wisdom nor does he resign himself to a nihilistic scepticism; but he is aware of the limits that the reality of existence imposes on each person. To go beyond Qohelet, but always in the path of faith, once again the believer finds his rock and his fortress only in the Lord.
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
