Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 17,10-13
And the disciples put this question to him, 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' He replied, 'Elijah is indeed coming, and he will set everything right again; however, I tell you that Elijah has come already and they did not recognise him but treated him as they pleased; and the Son of man will suffer similarly at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that he was speaking of John the Baptist.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Gospel narrates the brief dialogue that takes place between Jesus and his disciples as they climb down Mount Tabor after the transfiguration. The conversation is about one of the people who appeared in the vision, the prophet Elijah. The disciples were more convinced than ever that Jesus was the Messiah. But the scribes still maintained that Elijah had to come before the Messiah. Effectively, it is written in the book of the prophet Malachi: "Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse" (Mal 4:5-6). Jesus confirms this prophecy for the disciples, but explains that Elijah has already come. Moreover, his fate ("they did to him whatever they pleased") foretells the fate of the Son of Man. The people did not recognize Elijah; in fact, they rejected him. The disciples understand that Jesus is talking about the Baptist. They do not ask any more questions, because they understand even more clearly that the extraordinary Teacher before them is the Messiah. This Gospel passage suggests that we need someone to prepare the way for the Lord who is coming; we need a voice to cry out loudly in the desert of this world and of our hearts that there is indeed someone who loves us. Our selfishness often dulls our eyes and heart. We always need a prophet, indeed, an Elijah, a brother or a sister who speaks to our ears and touches our heart to help us open up and welcome the Lord. Elijah, therefore, is the Word of God that is preached; he is the prophecy that is still spoken today. And he is, as Sirach writes, "a prophet like fire, and his word burn[s] like a torch." Elijah’s ascension - he is carried into heaven in a chariot of fire - signifies that God’s prophecy does not die, but still continues today in the many witnesses who in word and example preach the urgency of loving God and our brothers and sisters. We are all asked not to close our eyes but to see the "signs of God", not to close our ears but to listen to the Gospel, and not to close our hearts but to open them to the Lord who is coming to be born among us.
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
