Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Mark 8, 27-33
Jesus and his disciples left for the villages round Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, 'Who do people say I am?'
And they told him, 'John the Baptist, others Elijah, others again, one of the prophets.'
'But you,' he asked them, 'who do you say I am?' Peter spoke up and said to him, 'You are the Christ.'
And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him.
Then he began to teach them that the Son of man was destined to suffer grievously, and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again;
and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter tried to rebuke him.
But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God thinks, but as human beings do.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus is with his disciples in the pagan territory of the tetrarch Philip, which contained the city of Caesarea, named by Philip in honour of Augustus Caesar. Perhaps because he is far from the Jews, here Jesus can freely touch on the messianic theme without fear of being misunderstood. Jesus asks his disciples about the rumours that were being spread about him. "Who do people say that I am?" In the Gospel of Mark, this question asked by Jesus is so important that is actually occupies the physical centre of the narrative. And so it is in our time as well. "Who is Jesus?" I think it necessary for the generation of this new millennium to ask itself this question again. Jesus is at the northern border of Palestine, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the lake of Galilee. The evangelist seems to suggest that Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem begins here. And its beginning is marked by Peter’s profession. The disciples answer Jesus’ question by telling him what the people think. But this all seems of little interest to Jesus. In fact, he immediately turns to the disciples and asks them: "But who do you say that I am?" Peter’s answer is clear: "You are the Christ!" which means Messiah, that is, the one consecrated by God. And Peter did well to confess his faith. It was the right way to begin that journey. It is the right way for us to begin this new century. And yet it is a faith that is still fragile, which needs to be nourished by the Gospel. In fact, Jesus is forced to disavow him harshly immediately afterwards. After hearing the prophecy of the passion, that is, of the establishment of a kingdom that would require the death of the Messiah, Peter objects. His complete refusal of the passion keeps Peter from listening to the announcement of the resurrection, which is just as clear in the Teacher’s words. Self-sufficiency and pride keep Peter from welcoming the Gospel in its fullness. And Jesus cannot but firmly reject Peter’s words. With unheard of harshness, Jesus compares him to the prince of evil, Satan: "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." Jesus invites the apostle to take his place behind him, that is, to begin listening again, and not to let himself be guided by his reasoning and his convictions. Peter, the first of the apostles, is called to return to being the first of the disciples, the first of those who listen.
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
