Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time Read more
Homily
With the end of the seventh chapter, so ends the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ first great speech in the Gospel of Matthew, almost his Gospel mission. Our facing these passages is in a certain sense decisive. For Jesus says: "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock," while "everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand." Jesus continues: the rain fell abundantly, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat both those houses; the first, built on rock, remains steady; the other built on sand fell. Jesus uses these two effective images to compare those who listen to Gospel to builders. Indeed the Gospel is not a literary exercise or a good word said to exhort to some good feeling; the Gospel wants to build a house, the house of one’s life. Those who listen to the Gospel and act on it are wise people because they build their lives on rock; those who merely listen and do not follow the Gospel are foolish because they will be overwhelmed by adversities. Obviously, it is even worse if one does not listen to the Word of God at all.
Those among us who are familiar with sand can visually see the truth of these words. Sometimes a light wave is sufficient to destroy what we build, "sand castles." On the other side, we all know that life has in store for all violent pouring and high winds. This is why Jesus’ warning is wise and friendly. Sand is not far from us. We do not need to go long distances to find it. We have it in our hearts. Sand is the pride of self, of our feelings, of our convictions; sand is the arrogance of those who want to be always right in front of the Lord and the coldness of those who are indifferent to others’ needs.
The season of sand may last one day, one month, one year or even an entire life. It is the time when we do not listen to the Gospel and even less count on it. How many men and women should admit that their human building collapsed, and yet they do not admit it because they do not want to reveal that there is sand in their hearts! Let us be careful, because sand means also desert; even more sand makes the desert and it creates loneliness, bitterness, and lack of a happy life. The Lord gave us the rock where we can build our life. And we are not the rock; the rock is the very Lord, it is his Gospel that remains steady and does not fall. The Gospel preaching is a small rock for our days. It is right then to be amazed like the crowds at the end of the Sermon of the Mount: "Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority." It is the amazement of listening to an authoritative word that is given to us to build our life wisely every day.
Jesus’ warning is severe: "Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." We need first of all to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness that is goodness, mercy, justice, fraternity and friendship. This is the essential from which everything else comes. I think that the short-sightedness of many regarding hospitality to foreigners (and it is truly sad on a civil point of view to ride the wave of selfishness and intolerance of people) distances the search for the Kingdom of God and deepens the cult of one’s own particular interest (it is the idol of a rich and consumerist society) that in the end will cause impoverishment and anguish. Wealth is a demanding idol, and does not spare anyone.
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
