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
Luke 9, 7-9
Meanwhile Herod the tetrarch had heard about all that was going on; and he was puzzled, because some people were saying that John had risen from the dead,
others that Elijah had reappeared, still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life.
But Herod said, 'John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?' And he was anxious to see him.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Between the mission of the twelve and their joyous return, Luke, following Mark the evangelist, inserts the passage which reports Herod’s wish to see Jesus. The teaching, the miracles and the missionary activity of the Twelve had made the crowd enthusiastic. The fame of that Teacher had reached even Herod Antipas’ court. The discordance regarding what was being said about Jesus caused unease and perplexity in the tetrarch. There were those who said that the young Rabbi was John the Baptist resurrected, others thought he was Elijah reappeared. Herod, in this psychological tension stemming from anxiety and fear, in any case sought to meet him. Obviously, Herod did not share the opinion of those who thought he was the Baptist. Luke summarizes Herod’s doubt like this: "John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?" And, therefore, "he tried to see him." But it is not the desire of one who wants to listen and understand that new prophecy which touched people’s heart. The moment will in any case come in which Herod will meet that young prophet, but it will be the day of the trial when Pilate decides to send Jesus to him as a prisoner. Herod’s wish to meet Jesus is not like that of Zacchaeus who went up a tree, or like that of the two Greeks who went to Philip and Andrew. These wanted to understand and comprehend the word and activity of that young prophet and went to him. Herod on the other hand expected Jesus to go to him. But one does not find the Lord unless one "comes out" of oneself, of one’s own pride, of one’s own psychological labyrinth. The encounter with Jesus is more direct and also simpler, as so many Gospel episodes demonstrate: it is enough to go to him with a well-disposed heart, and it is also enough to merely touch the hem of his cloak. But with faith, with availability. Herod was merely curious without any intention of changing his life. Without the disposition of the heart, it is not possible to find Jesus.
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
