Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Christ is risen from the dead
and will die no more.
He awaits us in Galilee!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
2 Timothy 2, 14-26
Remind them of this; and tell them in the name of God that there must be no wrangling about words: all that this ever achieves is the destruction of those who are listening.
Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who has no need to be ashamed, but who keeps the message of truth on a straight path.
Have nothing to do with godless philosophical discussions -- they only lead further and further away from true religion.
Talk of this kind spreads corruption like gangrene, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus,
the men who have gone astray from the truth, claiming that the resurrection has already taken place. They are upsetting some people's faith.
However, God's solid foundation-stone stands firm, and this is the seal on it: 'The Lord knows those who are his own' and 'All who call on the name of the Lord must avoid evil.'
Not all the dishes in a large house are made of gold and silver; some are made of wood or earthenware: the former are held in honour, the latter held cheap.
If someone holds himself aloof from these faults I speak of, he will be a vessel held in honour, dedicated and fit for the Master, ready for any good work.
Turn away from the passions of youth, concentrate on uprightness, faith, love and peace, in union with all those who call on the Lord with a pure heart.
Avoid these foolish and undisciplined speculations, understanding that they only give rise to quarrels;
and a servant of the Lord must not engage in quarrels, but must be kind to everyone, a good teacher, and patient.
He must be gentle when he corrects people who oppose him, in the hope that God may give them a change of mind so that they recognise the truth
and come to their senses, escaping the trap of the devil who made them his captives and subjected them to his will.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Christ is risen from the dead
and will die no more.
He awaits us in Galilee!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul gives Timothy some instructions on how he should oppose the false teachers that threaten the uniqueness of the Gospel and the unity of the community with their arguments. He urges him to remind them of the centrality of the Gospel, that is, what he just said about the death and resurrection of Jesus. He should not get lost in "stupid" and "senseless" controversies, in debates and arguments distant from the central mystery of the faith. These debates, in fact, do not help anyone grow in love or gain salvation, but create new obstacles and "ruin those who are listening." Paul does not invite Timothy to be a good debater, he tells him to present himself "as one approved by God," that is, as a "worker who has no need to be ashamed" and a faithful and scrupulous preacher of the Gospel. It is not a matter of repeating abstract truths, but touching people’s hearts and minds with words that are full of life so that they will convert to Christ and follow him. If he completes this mission, Timothy "will not be ashamed," but instead will be a strong worker, someone who is "approved" and who will remain steadfast "before God." Paul insists that he "avoid profane chatter," because chatter is not harmless. On the contrary, it corrodes the communion with Jesus and between the brothers and sisters and it increases loneliness and enmity. Paul reminds him of two concrete cases: Hymenaeus, whom he had already excluded from the community of the Church (1 Tim 1:20), and Philetus. Both of these men had ended up relegating the resurrection to a purely spiritual plane and abandoning the mystery of the resurrection of the flesh. In doing so, that had emptied the resurrection of meaning. The community is founded on this mystery, which is the "bulwark" set by God (1 Tim 3:15). Paul reminds him that every community is marked by the seal of God. Just as people used to carve or write formulas of consecration on temples and houses, so the Church was marked by the seal of God with two inscriptions. The first (taken from the Book of Numbers 16:5), "God will make known who is his," expresses the security of those who dwell in the house of the Lord, a security that comes from their being loved, guarded, and defended by God. The second inscription recalls the need to keep oneself pure from all "sin and injustice." We should not be surprised that there are problems in the Church; Paul writes that it is like a great "house" with very different kinds of utensils. Of course, those who lose themselves in "wrangling over words" (2:14) and in "profane chatter" (2:16) are like "worthless utensils for vile uses;" on the contrary, those who trust in God are like the utensils for "special use" and prepared for "every good work." Timothy himself needs to be exemplary, "shunning youthful passion" and letting himself be guided by love, the Spirit of Jesus, and "pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord." It is especially in prayer that pastoral wisdom and responsibility towards the community will mature in him. By being faithful to prayer and listening to the Gospel, Timothy is formed as a "servant of the Lord" who knows how to avoid disputes and behave with the "meekness" that makes him strong and effective enough to touch the hearts of the false teachers and convert them. The way to win them back is not the refutation of their ideas, but the love that can patiently bear injustices and treat everyone with gentleness and correct them with sweetness (1 Cor. 13:4-7).
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
