Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
1 Chronicles 13, 1-14
David conferred with the commanders of the thousands and the hundreds, in fact with all the leaders.
Then, to the whole assembly of Israel, David said, 'If this has your approval, and if Yahweh our God wills it so, we shall send messengers to the rest of our brothers throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites in their towns and pasture lands, bidding them join us.
And then we will go and recover the ark of our God, for in the days of Saul we neglected to do it.'
The whole assembly agreed to this, because all the people thought that this was the right thing to do.
So David summoned all Israel from the Shihor of Egypt to the Pass of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-Jearim.
David and all Israel then went up to Baalah, to Kiriath-Jearim in Judah, from there to bring up the ark of God, which bears the title 'Yahweh enthroned on the winged creatures'.
They transported the ark of God out of Abinadab's house on a new cart. Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart.
David and all Israel danced before God with all their might, singing to the accompaniment of harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.
When they came to the threshing-floor of the Javelin, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, as the oxen were making it tilt.
This roused Yahweh's anger against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had laid his hand on the Ark, and there he died before God.
David resented Yahweh's having broken out against Uzzah, and the place was given the name Perez-Uzzah, which it still has today.
That day David felt afraid of God. 'How can I bring the ark of God to be with me?' he said.
So David did not take the ark with him into the City of David but had it put in the house of Obed-Edom of Gath.
The ark of God remained with Obed-Edom, in his house, for three months, and Yahweh blessed Obed-Edom's family and everything that belonged to him.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
From chapter thirteen to sixteen a central event of the Kingdom of David is reported: the relocation of the ark, sign of God’ presence, to the capital Jerusalem. The passage we read reports what David said to all the chiefs of the army: "If it seems good to you, and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send abroad to our kindred who remain in the land of Israel, including the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasture lands, that they may come together to us. Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us; for we did not turn to it in the days of Saul" (vv. 2-3). In effect, David gathered "all Israel" (v. 6). Until then they were dispersed in a vast territory from Shihor in Egypt (near the Nile River) to Lebo-hamat (a Syrian city on the Orontes). Without the ark the people are scattered and cannot find unity; for, it is not their background, or their blood or belonging to one tribe that creates unity, but rather, it is the presence of God. In the second book of Chronicles the author writes, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd" (18:16). Now David gathers all the Israelites but not around himself but rather, around God’s ark. David understood well that the Lord, and only the Lord, is the true shepherd who is able to gather the Israelites. His gesture is that of extraordinary leadership; David responds directly to the Lord and this is why God chose him. A pilgrim and united people were formed that would accompany the ark: it is an image that continues to also define the community of Jesus’ disciples. The Son of God became the "new temple" of God’s presence on earth. The sacred author notes: "David and all Israel were dancing before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets" (v. 8). The joy of the people for what was happening is evident: it is the joy of being part of a large family, God’s family. That joy should shine on the faces of the disciples even today. The joy of being Christian should be felt and communicated by us. Some will say that "Christians are by nature optimists" or that the joy that Christians feel is a "silly joy." But this is not the case. The joy that Christians feel is the happiness of being part of a people that not only has not been abandoned but also has been entrusted with a unique message for the entire world. Indeed, this joy requires a special thought. In the biblical language it is called the "fear of God." We cannot forget the loftiness and greatness of God; we cannot forget his holiness. The episode of Uzzah is emblematic: he was hit to death because he touched the ark that was dangerously sliding. We cannot get close to God or treat his presence lightly. It is a teaching we should receive with great care; if we think how lightly at times we treat the ark of God, how we judge the Church, the community of believers, and our brothers and sisters who are "the temple of God!" The sacred author writes, "David was afraid of God that day" (v. 12). He understood the abyssal distance between him and the Lord. It is the beginning of every interior experience: to acknowledge that God is everything and we are nothing. Maybe we should ask in prayer to be granted the fear of God. It is the first step towards defeating our ego and understanding the greatness of God’s love for 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
