Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 9, 14-17
Then John's disciples came to him and said, 'Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?'
Jesus replied, 'Surely the bridegroom's attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth onto an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine in fresh skins and both are preserved.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The disciples of John, who lived a harder life than the disciples of Jesus, question him directly about such a difference: “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” We know well that in order to accelerate the coming of the Kingdom, fasting had a prominent role in the piety of the Pharisees, as well as in that of John’s disciples. In other passages, the Gospel reproaches the ostentation of the Pharisees, but this passage mentions only the practice of fasting. The Pharisees interrogate Jesus only to judge him, to catch him in the act of breaking the Law so as to discredit him. But John’s disciples ask to understand. We have never to be ashamed of asking for Jesus’ help. The Master replies with the image of the coming of the bridegroom, and compares the disciples to the friends of the bridegroom who prepared and shared the marriage, obviously a great celebration. Actually, in this passage, Jesus created a new and joyful climate, similar to a feast, to that of the marriage. With Jesus the true “bridegroom” had come among men and women, or to say it better, the Saviour of men and women. For this reason, the disciples and the poor, the sick, the sinners were the ones celebrating. In fact they all felt they had been set free from the slavery of evil and could rejoice. This was happening in a restless struggle. Till now, they could rejoice. But Jesus admonishes and declares that hard times will come soon. They will come for him; in this we find a reference to the Passion, as well as for the disciples and the communities. How not to think of the numerous persecutions which still today befall Jesus’ disciples? Then, during the hard days, the disciples “will fast,” Jesus adds. But before that, they need to dress for the feast and drink the wine of mercy; this will make them strong for the hard times. By mentioning old wineskins, Jesus is referring to the usual rigid frames of mind and religious schemas that were in practice. Gospel love needs new hearts, free from natural schemas and prejudices in order to welcome the very love of God. The religious leaders of Israel could not bear the novelty of a message too new for old categories. Let’s think of ourselves today. Resistance to the novelty of the Word of God means to be closed to the Spirit, maintaining perishable traditions that shield us at times with what was always done and thought. The Gospel of love frees us from enclosures and restraints in order to involve us with the large horizons of God.
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
