Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
2 Samuel 7, 1-5.8-12.14-16
Once the king had settled into his palace and Yahweh had granted him rest from all the enemies surrounding him,
the king said to the prophet Nathan, 'Look, I am living in a cedar-wood palace, while the ark of God is under awnings.'
Nathan said to the king, 'Go and do whatever you have in mind, for Yahweh is with you.'
But that very night, the word of Yahweh came to Nathan:
'Go and tell my servant David, "Yahweh says this: Are you to build me a temple for me to live in?
This is what you must say to my servant David, "Yahweh Sabaoth says this: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel;
I have been with you wherever you went; I have got rid of all your enemies for you. I am going to make your fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth.
I am going to provide a place for my people Israel; I shall plant them there, and there they will live and never be disturbed again; nor will they be oppressed by the wicked any more, as they were in former times
ever since the time when I instituted judges to govern my people Israel; and I shall grant you rest from all your enemies. Yahweh furthermore tells you that he will make you a dynasty.
And when your days are over and you fall asleep with your ancestors, I shall appoint your heir, your own son to succeed you (and I shall make his sovereignty secure.
I shall be a father to him and he a son to me; if he does wrong, I shall punish him with a rod such as men use, with blows such as mankind gives.
But my faithful love will never be withdrawn from him as I withdrew it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
Your dynasty and your sovereignty will ever stand firm before me and your throne be for ever secure." '
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
In this passage, which we could consider the theological high point of the book of Samuel, we reach a decisive point in salvation history. The promise of offspring and a kingdom made to David would be recalled frequently in the psalms (Psalms 89 and 132), in the most important moments of Israel's history, and in the prophets. And at the dawn of the New Testament, it would resound in the words of the archangel Gabriel who announces the birth of Jesus' to Mary (Lk 1:30-33). The early Church would preach that the promises made to David about his offspring were fulfilled in Christ (see Heb 1:5; Acts 2:29-30). The story begins with David noticing that he dwells in a beautiful palace of cedar built with the help of the king of Tyre whereas the ark, the sign of God's presence, is still kept in a tent. So he decides to build a temple for the Lord, a place worthy of His presence. Among other things, the absence of the temple was considered a clear sign of the religious inferiority of Israel as compared to that of the neighbouring peoples. When David first tells Nathan of his plans, the prophet is enthusiastic. But God rejects the plan that very night. The prophet's first reaction comes from his spontaneous feelings, whereas the second plan is explicitly desired by God. The prophet cannot speak for himself, only for God. This is why he has to communicate God's will to David clearly: “In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.” David's plan was certainly good, but God's perspective is much more profound. It was not God who needed a house, but the people of Israel. The places of worship that God had established at the beginning (Gen 12:7-8; 28, 20-22; 35:14), together with the tabernacle (Ex. 26; 33: 7-11), were signs of his presence among the people. God therefore warns David that he had never asked for a temple to be built in ages past, nor had he asked him for one (v. 6-7). The Lord led his people and David himself through all of their undertakings, without having a fixed dwelling place. The Lord does not need walls. If anything, it is Israel who needs them in order not to forget the Lord. Therefore God himself will build a home for Israel. Nathan is referring to Solomon, who will build the temple. But God’s words go even further. The Lord assures David that his line will continue: “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body.” The prophet proclaims a “royal house” that will last “forever”; it will be an “everlasting kingdom.” The prophecy will find its fulfilment in Jesus Christ, as the angel announces to Mary: “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:32-33).
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
