Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Glory to God in the highest
and peace on earth to the people he loves.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John 1, 35-42
The next day as John stood there again with two of his disciples, Jesus went past,
and John looked towards him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God.'
And the two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, 'What do you want?' They answered, 'Rabbi' -- which means Teacher-'where do you live?'
He replied, 'Come and see'; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and say to him, 'We have found the Messiah' -- which means the Christ-
and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas' -- which means Rock.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The evangelist John continues to narrate the first steps of Jesus? public ministry, which opened with his baptism in the River Jordan. This passage describes the conversion of two of John the Baptist?s disciples. Evidently, the prophet?s words about the Messiah Jesus had touched the hearts of his two followers. And indeed, they leave their teacher and set out to follow this young prophet from Nazareth. In truth, this is what happens to each one of us when we open our heart to the preaching of the Gospel. At the origin of the Christian experience there is always a word that touches the heart, making it leave behind its habits and sense of security, even if they are already religious. It is the beginning of an interior journey that leads to the growth of an awareness of the mystery revealed by God. A little way down the road, Jesus turns around and asks the two who are following him: "What are you looking for?" These are the first words spoken by Jesus in the fourth Gospel, but also the first question posed to whomever draws near to the Gospel: "What are you looking for?", "What are your expectations?" The two disciples are taken aback by his question and respond with another: "Rabbi, where are you staying?" And Jesus says: "Come and see." This is what happened. The Evangelist writes that the two "came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him. It was about four o?clock in that day." To stay at Jesus? house meant to root themselves in his company, to enter in communion with him. The experience of that encounter changed forever the life of those two men. And whoever followed their example also found that their life had changed. It happened also to Simon, Andrew?s brother. Meeting Jesus, Peter even heard his name change?that is to say, his life: he received the new vocation of being a "rock" for his brothers and sisters. But it is like this for all believers who become "living rocks" of a new strucutre, the Church.
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
