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
Mark 8,11-13
The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with him; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to put him to the test. And with a profound sigh he said, 'Why does this generation demand a sign? In truth I tell you, no sign shall be given to this generation.' And, leaving them again, he re-embarked and went away to the other side.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The evangelist Mark continues having us follow Jesus, who is back in the territory of the people of Israel. And, paradoxically, this time the Pharisees approach him. But contrary to the poor who run to receive help and healing, the Pharisees "began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him." They want to oppose him and to discredit him as much as possible in front of people. In truth, their concern reveals their fear of losing their power. Their certainty to own the truth made them blind and their hearts closed: they see the miracles Jesus performs, they listen to his words of mercy, they are witnesses to the enthusiasm he raises among people, and yet their eyes cannot understand deeply what Jesus was doing. They had eyes and they could not see, ears and could not hear. The "signs" Jesus was performing lead directly toward the recognition of the one "sign" par excellence, Jesus himself. But it was exactly what the Pharisees did not want to see. The evangelist notes that hearing their request Jesus "sighed deeply," as if embittered by this hardness of heart. It is right; their hardness of heart prevents them from reading deeply, spiritually, what was happening in front of them. They did not accept that such a good man could be the Messiah who saves. The preaching and the miracles that brought the weak and the poor to Jesus, carried the Pharisees, who did not want to see the newness of the Gospel, away from him. Their eyes were satisfied with their practices and their observances, and they could not see the meaning of the signs of love Jesus was performing among people. When we close in on our horizons, when we don't listen to the Word of God as newness for our life, when we are not moved by the poor and the weak, it is easy to be like those Pharisees who remain blind even in front of light. This Gospel page questions a mean and narrow religiosity. Mark writes that Jesus, upset and saddened by the Pharisees' attitude, "left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side." It is what is requested from us: not to linger on unproductive debates but go on the other side, that of the poor and the peripheries. They are impatient to receive the Gospel of love.
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
