Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 14,1.7-11
Now it happened that on a Sabbath day he had gone to share a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour. He said this, 'When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, "Give up your place to this man." And then, to your embarrassment, you will have to go and take the lowest place. No; when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host comes, he may say, "My friend, move up higher." Then, everyone with you at the table will see you honoured. For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be raised up.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus is still in the house of the Pharisee who invited him to dinner and has just healed the man with dropsy. He continues to teach to those present seeing how the guests were trying to take the best seats. We could say that this is nothing new. Still today it is a very common behaviour in life, and not only at the table. Everyone looks to put him or herself in the place of honour or at least to receive the most attention and consideration from others. Often, life's difficulties, instead of making the spirit of solidarity grow, impel us towards an even more hectic search for the first place. Jesus suggests to his listeners an attitude of humility and attention towards others and exhorts them to abstain from seeking the first place. The evangelist thinks of each one's place in front of God's eyes, in His kingdom. No one should think of his or herself above others. We can think of Jesus' attitude ; he who " did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave" (Phil 2:6-7). Jesus clarifies: it is the Lord who gives each one the dignity and honour he or she deserves. We cannot give our places by vaunting our merits. It is the Lord who shows us the place from which we witness the love he has given us. And, in any case, it is good that one of the rules of life is attentiveness to others, especially the weakest, before ourselves. The Lord turns his gaze particularly to the lesser ones. It is a sort of biblical law, the reversal of the world's criteria for judgment: the one who recognizes that he or she is humble and a sinner will be exalted by God, and the one who claims being recognized and given the best place risks excluding him or herself from the banquet. This is why Jesus states: "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." It is not just a Christian rule, it is also an attitude of exquisite human wisdom.
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
