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
Luke 9,46-50
An argument started between them about which of them was the greatest. Jesus knew what thoughts were going through their minds, and he took a little child whom he set by his side and then he said to them, 'Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me. The least among you all is the one who is the greatest.' John spoke up. 'Master,' he said, 'we saw someone driving out devils in your name, and because he is not with us we tried to stop him.' But Jesus said to him, 'You must not stop him: anyone who is not against you is for you.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
"An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest." The disciples did not start arguing or asking Jesus for some explanations about what he had said about his death. Concern for themselves was much greater. The disciples were children of the worldly mentality which is rooted in all generations. Jesus came to turn this mentality upside down, "making himself obedient unto death and a death on the cross," writes the apostle Paul (Phil 2:8). Jesus asked his disciples to establish relationships of brotherhood and service, not competition or power over others. Uniting a gesture to his words, Jesus took a child at his side as if to identify the child with himself: "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me." In the kingdom of heaven, and therefore also in the community of Jesus' disciples, great are those who make themselves small, those who are children of the Gospel, those who recognize their weakness and entrust everything to the Lord. There is an identity between being children and being disciples. For this reason-according to Jesus' words-a disciple, as a child would recognize the mark of the Father, recognizes the "signs of times' and sees God's action wherever good is fulfilled, even if the person who does it is not part of the group of disciples. To John and to all Christians who want to downplay, or worse, hinder the good deeds of someone because they do not belong to the circle of disciples, Jesus repeats, "Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you." It is a great lesson of wisdom, also a human lesson, which renders Jesus' disciples able to recognize the action of the Spirit in the history of humanity.
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!
