Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 8,19-21
His mother and his brothers came looking for him, but they could not get to him because of the crowd. He was told, 'Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.' But he said in answer, 'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The evangelist Luke poses this episode immediately after the parable of the Sower and of the lamp which must make light. This is not random. He wants, in fact, to highlight the centrality of listening to the Word of God in the life of the Church and of every Christian community. The family of Jesus is composed of whoever listens to him and puts in practice his word. We could say that it is an alternative family, not in the sense of opposing blood bonds but that which poses at the base of all bonds, the very bond with Jesus which renders all of the others stronger and more solid. Luke narrates that Jesus' relativesperhaps to take him away from the life he had undertaken which caused not a few inconveniences to the whole set of relativesdecide to look for him to dissuade him or in any case to stop his actions. When they reach the place where Jesus was, they see that he is surrounded by a lot of people, so many as to hinder them from getting close. Alerted of the presence of relatives, Jesus responds that his true family is made up of those that are inside, next to him to listen. Those who are "outside", even if relatives by blood, are not part of his family. The Gospel, in fact, creates a new family, not made of natural bonds but those much more solid which are the fruit of the Spirit's action. To be a part of this family requires listening to the Gospel and the commitment to put it into practice. The mother of Jesus, Mary, is an example for everyone. She was the first to believe in the Word of God, communicated to her by the angel, as Luke writes: "Let it be done to me according to your word." There is not at all any scorn for family bonds. Just the opposite; the presence of May shows that faithwhich she had for her sonenriches the bonds of flesh, includingobviouslythose of the family. Knowing Mary's faith, Elizabeth pronounces upon her the first beatitude of the Gospel, "Blessed are you who have believed in the fulfilment of what the Lord told to you." Mary remains the first of all believers, and also the mother of the Church, as Paul VI called her during the Second Vatican Council. This Gospel passage reminds us of the family dimension of salvation. Yes, the Lord does not save people individually, but gathering them in one family, the family of disciples who listen to his Word.
Doa merupakan jantung kehidupan Komunitas Sant'Egidio dan merupakan prioritas yang paling penting. Di penghujung hari, setiap Komunitas Sant'Egidio, besar maupun kecil, akan berkumpul di sekeliling Tuhan untuk mendengarkan sabda-Nya. Sesungguhnya Sabda Allah dan doa merupakan landasan seluruh kehidupan Komunitas. Para rasul tidak bisa tidak selain tetap di sekitar kaki Yesus, seperti yang dilakukan oleh Maria dari Bethani, untuk menerima kasih dan belajar cara-Nya (Fil. 2:5).
Sehingga setiap malam, ketika Komunitas kembali ke kaki Tuhan, Komunitas mengulangi kata-kata dari rasul tak bernama: "Tuhan ajarkanlah kami cara berdoa" Yesus, Sang Guru, terus menjawab: "Ketika kamu berdoa, katakanlah: Abba, Bapa". Hal itu bukanlah satu seruan sederhana. Dengan kata-kata ini, Yesus membiarkan para murid untuk berperan serta dalam hubungan mereka sendiri dengan Bapa. Oleh sebab itu, fakta bahwa sebagai anak-anak Bapa yang bertahta di surga, muncul sebelum kata-kata yang mungkin kita ucapkan. Jadi doa di atas segalanya merupakan cara untuk menjadi manusia. Ini untuk mengatakan bahwa kita anak-anak yang berpaling kepada Bapa dengan iman, dan yakin bahwa hal itu akan didengar.
Yesus mengajar kita memanggil Allah dengan sebutan "Bapa Kami" Tidak hanya "Bapa" atau "Bapaku" Para murid, meskipun mereka berdoa dengan cara mereka, tidak pernah terisolasi tidak juga menjadi yatim; mereka selalu menjadi anggota keluarga Tuhan.
Dalam doa bersama, di samping misteri anak Allah, ada juga misteri persaudaraan, seperti Bapa Gereja mengatakan: "Kamu tidak bisa memiliki Allah sebagai Bapa tanpa memiliki gereja sebagai ibu". Ketika berdoa bersama, Roh Kudus menyatukan para rasul di ruangan atas bersama dengan Maria, Bunda Allah, sehingga mereka dapat memusatkan pandangan mereka kepada wajah Tuhan dan belajar dari Dia rahasia hati-Nya.
Komunitas Sant'Egidio di seluruh dunia berkumpul bersama di berbagai tempat doa dan menghamparkan di hadapan Tuhan harapan dan penderitaan manusia yang lelah dan letih seperti yang di katakan oleh Injil (Mat. 9:37). Dalam kumpulan di masa lalu ini kita bisa melihat jumlah massa yang sangat besar di kota-kota modern ini, jutaan pengungsi yang terus melarikan diri dari negeri mereka, orang miskin yang terpinggirkan ke tepi kehidupan dan mereka yang menantikan seseorang yang akan merawat mereka. Berdoa bersama termasuk di dalamnya tangisan, seruan, permohonan, keinginan bagi damai, penyembuhan dan penebusan manusia di dunia ini. Doa tidak pernah sia-sia, doa terus menerus kepada Tuhan sehingga mengubah kecemasan menjadi harapan, air mata menjadi kegembiraan, putus asa menjadi kebahagiaan, dan kesepian menjadi persatuan. Semoga Kerajaan Allah hadir segera di antara manusia.
