Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
John 10,31-42
The Jews fetched stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, 'I have shown you many good works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?' The Jews answered him, 'We are stoning you, not for doing a good work, but for blasphemy; though you are only a man, you claim to be God.' Jesus answered: Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods? So it uses the word 'gods' of those people to whom the word of God was addressed -- and scripture cannot be set aside. Yet to someone whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world you say, 'You are blaspheming' because I said, 'I am Son of God.' If I am not doing my Father's work, there is no need to believe me; but if I am doing it, then even if you refuse to believe in me, at least believe in the work I do; then you will know for certain that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. They again wanted to arrest him then, but he eluded their clutches. He went back again to the far side of the Jordan to the district where John had been baptising at first and he stayed there. Many people who came to him said, 'John gave no signs, but all he said about this man was true'; and many of them believed in him.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
After Jesus says, "The Father and I are one," (Jn 10:30), the anger of his interlocutors explodes, and they try to stone him. According to the Evangelist John, it is the second time that the Jews have tried to stone him (Jn 8:59). Those who were listening to him had clearly understood the implications of Jesus' words: they were blasphemy for them. And Jesus was to be punished by stoning. This time, instead of vanishing from sight, Jesus responds with the calm of someone who knows he is doing the will of the Father: "I have shown you many good works from the Father: for which of them you want to stone me?" They argue that their reaction does not come from any wrong that Jesus has committed, but from his claim to be God. The poor and weak people that Jesus helped had a very different reaction. They understood that a love as great and strong as this could only come from God. Obviously, if we look at the extraordinary signs performed by Jesus and his words with an attitude of pride and coldness, we do not see reality as it is. We could say that the Pharisees were blinded by the flash of that love. This is the meaning of the accusation they make against Jesus: "You, though only a human being, are making yourself God." Faith tells us that Jesus is truly a human being but also truly God. Indeed, this is the mystery that the Gospel reveals to us: Jesus is truly God and truly human. This mystery, preserved and transmitted by the disciples of every age, from generation to generation, is applicable to the Church itself, which is both a work of human beings and a work of God. The Church itself is a mystery of love. The apostle Paul calls it the "Body of Christ." Through the Church, her sacraments, and her preaching of the Gospel, we all enter into relationship with God. In this sense we could say that the Church is a work of Christ, indeed, it is his "body" projected through time. The Christian community is the sacrament - the sign - of Jesus' presence throughout history. These statements not only failed to stop Jesus' adversaries, rather they convinced them to try to seize Jesus. But he escaped from them. The evangelist John emphasizes that it is not Jesus' enemies who seize him, but Jesus himself who turns himself over to them when the time comes. And he does it out of love. But for now, he slips away and seeks refuge in the place where John baptized. There many people continued to come to him to listen to his words of salvation. And they let their hearts be touched.
Het gebed is het hart van het leven van de Gemeenschap van Sant’Egidio. Het is haar eerste “werk”. Aan het einde van de dag komt elke Gemeenschap, of die nu klein of groot is, samen bij de Heer om het Woord te beluisteren en zich tot Hem te richten in het gebed. De leerlingen kunnen niet anders dan aan de voeten van Jezus zitten, zoals Maria van Bethanië, om het “betere deel” te kiezen (Lc 10, 42) en van Hem zijn gezindheid te leren (vgl. Fil 2, 5).
Elke keer dat de Gemeenschap zich tot de Heer richt, maakt ze zich die vraag eigen van de anonieme leerling: “Heer, leer ons bidden!” (Lc 11, 1). En Jezus, meester in het gebed, antwoordt: “Wanneer jullie bidden, zeg dan: Abba, Vader”.
Wanneer we bidden, ook in de geslotenheid van ons eigen hart, zijn we nooit alleen of verweesd. Integendeel, we zijn leden van de familie van de Heer. In het gemeenschappelijk gebed wordt naast het mysterie van het kindschap, ook dat van de broederschap en zusterschap duidelijk.
De Gemeenschappen van Sant’Egidio, verspreid over de wereld, verzamelen zich op de verschillende plaatsen die gekozen zijn voor het gebed en brengen de hoop en het verdriet van de “uitgeputte en hulpeloze mensenmenigte” waarover het Evangelie spreekt (Mt 9, 37) bij de Heer. Deze oude menigte omvat de inwoners van onze hedendaagse steden, de armen die zich bevinden in de marge van het leven, en iedereen die wacht om als dagloner te worden aangenomen (vgl. Mt 20).
Het gemeenschappelijk gebed verzamelt de schreeuw, de hoop, het verlangen naar vrede, genezing, zin en redding, die beleefd worden door de mannen en vrouwen van deze wereld. Het gebed is nooit leeg. Het stijgt onophoudelijk op naar de Heer opdat verdriet verandert in vreugde, wanhoop in blijheid, angst in hoop, eenzaamheid in gemeenschap. En het rijk Gods zal spoedig temidden van de mensen komen.
