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 12,1-7
Meanwhile the people had gathered in their thousands so that they were treading on one another. And he began to speak, first of all to his disciples. 'Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees -- their hypocrisy. Everything now covered up will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed from the housetops. 'To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, he is the one to fear. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God's sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than many sparrows.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Gospel passage reports that thousands of people flocked and crowded around Jesus, so "that they trampled on one another." They were men and women needing comfort and looking for a better life. Jesus immediately put the surrounding crowd on guard from false shepherds or even more from the hypocrisy of the Pharisees that made their guide insupportable and dangerous. The religiosity of the Pharisees was full of exteriority; it did not engage their hearts and was therefore merciless and with no compassion for the exhausted and tired crowds. It was enough for the Pharisees to simply repeat the principles of the Law in cold and abstract terms. Like a bad yeast, such religiosity contaminates the entire life of people. Yet Jesus said that the moment would come in which all would be brought to light and in which all the emptiness and sadness of those who built up their own existence with a loveless and merciless heart showing only pride and trying to save themselves. The condition of the disciples who hear and follow the true shepherd and master is different. Here Jesus introduces a very important distinction. The body can die but there is an "afterwards" on which the disciple is called upon to reflect. Jesus suggests that the "afterwards" is connected to the "heart", that is to the interior life, the "place' where we encounter Godor and it would be a tragic choicewhere we meet the one who can "cast into hell." There is no scorn for the body in Jesus' words; for indeed how many healings he did! Yet there's no doubt that the kind of care that we give to transforming and converting our hearts is very little in comparison to the care we give to our bodies and our material well-being. At times, we will even sell our soul for the benefit of our external well-being. Jesus reminds us that the Father in heaven takes care of us better than the sparrows and knows every hair on our head. Let us take care of our heart and of making it grow in love. It is an urgency all Christians need to live not only for their own salvation but as a precious witness to show forth in a world that puts the individual and material well-being over everything else. Our world needs to see the Gospel witness of Jesus' disciples in order to fight against the power of evil and violence.
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.
