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 17,7-10
'Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, "Come and have your meal at once"? Would he not be more likely to say, "Get my supper ready; fasten your belt and wait on me while I eat and drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards"? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, "We are useless servants: we have done no more than our duty." '
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Lord speaks to his disciples; he wants to have an intimate dialogue with each one of them, and even with us. He knows his own, one by one; he has called them to follow him and live with him. He knows very well how easy it is to leave room for pride in one's heart and to have a grand self-image, or even to feel good and consider oneself to be the first actor of one's work. And so, he asks them to compare themselves with servants and with what they are called to do. Unlike the master, they are not the first in the house, but precisely the servants. None of us is the master of his or her life; only the Lord is. Life is given to each of us so that we can not only enjoy it, but also spend it for the good of all. We have received much, without deserving it: health, well-being, peace, intelligence, love, faith; we are not owners of all these gifts, but rather guardians and administrators. Even Jesus presented himself as one who serves and not seeks to be served. And at the last supper, he showed this unequivocally, assuming the likeness of a slave who washes the feet of his master. Following this example of Jesus, the disciple is called to serve the Church, the community of brothers and sisters in the faith who have become his new family. The Church, the community in which everyone belongs, is a gift made to us that we are all called to love, to guard, and to serve. Jesus has entrusted this service of love to his disciples. Such service is our true reward: to live with this spirit of service, free from the prison of egoism, of anxiety to accumulate goods, to satisfy oneself. The entire Church should see itself as a servant of love for the whole world, for all the peoples. In fact, the Church, the community of believers, does not live for itself, to be perfect and perhaps envied. She lives so that all may discover the love of Jesus who came for the salvation of all. The disciples know very well that they have received all and must return all to Him. And this is the meaning of being unworthy servants. We are not "unworthy" in the sense of being lazy or having false humility. The Lord has chosen us and entrusted us with the call to bring about not our own fulfilment but rather to serve his dream of love for the world, knowing that we receive all from him and that without him, we are indeed "unworthy" servants, that is, powerless.
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.
