Holy Saturday Lees meer
Holy Saturday
Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Luke 23,50-56
And now a member of the Council arrived, a good and upright man named Joseph. He had not consented to what the others had planned and carried out. He came from Arimathaea, a Jewish town, and he lived in the hope of seeing the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. He then took it down, wrapped it in a shroud and put it in a tomb which was hewn in stone and which had never held a body. It was Preparation day and the Sabbath was beginning to grow light. Meanwhile the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus were following behind. They took note of the tomb and how the body had been laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. And on the Sabbath day they rested, as the Law required.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
A good and just person did not agree with the decision to kill Jesus. He was convoked for the morning reunion in which Jesus would be judged and condemned. The evangelist notes that Joseph of Arimathea abstained from approving the capital sentence that the members of the Sanhedrin decided. Another Joseph arrives at the end of Jesus' life. The first saved Jesus from Herod, the second lowers him from the cross, wraps him in a linen cloth, and lays him in a new tomb. He is joined by the women who had been following Jesus. In front of the tomb, in front of the pain of this world, in front of death, in front of the sleep of the disciples, and in front of suffering, the only thing that remains is faith in the words of Jesus who entrusted himself to the Father. Luke writes, "It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning." Perhaps in addition to the lights of a city waking up, that morning also saw the light of a new hour, the dawning of a new day for Jesus and for the world. In the face of widespread pain, those who do not agree with the decision to kill and oppress are not only called to weep, but also to believe, pray, and hope for a different hour, to give what you have even if it is just the linen of mercy or the tomb for burial. The Church's tradition -founded on those passages of Scripture that speak of Jesus' descent to hell-would have Jesus descend to the "underworld," the dwelling place of the dead, to gather them, beginning with Adam and Eve, and take them with himself on this day to Paradise. It is the Easter icon venerated in the Orthodox tradition. The resurrection begins here. And Jesus continues today to descend into the "hells" of this world, to pluck from the hands of death all those who have been abused and crashed by evil and to take them with him to heaven. He continues to say to them and to many others: "Today you will be with me in Paradise."
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.
