Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Memorial of Don Andrea Santoro, a Roman priest killed in Trebizond, Turkey, in 2006.
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Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Memorial of Don Andrea Santoro, a Roman priest killed in Trebizond, Turkey, in 2006.
First Reading
Isaiah 58,7-10
Is it not sharing your food with the hungry, and sheltering the homeless poor; if you see someone lacking clothes, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own kin? Then your light will blaze out like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Saving justice will go ahead of you and Yahweh's glory come behind you. Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer; you will call and he will say, 'I am here.' If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist and malicious words, if you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkest hour will be like noon.
Psalmody
Psalm 112
Antiphon
Praise the name of the Lord.
Praise, O servants of the Lord
praise the name of the Lord!
May the name of the Lord be blessed
both now and for evermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting
praised be the name of the Lord!
High above all nations is the Lord,
above the heavens his glory.
Who is like the Lord, our God,
who has risen on high to his throne
yet stoops from the heights to look down,
to look down upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he lifts up the lowly,
from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes,
yes, with princes of his people.
To the childless wife he gives a home
and gladdens her heart with children.
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 2,1-5
Now when I came to you, brothers, I did not come with any brilliance of oratory or wise argument to announce to you the mystery of God. I was resolved that the only knowledge I would have while I was with you was knowledge of Jesus, and of him as the crucified Christ. I came among you in weakness, in fear and great trembling and what I spoke and proclaimed was not meant to convince by philosophical argument, but to demonstrate the convincing power of the Spirit, so that your faith should depend not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
Reading of the Gospel
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 5,13-16
'You are salt for the earth. But if salt loses its taste, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled under people's feet. 'You are light for the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in people's sight, so that, seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Homily
Immediately after the Sermon of the Beatitudes, Jesus turns to the disciples and tells them that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We are still at the beginning of Jesus' evangelical preaching and the disciples certainly cannot boast of exemplary conduct, as of "men of the beatitudes." The function of being the salt of the earth and the light of the world must never be neglected. In front of these words, each of us knows well that we are poor persons. We really are little compared to the task we are assigned and the beatitudes we heard last Sunday. How is it possible to be salt and light? Aren't we all below sufficiency? The apostle Peter, in amount of awareness, when he recognized the Lord, said, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" This sentence that we all can, better we should, pronounce, comes too few times from our lips. Generally, we have good consideration of ourselves. And if sometimes we insist on our limits, we do it with a renouncing spirit more than out of humility that is not to be light and salt even if we can do it. It is to say that what we call unworthiness becomes step by step passivity, then laziness and finally renunciation. But the Gospel insists that we, poor men and women, are salt and light. We are not such by ourselves, but only if we have a bit of true salt and true light that is Jesus of Nazareth. Light does not come from our personal gifts, from a good temperament, or even from our virtues. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Christians of Corinth, recalls that he did not present himself among them with sublime words: "I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." Yet, despite his weakness, his fear and trembling, Paul defended the honesty of his ministry: "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." The weakness of the Apostle does not obscure the light of the proclamation, nor does it diminish the strength of preaching and testimony. On the contrary, it is a pillar of it and Paul gives it reason: "So that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God."
Paul adds: "Those who boast, boast in the Lord." Our pride is never in ourselves, but in God. God's grace and his love shine in our weakness; we cannot appropriate them, they always surpass us and do not abandon us. Jesus adds: "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." It is the invitation to us to become Gospel's workers. And the prophet had already explained what this consists of: "Share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor in to your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin." It is the charity, the light of the Lord, a large charity that broadens the heart.
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.
