Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Genesis 2,4-9.15-17
Such was the story of heaven and earth as they were created. At the time when Yahweh God made earth and heaven there was as yet no wild bush on the earth nor had any wild plant yet sprung up, for Yahweh God had not sent rain on the earth, nor was there any man to till the soil. Instead, water flowed out of the ground and watered all the surface of the soil. Yahweh God shaped man from the soil of the ground and blew the breath of life into his nostrils, and man became a living being. Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. From the soil, Yahweh God caused to grow every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yahweh God took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it. Then Yahweh God gave the man this command, 'You are free to eat of all the trees in the garden. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat; for, the day you eat of that, you are doomed to die.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
As if to reinforce the original link between human beings, creation and God, Genesis gives us a second account of Creation. The sacred author does not try to propose a scientific truth concerning the origins of the world or of the human species, but rather seeks to affirm the fact that life is holy because it is a work of God and belongs to Him. Every human being is called to honour, respect, defend life and make it bear fruits. Certainly, we are not called to live it only for ourselves that would mean bury it underground. Surely, only God is the Lord of human life, but He gave it to human beings so that they bear fruits for all. This page of Scripture seems to put God's concern for humanity at the centre of the creation story: he moulds him from the soil, blows life into him and puts him in the garden. Life comes from God, as the "breath" that he blows into him indicates. Then God entrusts man with cultivating the garden and keeping it in all of its beauty. How precious and foreseeing is the double task the Lord entrust to human beings! Human beings need first of all to "cultivate" creation. The word in Hebrew means "to serve" and also "to work." Human beings are called to be in service to the garden that is the Earth, the universe in which God has put them. Human beings need to take care of it and cultivate it so that it produces fruit and benefits the entire human family. They must be "stewards" of the Earth: we are not absolute masters of creation, and we cannot bend it to our wishes. We are its lords to exalt it. Our first task is not to dominate or own but indeed to "take care" so that it may be a house for all. The Garden is also associated with he Promised Land that God will give as a gift to his people. Only if Israel "serves and stewards" the land will it continue to express the gift from God, otherwise Israel risks losing it as it did at the time of the Babylonian exile. Indeed, a tree lives in a garden; on one hand it marks a limit that humans should not cross, and on the other hand, it offers the possibility of friendship with God. This is why it represents the most dangerous temptation that pushes people to become like God and to be master of themselves and of others.
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.
