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
Revelation 2,8-11
'Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna and say, "Here is the message of the First and the Last, who was dead and has come to life again:
I know your hardships and your poverty, and -- though you are rich -- the slander of the people who falsely claim to be Jews but are really members of the synagogue of Satan.
Do not be afraid of the sufferings that are coming to you. Look, the devil will send some of you to prison to put you to the test, and you must face hardship for ten days. Even if you have to die, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life for your prize.
Let anyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: for those who prove victorious will come to no harm from the second death."
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Through the apostle, Jesus speaks to the community of Smyrna, which suffers at the hands of the "synagogue of Satan." This was the risk run by those Christians who let themselves be influenced by judaizing (N.o.T. keeping the observance of Jewish tradition) tendencies. It was true that resistance could lead to suffering and even prison. There was as strong Jewish community in Smyrna, and it was particularly hostile to the new, rapidly growing Christian community. Towards the middle of the second century, Polycarp, the bishop of the city and, according to tradition, a disciple of the Apostle John, will be martyred. Jesus has the apostle write to the angel of Smyrna that he is well acquainted with the tribulations and the defamation that community is suffering at the hands of its enemies. He exhorts them not to fear, but to persevere in their trials: "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (v. 10). By reading this passage we understand that the life of every Christian community - but also the life of every disciple - is always a life of struggle, an existence marked by combat, an agony. Believers need to fight against Evil continuously, the evil in each person’s own heart and the evil outside. Jesus was the first to experience a continuous, unbroken fight against the Evil that continues to lash out against men and women. Opposition to the Gospel is a reality that is present throughout Jesus’ whole life, and it will be present throughout the entire history of Christianity. What is asked of the disciples is to persevere in the struggle against the "prince of this world." This is the context in which we are to understand the words of Jesus: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Mt 10:34). The temptation to imagine a life without worries or a community free from problems is a very dangerous illusion. On the same subject, the Apostle Paul writes: "When they say, There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them" (1 Thess 5:3). A greedy and superficial conception of life leads people to flee from the responsibility of struggle and suffering. We are all called to combat Evil, as great or small as it may be. Its logic is always disruptive, and its skill lies in hiding itself in the folds of our individual lives and the life of our community. Whoever fights with generosity and faith in the Lord will achieve victory in this life and next. "Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death" (v. 11), John reassures us.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
