Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 5, 38-42
'You have heard how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
But I say this to you: offer no resistance to the wicked. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well;
if someone wishes to go to law with you to get your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
And if anyone requires you to go one mile, go two miles with him.
Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
We continue reading Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in which he contrasts the old law with his Gospel. In the context of opposing the two laws, Jesus begins with that of the Old Testament: “You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” and he opposes it with the law of love: “But I say to you if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Jesus makes the difference between the two attitudes very clear. The law of an eye for an eye had its place and its logic because it wanted to regulate an all-too-often unending cycle of implacable vengeance. It was an attempt to remove every abuse, instead of uprooting hatred. With his teaching Jesus goes a lot deeper: he wants to destroy the inherent roots of vengeance and stop the vicious cycle of violence. Evil in fact maintains its strength even if it regulated according to the law of an eye for an eye. Jesus says that evil cannot be governed, it should be eradicated. This is the only way to destroy it. The only effective way is that proposed by Jesus: a super-abundant love. Evil cannot be overcome by evil, even if legal, but by a more generous good. With these statements, Jesus turned the mentality of his time (that in fact is largely prevalent even today) upside down and asks the disciples not only to banish vengeance from their behaviour but even to turn the other cheek to the one who slapped them. This is obviously not about proposing a new lawthat of “turning the other cheek”as some would say to mock these words. Even less is Jesus trying to favour a masochistic or submissive attitude toward evil. Nor can we say that Jesus did not oppose evil strongly and profoundly. Jesus is always fighting against sin, injustice, sickness and even against death, the most extreme manifestation of evil. What Jesus came to bring to men and women was a new way of life centred on love. His commitment to liberate men and women from the slavery of evil is the very reason of his incarnation. This is why he is decisively opposed to evil. Instead he seeks to stand by each person, even those possessed by evil, in order to liberate them from its slavery. The struggle against evil is possible only with one kind of weapon: that of love. Those who let themselves be guided by love drive away evil through the abundance of good. If people love, they offer even their coat to the one who asks them; they are ready to accompany someone even twice as many miles as they are asked, and they do not turn their back to the one who asks for help. With love, we chase away evil from the start and we open the way to a dignified life.
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
