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 16, 24-28
Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.
What, then, will anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in exchange for his life?
'For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his behaviour.
In truth I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming with his kingdom.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This Gospel passage immediately follows Peter’s profession of faith and Jesus’ rebuke. Peter had tried to dissuade Jesus from going to Jerusalem after he had told them he would suffer, be killed and then rise from the dead. At this point, Jesus wants to explain clearly to the disciples what it means to follow him: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” His words seem harsh, and they are, but Jesus is the first to live them. And now he proposes them to his disciples, who do not need to do anything other than follow their Teacher, who took up the cross before themnot his cross, but everyone’s, that is the differencebecause salvation comes from the cross. Jesus does not get caught up in our uncertainty, but asks us to overcome it by trusting him. Jesus’ proposal to his disciples seems paradoxical to the selfish mentality that guides our convictions and behaviours. In truth it expresses a deep wisdom that can clearly be seen in the next sentence: “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” We think we can save our lives by holding back, looking for payback, lording over others, or seeking recognition and honour. Jesus warns us that spending our energy, time and strength to save ourselves, or, as people often say, to realize ourselves, actually leads us to lose ourselves, that is, to a life that is sad and often dysfunctional. Only if we live for the Lord, only if we plan on spending our life to love everyone, without any limits, just as Jesus did then we will taste the joy of life. What is it worth to gain the whole world if we are neither loved nor capable of loving? It is what Paul explains in his hymn to charity when he says that without charity, that is, without love, even the ability to do extraordinary things and perform great feats of generosity is useless. Only love never ends, and only the Lord saves us, because he alone teaches us what love is. Like love, the eternal life is not something we can buy, but only receive from the Lord, who in due times “will repay everyone for what has been done.” Following the Lord is the serious business of our life, because it is only God who can save our life from evil and death. Jesus speaks of an imminent return. Christians always live in waiting, so as not to fall asleep and to recognize the many signs of Jesus and his kingdom among 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
