Remembrance of the martyrdom of John the Baptist, precursor of the Lord Read more
Remembrance of the martyrdom of John the Baptist, precursor of the Lord
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
Mark 6, 17-29
Now it was this same Herod who had sent to have John arrested, and had had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife whom he had married.
For John had told Herod, 'It is against the law for you to have your brother's wife.'
As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him, but she was not able to do so,
because Herod was in awe of John, knowing him to be a good and upright man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.
An opportunity came on Herod's birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee.
When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, 'Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.'
And he swore her an oath, 'I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.'
She went out and said to her mother, 'What shall I ask for?' She replied, 'The head of John the Baptist.'
The girl at once rushed back to the king and made her request, 'I want you to give me John the Baptist's head, immediately, on a dish.'
The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her.
At once the king sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John's head.
The man went off and beheaded him in the prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
When John's disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Since ancient times, the Church remembers not only the birth of John the Baptist, but also the day of his death at the hands of Herod, who chose to listen to the whim of a woman with a bad heart rather than to the harsh, but true and liberating word of the prophet. The Baptist preached justice and the conversion of the heart. And he somehow managed to get to the heart of King Herod Antipas. The evangelist Mark is the only one to mention Herod’s confusion in reaction to Herodias’ cruel request, perhaps only because of his uneasiness in front of the high moral standing of the prophet. This is all to say that we should never doubt the power of the Word of God: even the hardest of hearts can be softened. Of course, accompaniment and pastoral care are required, but we must never resign ourselves, knowing, however, that Evil and its foolish servants always attempt to stop preaching. Herodias, more and more annoyed by the preaching of the prophet, grew to loathe him. Her heart clearly and systematically rejected the Baptist’s preaching on justice. She pushed Herod to commit murder. And, the king, in fact, let himself be overwhelmed, though reluctantly, by whimsical events. Every priority was turned over: a word given was more important than the life of the prophet. So, Herod decided to behead the Baptist. From the perverted king’s heart was born a homicidal act and an attempt to help evil triumph over good. Entirely different was the behaviour of those who flocked to the Jordan to hear John the Baptist: they flocked recognizing that they were sinners in need of forgiveness, of a change of life and of hope for a peaceful future. John’s testimony prepares the heart to receive the Lordand the same thing happens every time the Gospel is preached. And so it was with some of his disciples. After hearing the Baptist talk about Jesus, they left the banks of the Jordan and began to follow the new young prophet from Nazareth. If we do not listen to the voice of the prophet, if we do not take into account his words that encourage or correct us, de facto we join Herod in beheading the Word and silencing prophecy. If there is no one who speaks, then who will invite us and explain how it is possible to know, much less meet, the Lord? Remembering the death of John the Baptist is not only to commemorate this unique prophet in the history of salvation, but also to become aware that it is painfully easy to silence the prophecy. Hence, the responsibility is to take upon ourselves the commitment to communicate today the Gospel which alone can save 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
