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
Judges 9, 6-15
All the leading men of Shechem and all Beth-Millo then met and proclaimed Abimelech king at the oak of the cultic stone at Shechem.
News of this was brought to Jotham. He went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted at the top of his voice: Hear me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may also hear you!
One day the trees went out to anoint a king to rule them. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king!'
The olive tree replied, 'Must I forgo my oil which gives honour to gods and men, to stand and sway over the trees?'
Then the trees said to the fig tree, 'You come and be our king!'
The fig tree replied, 'Must I forgo my sweetness, forgo my excellent fruit, to go and sway over the trees?'
Then the trees said to the vine, 'You come and be our king!'
The vine replied, 'Must I forgo my wine which cheers gods and men, to go and sway over the trees?'
Then the trees all said to the thorn bush, 'You come and be our king!'
And the thorn bush replied to the trees, 'If you are anointing me in good faith to be your king, come and shelter in my shade. But, if not, fire will come out of the thorn bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
It was a very confusing period in Israel’s history. Personal ambitions and idolatry marked so much of God’s people and weakened them. Abimelech the son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem unto his mother’s kin, and convinced them using the argument that he was of their own blood. It was not enough, because the Israelites, conditioned their choices to their desire for tranquillity and they could not understand what the will of God was. When the bond with God weakens, the blood bonds become important, but they cannot guarantee security, and the logic of power is more decisive than blood ties. Abimelech killed his own brothers not because they had betrayed God, but to assert his power. Jotham was the youngest and had survived the massacre of his relatives and he began to cry out against Abimelech. Jotham is the voice of the smallest one that speaks freely and remembers injustice. He ran away, to safety, but he spoke clearly to Abimelech and told him that deception would eventually be punished. God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem. Without God division grows. The men of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech. It is a story of mistrust, division, and violence that produces more violence. The citizens of Shechem set ambushes against Abimelech and against passing travellers. It is the random violence that affects innocent people and eventually becomes faceless barbarism. It’s a story that seems to have no end, because without God there is no peace. Abimelech punishes and kills, he even destroys the city and sprinkles it with salt. Abimelech appears as the ruthless logic of power that does not stop in front of anyone. His end is inglorious for a fighter, he is wounded by a woman who defended the town. Those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Violence produces violence and those who use it also become victims themselves.
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
