Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Luke 13,31-35
Just at this time some Pharisees came up. 'Go away,' they said. 'Leave this place, because Herod means to kill you.' He replied, 'You may go and give that fox this message: Look! Today and tomorrow I drive out devils and heal, and on the third day I attain my end. But for today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem. 'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused! Look! Your house will be left to you. Yes, I promise you, you shall not see me till the time comes when you are saying: Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord!'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
While Jesus is in Transjordan, a territory under Herod's control, some Pharisees warn him that the king is trying to kill him. This is not the same Herod of Jesus' childhood, but he is from the same family. And it is likely that Jesus himself has now realised that it is increasingly dangerous to continue the journey to Jerusalem. Even the Pharisees have realised this and they warn Jesus. However, Jesus does not back down, he cannot betray the Gospel, he cannot stop his preaching. He knows, however, that his Gospel is stronger than Herod's power. Indeed, it is necessary for the good news of the kingdom to be preached along the roads of Galilee and Judea all the way within the walls of Jerusalem. This is why Jesus does not flee from Herod, nor does he stop in the face of danger. He answers the Pharisees: "It is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem." And he immediately follows up that sad lament about the holy city that has turned away from God to the point of no longer knowing how to welcome the word of the prophets. Unfortunately, this deafness is not without consequences. Failure to heed the word of God will lead Jerusalem towards destruction. How much bitterness in these words of Jesus: "How often have I desired to gather your children as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!" These are heartfelt words of the Lord that perhaps we must repeat today for many of our cities, increasingly wounded by violence. Only if we welcome God's prophecy, only if the words of love have citizenship in people's hearts, will our cities and towns be able to find the way to a more peaceful and serene coexistence.
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
