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 9,7-9
Meanwhile Herod the tetrarch had heard about all that was going on; and he was puzzled, because some people were saying that John had risen from the dead, others that Elijah had reappeared, still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life. But Herod said, 'John? I beheaded him. So who is this I hear such reports about?' And he was anxious to see him.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The fame of the Teacher had even reached the court of Herod Antipas. However the dissonance of the rumours about Jesus caused restlessness and perplexity in the tetrarch. There were those who said that the young Rabbi was the resurrected John the Baptist, and those, instead, who thought he was Elijah who appeared again. In this psychological tension made of anxiety and fear, Herod sought, in any case, to meet Jesus. It is not the desire of one who wants to listen to and understand the new prophecy which touched the hearts of so many people. Herod does not know it, but the moment in which he will meet the young prophet will come, and it will be the day of the trial when Pilate decided to send Jesus to him as a prisoner. Herod's desire to meet Jesus is not like Zacchaeus who climbed the tree or like the two Greeks who went to Phillip and Andrew and asked them to meet the Teacher. These wanted to understand the word and action of the young prophet. For this reason, they were the ones who moved and went seeking the prophet. Herod, instead, waits for Jesus to come to him. One cannot meet Jesus if one does not "get out" of oneself, if one does not abandon one's pride. The encounter with Jesus is personal, direct and even simpler like so many evangelical episodes which show us to enter into relationship with him. It is enough to go to him with an open heart and talk to him, or even to raise your voice to implore for help, or even to just touch the hem of his mantle to feel the strength of his presence. But Herod allows himself to be guided only by curiosity without having any intention of changing his life. Without opening your heart and letting yourself be loved and helped, it is not possible to encounter Jesus. Herod stayed closed in his "castle", in his individualistic gate, and could not meet Jesus. And he will remain alone.
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!
