Memorial of Martha. She welcomed the Lord Jesus into her home. Baca lebih lanjut
Memorial of Martha. She welcomed the Lord Jesus into her home.
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 10,38-42
In the course of their journey he came to a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and listened to him speaking. Now Martha, who was distracted with all the serving, came to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do the serving all by myself? Please tell her to help me.' But the Lord answered, 'Martha, Martha,' he said, 'you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one. It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Today the Church remembers Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus. By remembering her we understand the power of the Gospel, which changes Martha's heart and life. Martha is the woman who is hospitable and she certainly performs a very beautiful gesture in welcoming those who proclaim God's message. She is setting the table for them. This "hospitality service," worries her quite a bit. The evangelist notes it in order to introduce a decisive teaching for those who want to follow Jesus. Martha has also a sister, Mary who is described as opposite to her. Martha is so busy that she almost forgets Jesus; Mary instead is described at Jesus' feet listening to his words. The words that the evangelist uses are those proper to describe the attitude of the disciple in front of Jesus. Therefore it is a paradigmatic scene: Mary is the disciple because she listens to the Lord. The evangelist shows Martha's behaviour opposite to Mary's. Listening to Jesus is the first qualification of the disciple. Martha is so concentrated on her work that it keeps her from listening to Jesus. Irritated by Mary's attitude, she turns to Jesus and rebukes him because he did not care about her. It is the vindictive attitude of those who do not think what they do is appreciated. We could say that Martha fell into the temptation of feeling at the centre and she is envious of Mary who is at Jesus' feet. Martha probably thinks it is wrong to do nothing for the guest. In reality she has not understood yet who Jesus is. Whenever we focus on ourselves, we flee from listening to the Lord. The best part is the part that no one can take away: the bond with Jesus. Mary sat in front of the Teacher and listened to his words. Martha learned the lesson Jesus had taught her, continued to welcome Jesus into her house, and opened her heart to him. When Jesus came to visit the tomb of Lazarus, who had died, she was the first to notice the Teacher and ran to him. She had learned to run towards the Teacher who knew how to love her, her sister, and Lazarus like no one else. Today, the Gospel asks us too to not let ourselves be wrapped up in our cares, but to go outside our house and run towards the Teacher who can save us from death.
Doa merupakan jantung kehidupan Komunitas Sant'Egidio dan merupakan prioritas yang paling penting. Di penghujung hari, setiap Komunitas Sant'Egidio, besar maupun kecil, akan berkumpul di sekeliling Tuhan untuk mendengarkan sabda-Nya. Sesungguhnya Sabda Allah dan doa merupakan landasan seluruh kehidupan Komunitas. Para rasul tidak bisa tidak selain tetap di sekitar kaki Yesus, seperti yang dilakukan oleh Maria dari Bethani, untuk menerima kasih dan belajar cara-Nya (Fil. 2:5).
Sehingga setiap malam, ketika Komunitas kembali ke kaki Tuhan, Komunitas mengulangi kata-kata dari rasul tak bernama: "Tuhan ajarkanlah kami cara berdoa" Yesus, Sang Guru, terus menjawab: "Ketika kamu berdoa, katakanlah: Abba, Bapa". Hal itu bukanlah satu seruan sederhana. Dengan kata-kata ini, Yesus membiarkan para murid untuk berperan serta dalam hubungan mereka sendiri dengan Bapa. Oleh sebab itu, fakta bahwa sebagai anak-anak Bapa yang bertahta di surga, muncul sebelum kata-kata yang mungkin kita ucapkan. Jadi doa di atas segalanya merupakan cara untuk menjadi manusia. Ini untuk mengatakan bahwa kita anak-anak yang berpaling kepada Bapa dengan iman, dan yakin bahwa hal itu akan didengar.
Yesus mengajar kita memanggil Allah dengan sebutan "Bapa Kami" Tidak hanya "Bapa" atau "Bapaku" Para murid, meskipun mereka berdoa dengan cara mereka, tidak pernah terisolasi tidak juga menjadi yatim; mereka selalu menjadi anggota keluarga Tuhan.
Dalam doa bersama, di samping misteri anak Allah, ada juga misteri persaudaraan, seperti Bapa Gereja mengatakan: "Kamu tidak bisa memiliki Allah sebagai Bapa tanpa memiliki gereja sebagai ibu". Ketika berdoa bersama, Roh Kudus menyatukan para rasul di ruangan atas bersama dengan Maria, Bunda Allah, sehingga mereka dapat memusatkan pandangan mereka kepada wajah Tuhan dan belajar dari Dia rahasia hati-Nya.
Komunitas Sant'Egidio di seluruh dunia berkumpul bersama di berbagai tempat doa dan menghamparkan di hadapan Tuhan harapan dan penderitaan manusia yang lelah dan letih seperti yang di katakan oleh Injil (Mat. 9:37). Dalam kumpulan di masa lalu ini kita bisa melihat jumlah massa yang sangat besar di kota-kota modern ini, jutaan pengungsi yang terus melarikan diri dari negeri mereka, orang miskin yang terpinggirkan ke tepi kehidupan dan mereka yang menantikan seseorang yang akan merawat mereka. Berdoa bersama termasuk di dalamnya tangisan, seruan, permohonan, keinginan bagi damai, penyembuhan dan penebusan manusia di dunia ini. Doa tidak pernah sia-sia, doa terus menerus kepada Tuhan sehingga mengubah kecemasan menjadi harapan, air mata menjadi kegembiraan, putus asa menjadi kebahagiaan, dan kesepian menjadi persatuan. Semoga Kerajaan Allah hadir segera di antara manusia.
