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
Acts 17,15.22-18,1
Paul's escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could. So Paul stood before the whole council of the Areopagus and made this speech: 'Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because, as I strolled round looking at your sacred monuments, I noticed among other things an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. In fact, the unknown God you revere is the one I proclaim to you. 'Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he in need of anything, that he should be served by human hands; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything -- including life and breath -- to everyone. From one single principle he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed the times and limits of their habitation. And he did this so that they might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him; and indeed he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said: We are all his children. 'Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man. 'But now, overlooking the times of ignorance, God is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged in uprightness by a man he has appointed. And God has publicly proved this by raising him from the dead.' At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, 'We would like to hear you talk about this another time.' After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Aeropagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides. After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul came to Athens. Although it was no longer as prosperous a city as it was in the days of Plato, Athens was still a large capital. Paul did not begin challenging the Athenians immediately after arriving in the city. He preferred to follow the crowds through the agora and the market in order to understand the mind-set of the Athenians. It was a very delicate challenge, and Paul knew it. Therefore he wanted to understand the culture, the customs, the feelings, and the life of the Athenians. The great question in Paul's heart was clear: could Jerusalem conquer Athens? Could the Gospel nourish the culture of the Areopagus? It is the same question we ask ourselves when faced with the many "Areopaguses" of this world, the many cultures that inhabit this planet and pass through the hearts and minds of men and women. The audacity of Paul, who courageously stands before the wise people of Athens, shows that no "Areopagus", no culture, is foreign to the preaching of the Gospel. Rather, the "Areopaguses" of today are waiting for disciples who have the wisdom and the strength to proclaim the salvation that comes from Jesus. This is the great challenge that we cannot avoid, because the Gospel alone can make the world in which we live more human. Paul starts his speech mentioning the altar to the unknown god he noticed in his touring the city. The apostle says that he came to proclaim the name of that God. The "unknown god" was well beyond reason. There was - and there is - a discontinuity between the Gospel and the two cultures. The discontinuity is the scandal of the cross and the gift of the resurrection. Paul will write to the Corinthians, and we don't know whether it was also after his defeat in Athens, saying: "When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power" (1Cor 2:1-4). The core of Christian proclamation, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, is an extraordinary and unexpected gift that the Lord gave to humanity and it is "beyond" the expectations of reason, though it is not against it. Perhaps the apostle was hoping that those wise people would welcome the mystery of the resurrection of the flesh. With his speech he brought them to its threshold. But right at that moment the Athenians interrupted him and said: "We will hear you again about this." Paul's disappointment was great but maybe he remembered Jesus' words: "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants" (Mt 11:25).
Het gebed is het hart van het leven van de Gemeenschap van Sant’Egidio. Het is haar eerste “werk”. Aan het einde van de dag komt elke Gemeenschap, of die nu klein of groot is, samen bij de Heer om het Woord te beluisteren en zich tot Hem te richten in het gebed. De leerlingen kunnen niet anders dan aan de voeten van Jezus zitten, zoals Maria van Bethanië, om het “betere deel” te kiezen (Lc 10, 42) en van Hem zijn gezindheid te leren (vgl. Fil 2, 5).
Elke keer dat de Gemeenschap zich tot de Heer richt, maakt ze zich die vraag eigen van de anonieme leerling: “Heer, leer ons bidden!” (Lc 11, 1). En Jezus, meester in het gebed, antwoordt: “Wanneer jullie bidden, zeg dan: Abba, Vader”.
Wanneer we bidden, ook in de geslotenheid van ons eigen hart, zijn we nooit alleen of verweesd. Integendeel, we zijn leden van de familie van de Heer. In het gemeenschappelijk gebed wordt naast het mysterie van het kindschap, ook dat van de broederschap en zusterschap duidelijk.
De Gemeenschappen van Sant’Egidio, verspreid over de wereld, verzamelen zich op de verschillende plaatsen die gekozen zijn voor het gebed en brengen de hoop en het verdriet van de “uitgeputte en hulpeloze mensenmenigte” waarover het Evangelie spreekt (Mt 9, 37) bij de Heer. Deze oude menigte omvat de inwoners van onze hedendaagse steden, de armen die zich bevinden in de marge van het leven, en iedereen die wacht om als dagloner te worden aangenomen (vgl. Mt 20).
Het gemeenschappelijk gebed verzamelt de schreeuw, de hoop, het verlangen naar vrede, genezing, zin en redding, die beleefd worden door de mannen en vrouwen van deze wereld. Het gebed is nooit leeg. Het stijgt onophoudelijk op naar de Heer opdat verdriet verandert in vreugde, wanhoop in blijheid, angst in hoop, eenzaamheid in gemeenschap. En het rijk Gods zal spoedig temidden van de mensen komen.
