Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Mark 1,21-28
They went as far as Capernaum, and at once on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority. And at once in their synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit, and he shouted, 'What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.' But Jesus rebuked it saying, 'Be quiet! Come out of him!' And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they started asking one another what it all meant, saying, 'Here is a teaching that is new, and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.' And his reputation at once spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
With his small community of disciples, Jesus enters Capernaum, the capital of Galilee. He chooses to make of it the home of the little group of disciples he has gathered. He does not withdraw far from the ordinary life of men and women to lead a quiet life with his small group. He did not come to carve out a space for his own existence and for his own personal satisfaction. The Father had sent him to deliver men and women from loneliness, sin, and death. He settles in Capernaum, the most important city in the north of the country as if to live in the midst of the real human family. Capernaum represents every city of then and of our present time. Jesus wants to transform them in places of peace and fraternity. The Christian community, even if it is a small one, is sent by Jesus to weave the strength of the Gospel into the fabric of the city and to affirm that only Jesus is the Lord of life, not money or power and even less injustice and corruption. The evangelist Mark writes that Jesus "immediately" goes to synagogue and begins to teach. The first "service" that the Church provides in the city is to communicate the Gospel. The Church has nothing else to say but the Gospel and the power of love it transmit to change the lives of all. There is not a special program to implement. Indeed the only program is the Gospel that changes the heart and the mind of those who listen to it deeply. This is the meaning of Mark's notation when he writes that Jesus spoke like "as one having authority, and not as the scribes." He immediately revealed what kind of authority he had when he freed a man from an unclean spirit. It is a powerful, affective word that rules even over the unclean spirits that though unwillingly obey him The Gospel is an authoritative word: it does not oppress people, does not condemn rather it delivers and saves them.
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.
