Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Anthony the Abbot (+356). He followed the Lord into the Egyptian desert and was father of many monks. A day of reflection on the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
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Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Anthony the Abbot (+356). He followed the Lord into the Egyptian desert and was father of many monks. A day of reflection on the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
First Reading
1 Samuel 3,3.10.19
The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying in Yahweh's sanctuary, where the ark of God was, Yahweh then came and stood by, calling as he had done before, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Samuel answered, 'Speak, Yahweh; for your servant is listening.' Samuel grew up. Yahweh was with him and did not let a single word fall to the ground of all that he had told him.
Psalmody
Psalm 39
Antiphon
Blessed is the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
I waited, I waited for the Lord
and he stooped down to me;
he heard my cry.
He drew me from the deadly pits,
from the miry clay.
He set my feet upon a rock
and made my footsteps firm.
He put a new song into my mouth,
praise of our God.
Many shall see and fear
and shall trust in the Lord.
Happy the man who has placed
his trust in the Lord
and has not gone over to the rebels
who follow false gods.
How many, O Lord my God,
are the wonders and designs
that you have worked for us;
you have no equal.
Should I proclaim and speak of them,
they are more than I can tell!
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.
In the scroll of the book it stands written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.
I have not hidden your justice in my heart
but declared your faithful help.
I have not hidden your love and your truth
from the great assembly.
O Lord, you will not withhold
your compassion from me.
Your merciful love and your truth
will always guard me.
For I am beset with evils
too many to be counted.
My sins have fallen upon me
and my sight fails me.
They are more than the hairs of my head
and my heart sinks.
O Lord, come to my rescue
Lord, come to my aid.
O let there be shame and confusion,
on those who seek my life.
O let them turn back in confusion,
who delight in my harm.
Let them be appalled, covered with shame,
who jeer at my lot.
O let there be rejoicing and gladness
for all who seek you.
Let them ever say : 'The Lord is great',
who love your saving help.,
As for me, wretched and poor,
the Lord thinks of me
You are my rescuer, my help,
O God, do not delay.
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 6,13.15.17-20
Foods are for the stomach, and the stomach is for foods; and God will destroy them both. But the body is not for sexual immorality; Do you not realise that your bodies are members of Christ's body; do you think one can take parts of Christ's body and join them to the body of a prostitute? Out of the question! But anyone who attaches himself to the Lord is one spirit with him. Keep away from sexual immorality. All other sins that people may commit are done outside the body; but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you and whom you received from God? You are not your own property, then; you have been bought at a price. So use your body for the glory of God.
Reading of the Gospel
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
John 1,35-42
The next day as John stood there again with two of his disciples, Jesus went past, and John looked towards him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God.' And the two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, 'What do you want?' They answered, 'Rabbi' -- which means Teacher-'where do you live?' He replied, 'Come and see'; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and say to him, 'We have found the Messiah' -- which means the Christ- and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas' -- which means Rock.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Yesterday I was buried with Christ,
today I rise with you who are risen.
With you I was crucified;
remember me, Lord, in your kingdom.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Homily
The Gospel we heard brings us with the Baptist to the banks of the Jordan River where eth people of Isarel had entered the promised land. The Jewish tradition wanted the Messiah to appear there when he came. The waiting was about to be fulfilled. The Baptist saw Jesus pass through the crowd: as he watched him", wrote the evangelist. Trained to scrutinize the Scriptures, his eyes were ready to recognize his face. And he immediately pointed him out: "Look, here is the lamb of God." He used a term dear above all to Isaiah who speaks of the suffering servant as a lamb "who bore the sins of the world" (Is 53:7), the one who would free the people from slavery by carrying on his shoulders the sin of all. He is the true lamb of Easter. The words of the Baptist did not fall into the void. Two of his disciples, Andrew and John, listened to them and understood their deep meaning, so much so that they followed the man whom the Baptist indicated. After a stretch of road, Jesus "turned and saw them following, he said to them, 'What are you looking for?' They said to him, 'Rabbi, where are you staying?' The insistence on "seeing" is singular. Already the Baptist "watched" (a careful observer) Jesus; then it is Jesus who "saw" the two who follow him (it is a gaze that scrutinizes) and invites them to go and "see"; the two "came and saw"; and finally Jesus Looked at" Simon and changed his name. It is an intense "seeing", a gaze that descends into the depths, that is attentive to the questions of those in front of you, that wants to have direct and profound links, a continuous relationships: "Come and see." "They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day." The strength of John's symbolic language invites us to grasp the importance of "seeing" in a world where concentration on oneself prevents us from seeing, noticing, taking an interest in others. In this Gospel scene we see how Christian brotherhood is born: it is a story that begins with a crossing of glances that lead to the invitation, to following and being with Jesus.
That encounter marked Andrew's and John's lives. They never forgot it. The evangelist notes even its time: "They remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon." We do not know the contents of that meeting, but from that moments they became Jesus' disciples. A new story started for them and others followed it. The two, left Jesus and went to Simon: "We have found the Messiah" told him and brought him to Jesus. And Jesus, "looking at Simon" - once again his gaze - changed his heart and life: "You are to be called Cephas," that is, rock. This story of encounters and gazes is a holy story. Even for us who are part of it. This Gospel passage brings us back to life, because it is not closed. And even less can we let it be in vain. The Lord asks us to multiply it, here and everywhere we go, for the many who await consolation and salvation.
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.
