Monday of the Angel Lees meer
Monday of the Angel
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Christ is risen from the dead
and will die no more.
He awaits us in Galilee!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 28,8-15
Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. And suddenly, coming to meet them, was Jesus. 'Greetings,' he said. And the women came up to him and, clasping his feet, they did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; there they will see me.' Now while they were on their way, some of the guards went off into the city to tell the chief priests all that had happened. These held a meeting with the elders and, after some discussion, handed a considerable sum of money to the soldiers with these instructions, 'This is what you must say, "His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep." And should the governor come to hear of this, we undertake to put things right with him ourselves and to see that you do not get into trouble.' So they took the money and carried out their instructions, and to this day that is the story among the Jews.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Christ is risen from the dead
and will die no more.
He awaits us in Galilee!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Gospel has us staying in the day of the Resurrection. The women have just received the proclamation: Jesus is risen! The angel invites them to go directly to the disciples. And they, "left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples" (v. 8). But Jesus meets them and repeats almost the same words of the angel: "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." The Risen Jesus wants the disciples to go to Galilee, the same marginal region where he began his ministry. Easter represents a new beginning. There are those who would like to block Easter and its strength to change, so that everything remains the same. Matteo recounts how the religious leaders, scared by what the guards said, corrupt those guards with money and convince them to lie: the body of Jesus was stolen by his disciples while they slept. The world wants sealed tombs and makes use of lies and corruption so the news of his resurrection will not spread. From that first Easter, whoever will announce this news will be dragged before kings and judges to be condemned. And unfortunately today there are still so many Christians who suffer because of Easter. Think of the attacks that sometimes strike Christians gathered for Sunday liturgy. It is the culture of death which continues to strike Christians while they celebrate the central mystery of their faith, the Easter of resurrection, the victory of good over evil. From this culture of death, the scorn for each life is strengthened. The culture of death drugs the living, brutalizes them, empties them, so that they become slaves; it justifies the homicidal trade: food is hidden from the hungry, drugs are offered to those who are resigned, weapons are sold to the angry. And there is death, so much death in so many lands and in so many ways, people die believing that this happens for various reasons, but the plan is the same: the culture of death wants men and women to be stupid and selfish slaves beginning from their youth. They want to make his disciples silent. But let us not be afraid! The Gospel of Easter shows us that it takes just two poor women, obedient in all to the Gospel, to conquer the leaders' schemes and allow the dynamism of the Risen Jesus' love to be unleashed throughout history.
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.
