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
Acts 4,13-21
They were astonished at the fearlessness shown by Peter and John, considering that they were uneducated laymen; and they recognised them as associates of Jesus; but when they saw the man who had been cured standing by their side, they could find no answer. So they ordered them to stand outside while the Sanhedrin had a private discussion. 'What are we going to do with these men?' they asked. 'It is obvious to everybody in Jerusalem that a notable miracle has been worked through them, and we cannot deny it. But to stop the whole thing spreading any further among the people, let us threaten them against ever speaking to anyone in this name again.' So they called them in and gave them a warning on no account to make statements or to teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John retorted, 'You must judge whether in God's eyes it is right to listen to you and not to God. We cannot stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard.' The court repeated the threats and then released them; they could not think of any way to punish them, since all the people were giving glory to God for what had happened.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Christ is risen from the dead
and will die no more.
He awaits us in Galilee!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This passage from Acts continues the narration of Peter's and John's interrogation before the elders and scribes after the healing of the crippled man. They are amazed at the "boldness" with which the disciples of Jesus responded to their requests. Their amazement grew also by seeing that the two were standing facing the interrogatory given that they were "uneducated and ordinary men." We too are questioned about our way of witnessing and giving reason of our faith. Repeating is not sufficient. It is indispensable to ask ourselves how today we need to witness our Christian faith so that it may touch the hearts and minds of the men and women of our time. We cannot submit to the power of the majority or of those who are strong and arrogant. There is a surrender to the world that Christians need to flee like a dangerous temptation, as well as that of taming the Gospel according to the self-centred and narcissistic mentality of our time. Our only strength, in every sense, is obedience to the Gospel. Peter responds to the Sanhedrin, "Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard." It is not an arrogant or annoyed response. Every Christian generation must learn much from Peter's and John's behaviour in front of the Sanhedrin. They knew well that they could not be silent anymore; they were not afraid anymore. Being silent would have meant betraying the Gospel. Those who have the Gospel in their hearts cannot be silent, even at the cost of their life; not only, but they should also find the way to communicate it. The Gospel is not a weapon to be wielded, but a cloak with which to envelop people in love. Christianity is a work of attraction rather than of conviction, said Ignatius of Antioch, especially in the most difficult moments, such as the one we are living in this time.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
