Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Acts 13,44-52
The next Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of God. When they saw the crowds, the Jews, filled with jealousy, used blasphemies to contradict everything Paul said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly. 'We had to proclaim the word of God to you first, but since you have rejected it, since you do not think yourselves worthy of eternal life, here and now we turn to the gentiles. For this is what the Lord commanded us to do when he said: I have made you a light to the nations, so that my salvation may reach the remotest parts of the earth.' It made the gentiles very happy to hear this and they gave thanks to the Lord for his message; all who were destined for eternal life became believers. Thus the word of the Lord spread through the whole countryside. But the Jews worked on some of the devout women of the upper classes and the leading men of the city; they stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went off to Iconium; but the converts were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The apostle Paul comes back to speak in the synagogue the next Sabbath. The author of Acts notes, "Almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord." Today, perhaps more than ever, our cities need to listen to that same Word. The climate of fear and of resigned turning in on oneself, and the feelings of rootlessness that affect many people and that seem to be spreading throughout the world are an unconscious invocation for Jesus to come and touch people's hearts. Of course it is still possible today for jealousy and envy to violently block the preaching of the Gospel, just as Paul experienced. The history of Christian preaching is full of analogous examples: obstacles to the Gospel are never lacking, and they are sometimes raised by those who should be the first to welcome it. However, Paul does not give up and begins to speak to the Gentiles. It is a decisive moment in the life of the first Christian community, a sort of watershed in the history of Christian mission. This pastoral choice comes once more from the spiritual wisdom of being able to read and interpret the "signs of the times." Paul experiences the great willingness of the Gentiles to welcome the Gospel. And he cannot but respond to their desire. In fact, many adhere to the Christian faith, quite willingly. Rightly satisfied, Luke can once again write: "Thus the Word of the Lord spread throughout the region." Paraphrasing the words of Gregory the Great, we can truly say, "The Scriptures grow with those who listen to them." This is a lesson that we too must learn in our time. Billions of people are waiting for words of salvation. In our globalized world, it is urgent for the Word of the Lord to spread, to become globalized, so that it can reach even the most distant hearts and console them.
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
