Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Genesis 21,5.8-20
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham gave a great banquet on the day Isaac was weaned. Now Sarah watched the son that Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 'Drive away that slave-girl and her son,' she said to Abraham, 'this slave-girl's son is not to share the inheritance with my son Isaac.' This greatly distressed Abraham, because the slave-girl's child too was his son, but God said to him, 'Do not distress yourself on account of the boy and your slave-girl. Do whatever Sarah says, for Isaac is the one through whom your name will be carried on. But the slave-girl's son I shall also make into a great nation, for he too is your child.' Early next morning, Abraham took some bread and a skin of water and, giving them to Hagar, put the child on her shoulder and sent her away. She wandered off into the desert of Beersheba. When the skin of water was finished she abandoned the child under a bush. Then she went and sat down at a distance, about a bowshot away, thinking, 'I cannot bear to see the child die.' Sitting at a distance, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven. 'What is wrong, Hagar?' he asked. 'Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy's cry in his plight. Go and pick the boy up and hold him safe, for I shall make him into a great nation.' Then God opened Hagar's eyes and she saw a well, so she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the desert, and he became an archer.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The conflict between Sarah and Hagar, and two sons, highlights the fact that each person plays an irreplaceable role in history and that the Lord takes care of everyone. At times God's plan uses also the whims of people. The sacred author, while recounting the expulsion of the slave Hagar, expelled by Sarah for the benefit of her son Isaac, takes care to emphasise that Abraham, disturbed by the prospect of losing his son Ishmael, accepts this fate after realising that God's will passes through this painful laceration. From the two sons two distinct nations will be born, with distinct histories and events. But the history of the people of Israel will only pass through Isaac. "Whatever Sarah says to you," the Lord says to Abraham, "do as she tells you" (v. 12). Sarah's words are considered prophetic, even though they were inspired by human feelings, because in a certain way they read the signs of history and move it according to God's will. On the basis of this episode, Sarah is counted among the seven biblical prophetesses by Jewish tradition together with Miriam, Deborah, Hulda (these three are the only ones to be named "prophetesses" in scripture), Hanna, Abigail, and Esther. But the word of God also "opened [the] eyes" of Hagar the Egyptian and guides her so that she will live.
Doa merupakan jantung kehidupan Komunitas Sant'Egidio dan merupakan prioritas yang paling penting. Di penghujung hari, setiap Komunitas Sant'Egidio, besar maupun kecil, akan berkumpul di sekeliling Tuhan untuk mendengarkan sabda-Nya. Sesungguhnya Sabda Allah dan doa merupakan landasan seluruh kehidupan Komunitas. Para rasul tidak bisa tidak selain tetap di sekitar kaki Yesus, seperti yang dilakukan oleh Maria dari Bethani, untuk menerima kasih dan belajar cara-Nya (Fil. 2:5).
Sehingga setiap malam, ketika Komunitas kembali ke kaki Tuhan, Komunitas mengulangi kata-kata dari rasul tak bernama: "Tuhan ajarkanlah kami cara berdoa" Yesus, Sang Guru, terus menjawab: "Ketika kamu berdoa, katakanlah: Abba, Bapa". Hal itu bukanlah satu seruan sederhana. Dengan kata-kata ini, Yesus membiarkan para murid untuk berperan serta dalam hubungan mereka sendiri dengan Bapa. Oleh sebab itu, fakta bahwa sebagai anak-anak Bapa yang bertahta di surga, muncul sebelum kata-kata yang mungkin kita ucapkan. Jadi doa di atas segalanya merupakan cara untuk menjadi manusia. Ini untuk mengatakan bahwa kita anak-anak yang berpaling kepada Bapa dengan iman, dan yakin bahwa hal itu akan didengar.
Yesus mengajar kita memanggil Allah dengan sebutan "Bapa Kami" Tidak hanya "Bapa" atau "Bapaku" Para murid, meskipun mereka berdoa dengan cara mereka, tidak pernah terisolasi tidak juga menjadi yatim; mereka selalu menjadi anggota keluarga Tuhan.
Dalam doa bersama, di samping misteri anak Allah, ada juga misteri persaudaraan, seperti Bapa Gereja mengatakan: "Kamu tidak bisa memiliki Allah sebagai Bapa tanpa memiliki gereja sebagai ibu". Ketika berdoa bersama, Roh Kudus menyatukan para rasul di ruangan atas bersama dengan Maria, Bunda Allah, sehingga mereka dapat memusatkan pandangan mereka kepada wajah Tuhan dan belajar dari Dia rahasia hati-Nya.
Komunitas Sant'Egidio di seluruh dunia berkumpul bersama di berbagai tempat doa dan menghamparkan di hadapan Tuhan harapan dan penderitaan manusia yang lelah dan letih seperti yang di katakan oleh Injil (Mat. 9:37). Dalam kumpulan di masa lalu ini kita bisa melihat jumlah massa yang sangat besar di kota-kota modern ini, jutaan pengungsi yang terus melarikan diri dari negeri mereka, orang miskin yang terpinggirkan ke tepi kehidupan dan mereka yang menantikan seseorang yang akan merawat mereka. Berdoa bersama termasuk di dalamnya tangisan, seruan, permohonan, keinginan bagi damai, penyembuhan dan penebusan manusia di dunia ini. Doa tidak pernah sia-sia, doa terus menerus kepada Tuhan sehingga mengubah kecemasan menjadi harapan, air mata menjadi kegembiraan, putus asa menjadi kebahagiaan, dan kesepian menjadi persatuan. Semoga Kerajaan Allah hadir segera di antara manusia.
