Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)
18.07.2021
Gospel Reflections by Fr. Freddie Santhumayor SVD
A reading from the gospel according to Mk 6:30-34
Main Focus: Like Jesus, we too are called to a mission of compassion for the
‘sheep’ without a shepherd; but this mission should flow and find direction
from our close communion with God after the example of Jesus himself.
In brief: Our
compassion for the shepherdless sheep flows from our communion with God
SYNOPSIS
According to today’s gospel text, the mission of Christ’s apostles involves
two things (6:30): (1) bringing or reporting to him what they have done and
taught in their mission-journey, and (2) taking to people what they have
learned from him through prayer and worship. When the apostles were tired after
a busy schedule of mission work, Jesus wanted them to go away from the hustle
and bustle of busy life to a “deserted place” and “rest for a while” for prayer
and reflection in order to quieten their restlessness (6:31).
Therefore,
neither feelings of tiredness in our service nor retirement from active service
should deter us from doing the twofold mission of doing deeds of mercy and
teaching God’s values to people as Jesus did (6:30).
Jesus wanted that his disciples should feel the need of recharging their
dropping spirit with spiritual energy in the midst of their busy life. Hence he
advised them to go to the “desert” which symbolizes a meeting place with God in
solitude and prayer. Whenever we are
tired after a busy schedule and pressure of job or duty, including the
obligations of family, Jesus invites us to go to a “deserted place” to recharge
our dropping spirit with spiritual energy in the midst of their busy life.
When we
do not make any time for prayer, reflection and closer communication with God
and with our loved ones, because we think we are too busy (though many of us
are often busy over our mobile phones and TV), all our attention and focus is
on our “to-do” list: “Today or tomorrow I’ve to do this, I’ve to do
that…” Do we ask why we have to do this or that and for whom? In the
midst of our busy work if we forget to pause for a while to get some direction
and guidance about these ‘why’ questions from God who is our Shepherd, we
become like sheep without a Shepherd – restless, aimless and purposeless. Without
a close communion with God, there will be a ‘link failure’ with the ‘Tower’ and
no connectivity to real happiness and peace. As William Barclay says, we meet with God in
the secret place (that is, in prayer) in order to serve his people in the
marketplace (that is, in our life-situations). With what attitude do we pray or
attend church?
The crowd mentioned in today’s gospel must have been following Jesus not
for any spiritual motive but for getting miraculous favours for themselves. This
kind of attitude would have been sufficient reason for even pious people among
us to get highly annoyed or impatient. Instead, Jesus was deeply and emotionally
moved with compassion (6:34) at the gut-level (as the original Greek word means).
Why? For him those people were not a nuisance but like sheep who had no
shepherd to lead and guide them (6:34). Jesus could sense their ‘lost-ness,’
‘scattered-ness’ and inner longing. He saw how they were wandering aimlessly
without any selfless leaders to guide them to right path. So instead of taking
the much deserved physical and spiritual rest, he began to teach them many more
things (6:34). For him it was not a question about what is convenient and
comfortable to oneself, but what God wanted him to do for the needy at that
time. What is our predominant mood when our children, family or community
members and friends interrupt our rest : angry and impatient, or compassion
when the need is urgent?
St. Mark tells us that the reason for Jesus’ great compassion on the
crowd was their condition as "sheep without a shepherd" (6:34). The wicked
kings of Israel in the OT were feeding themselves instead of the sheep, and allowing
the sheep to become food for the wild animals (cf. Ezekiel 34:1-8). Contrary to
this, when Jesus saw the broken-hearted, confused and disoriented people (not
knowing what to do and where to go), he had a soft heart. Today, Jesus invites
us to be shepherds (leaders and guides) of the shepherdless people – those who cannot
get guidance and counsel, cannot defend themselves against exploiters and cannot fight for their rights. There are
so many disoriented youth whose character is looted by the ‘wild beasts’ (bad
company, bad influence of the mass media, addictions, etc.). When we look at
this situation, are we moved with compassion like Jesus?
When we
watch TV and read newspapers, we daily come to know how much the world is
suffering today from a lack of selfless and honest leaders with integrity, both
in political and religious spheres. How much the world longs for leaders who
will put the needs and concerns of the poor above their greed for power and
wealth, or above their political party’s benefit! How much it needs leaders who
are moved with compassion for the plight of the underprivileged and the
marginalized! When we are in a leadership role, what is our main concern: our
own personal advancement, or Jesus’ mission as well as people’s, society’s or
the country’s welfare?
A
prayer
Shepherd
us, O Lord, beyond our greed and selfish desires so that we may be moved with
compassion at the condition of the sheep without a true leader and guide. O
Lord of the harvest, send good and dedicated leaders in the world, the Church
and our community, to become “shepherds after your own heart” as you tell us through
prophet Jeremiah (3:15). Amen.
To read the full text of my Gospel Reflections for the 16th
Sunday of Ordinary Time [Year B], please go to my Blog by clicking on the
following link:
http://freddygospelreflections.blogspot.com
18.07.2021
Jesus’
Shepherding and Compassionate Ministry
1. Theme in
brief
Our compassion for the shepherdless sheep flows from our communion
with God
2. Focus
Statement:
Like Jesus,
we too are called to a mission of compassion for the ‘sheep’ without a
shepherd; but this mission should flow and find direction from our close
communion with God after the example of Jesus himself,
3. Explanation of the text
According
to today’s gospel text, an apostle (that is, one who is sent on a mission) is
called to report to Jesus what he does and teaches during his mission work (6:30). This is what the
twelve apostles, who were sent two-by-two on a mission (in last Sunday’s
gospel), did. Today’s text makes it clear that Christian discipleship is a
two-way process: (1) bringing to Jesus what disciples have experienced in their
mission-journey, and (2) taking to people what they have learned from him through their
close contact with him in prayer and worship.
As
the apostles were tired after a busy schedule of preaching and ministering,
Jesus wanted that they should rest for a while (6:31). He wanted that it should be
not only a physical rest but also spiritual –
going away from the hustle and bustle of busy life to a “deserted place”
and “resting for a while” in order to quieten their restlessness (6:31). In the Bible the word “desert” is used
symbolically to refer to a quiet time of encounter with God or a meeting place
with God in solitude and prayer. Jesus wanted that his disciples
should feel the need of recharging their dropping spirit with spiritual energy in
the midst of their busy life.
While
Jesus and his disciples were going by boat to enter into such a solitude, the
crowd hurriedly followed them on foot and reached that place before Jesus and
disciples could (6:33). Many of them must have been following Jesus not for
learning anything new from him or for spiritual motive but for getting miraculous favours for
themselves. That would have been sufficient reason for even good people
among us to get highly annoyed or impatient. Instead of resenting the invasion
of his privacy, when Jesus saw their condition, he was deeply
and emotionally moved with compassion (6:34) within the core of his being or at the gut-level (as
the original Greek word used for compassion indicates). Why? For him those people
were not a nuisance but like sheep who had no shepherd to lead and guide them
(6:34). So instead of taking the much deserved physical and spiritual rest, he
began to teach them many more things (6:34). Here Mark
indirectly indicates a shepherd’s role of feeding his sheep with his word (=
teaching).
The
phrase, "sheep without a shepherd," has its background in the OT. The
prophets announced God’s judgement against the misdeeds of the false shepherds (that is, wicked kings) of
In
contrast, Mark projected Jesus as the true Shepherd who fed his followers with
his teaching ( with God’s Word) and spiritual food (especially the Eucharist,
which will be made more explicit in the following Sundays). Thus, in the sixth
chapter, Mark emphasizes three shepherding roles of Jesus: teaching
(6:34), feeding (6:35-44) and healing (6:56).
4. Application to life
The first lesson we learn from the
message of today’s gospel is that neither weariness
nor retirement should make us stop
our missionary service till the end of our life. Of course, there is
tiresomeness in our work, but it is not an excuse
to give up or to back-off.
Like
Jesus who took his disciples to a deserted
place for personal sharing and
closer relationship, we too must go to a ‘deserted place’ for a closer communion
with him in the midst of our busy schedule. The busy-ness
of our daily life and pressure of job/duty as well as family tempt us to forego both
physical and spiritual rest we need. Our habit of overwork
and its tension makes us stressed out. When we do not make any time for prayer,
reflection and closer communication with God and with our loved ones, because
we think we are too busy, what really happens? All our attention and
focus is on our “to-do” list: “Today I’ve to do this, I’ve to do
that…” We do not ask why we have to do this or that and for whom. In the
midst of our busy work if we forget to pause for a while to get some direction
and guidance about these questions from God who is our
Shepherd, we become a sheep without a Shepherd. Suppose we remain as sheep
without a shepherd what will be our condition? We will be without guidance,
without nourishment and without defence – restless, aimless and purposeless.
Therefore,
the more busy we are the more we should feel the need for reflection.
When there is no close communion with God there will be a ‘link failure.’ When that happens, the burden and responsibilities of life will become heavier
and heavier leading to further tension and stress. To re-establish this broken
link, we need to go to a deserted place by ourselves to be with the Lord and
reflect on the direction to which we are moving in the midst of a over-busy
life. We need to share with Jesus not only our joys but also our
experiences of facing rejection, indifference and opposition in our work. Reflection
on our life’s direction not only recharges our spiritual energy, but also motivates
us to constantly follow the path suggested by experts: see, judge, act and review. On every Sunday when we go to church we take along with us
what we did during the week and get enlightenment and spiritual energy to
continue our mission in the following week. Our prayer and worship are not escapism
from the challenges of life and real involvement in its struggles. As William Barclay says we meet
with God in the secret place (that is, in personal and community prayer) in
order to serve his people in the marketplace (that is, in our life-situations).
The
word ‘shepherd’ is used in the OT first of all for God, then for
kings, priests and prophets; in the NT for Jesus and the Church leaders. God
in the OT and Jesus in the gospel severely rebuke the false and wicked
‘shepherds’ (religious and political leaders). But when it comes to broken-hearted, confused and disoriented people (not knowing what to do and where to go), Jesus
had a soft heart. Jesus noticed human brokenness from a close
angle. He could sense their ‘lost-ness,’ ‘scattered-ness’ and inner longing. He
saw how they were wandering aimlessly without any selfless
leaders to guide them to right
path. His compassion for their condition led him to put their needs above his
convenience, weariness, or need for rest. For him it was not a question
about what is convenient and comfortable to oneself, but what God wanted him to
do for the needy people at that time. It was a question of faithfulness
to God’s mission. What about us?
Today
the world is suffering more than before from a lack of selfless
and honest leaders with integrity, both in political and religious spheres. How
much the world longs for leaders who will put the needs and concerns of the
poor and the voiceless above their greed for power and wealth! How much it needs leaders who are moved with
compassion for the plight of the underprivileged and the marginalized! How much
it needs leaders who put the needs of these people above their or their political
party’s benefit or profit. When we watch TV and read newspapers we daily learn
about the world’s urgent need for genuine leaders who could serve their people without
the taint of scams, kickbacks and graft cases attached to their
names.
Like
Jesus, we are called to show compassion to the ‘sheep’ who are without a shepherd to lead
them. Like him our mission entails not only doing deeds of mercy but also
teaching about God’s love and mercy as we heard at the end of today’s gospel
(6:34). Today Jesus invites us to be shepherds of the shepherdless.
The sheep without a shepherd cannot find the way, cannot get guidance and
counsel, cannot find pastures, and cannot defend themselves against ‘thieves and bandits’ (Jn
10:8) or against ‘wild animals’ (Ezech 34:5). There are many poor and powerless
people who cannot defend themselves against the exploitation
and unjust treatment of the powerful; those who cannot fight for their rights when
they are trampled because of lack of financial resources, lack of organization
and ignorance of laws that protect their rights. So many ‘thieves and bandits’ loot the
funds that are allotted for the welfare of these people. There are so many
youth who are disoriented in life or have no aim in life. The ‘wild beasts’
(bad company, bad influence of the mass media) loot their character. So many
poor and voiceless people have no genuine and selfless leaders among
them. Their so-called leaders can be bought over and duped by the powerful ones.
When we look at this situation, are we moved with compassion?
5. Response to
God's Word
How
do I respond when my children, family and friends interrupt my rest? What do I
feel towards them: angry and impatient, or compassion when the need is urgent? When I see someone in genuine need, do I come
out of my shell to reach out to them, though it is my free time? Does the
miserable condition of so many ‘shepherdless’ people move me to do something
for them? How can I show concern for them in my own little way? As parents,
teachers, community and Church leaders, in what way have we failed in our
shepherding role of leading, guiding, empathizing with the weak and showing
compassion for the strayed ones? Are we faithful to our role of teaching God’s
values to those under our care, feeding them with God’s Word and sacraments and
healing their broken hearts? When we are in a leadership role, what is our main
concern: personal advancement, or people’s/ society’s/ country’s?
6. A prayer
Compassionate Lord, today we bring before you what we have experienced in our
mission-journey. Filled with your Spirit we would like to take home what we
have learned from you. Shepherd us Lord beyond our greed and selfish desires so
that we may be moved with compassion at the condition of those sheep wandering
aimlessly. Grant that we may become true shepherds for such people after your
own heart. O Lord of the harvest, send good and dedicated leaders in the world,
the Church and local community to take a special care of the strayed, scattered
and strayed ‘sheep.’ Amen.
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