Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 07-22-18, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 07-22-18 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

16th Sunday - Where are the shepherds?

(Tissot - Jesus teaches)

"They were like sheep without a shepherd"

Mark 6: 30-34

Sunday Word: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/072218.cfm

Often after returning from a vacation that was filled with all kinds of new adventures or activities, such as an overseas tour, we may feel that we need a little “mini vacation” after the vacation to catch up and recover. It might be readjusting to the time zone I live in, or catching up on mail or getting the home in order before going back to a routine.  Generally, it might mean taking a bit of a rest to get organized again. 

That’s the context in which our Gospel this Sunday can be seen.  The disciples of Jesus had just been sent out “two by two” on mission to preach and heal and now they return from what must have been a tiring journey and need a bit of R and R to rest a while.  Jesus recognizes this and invites them to: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” We hear as well that these men were thrilled with the results they saw. Although tired and in need of a rest, their enthusiasm must have pleased the Lord. Yet, predictably, they were actually a bit filled with themselves and the power that Jesus had shared with them. So before the false assumption that all success was due to them alone, Jesus recognized their human need as well. So, get away from the crowds and the demands of ministry and just recharge. Sounds good to me!

However, that was short lived.  We continue to hear in the Gospel passage, “. . . people were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat . . .”  The need was so great and the hunger of the crowds for the preaching of Jesus, that their own personal needs may have to be set aside for a little while more. The crowds found in Jesus a charismatic teacher unlike any other.  He brought them hope and healing and a new meaning and purpose for their lives.  What greater human need is there than for an existence which is meaningful and fulfilling? He was a very good shepherd to his people and the disciples, soon to become Apostles, were called to model themselves after his example. It’s all very ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. 

However, you would know from our first reading of the prophet Jeremiah that such shepherds had not been in the historical memory of the Jewish people.  God warns his people, in particular their leaders that they had been poor shepherds who “mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.” These leaders, among them the Kings of Israel hundreds of years before the coming of Jesus, had been everything they should not have been: compromising the purity of the Jewish faith by mixing with other pagan religions, allowing sacred worship to be overrun with corruption and scandalizing the people who were desperate for unity and satisfaction in their faith.  “Where is our God?,” they must have cried.

But, hope was offered since God decided to take over and directly intervene in this desperation by his promise: “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock . . . I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, do what is right and just in the land.” A real shepherd will come to gather the broken and lost under his kingdom.  As Christians we of course see this as a prophecy to send the best shepherd of all, Christ Jesus himself.

So, while the crowds continued to gather with Jesus and his band of disciples, even pursuing them to the other side of the lake not giving them rest, it was the need it self that Jesus responded to and provided the example for his disciples.  “He was moved with pity . . . for they were like sheep without a shepherd.” This deep compassion to set things right moved Jesus and in like manner his disciples to not rest at this time but to respond to the need of the crowds before them.  Such compassion for others is a powerful motivation for action. But it is also a lesson in remembering whose mission this really is:  that of Jesus who we are privileged to promote

The mission of Christ, we are all entrusted with means that at some point we need to recognize that our own needs may not always be the most important.  By offering himself to the crowds even beyond the limits hoped for at that time, opened up a door in the heart of the crowds to his further teaching and how they were ready to receive him. 

So, maybe the question for us is that rather than moan and complain about scandal and poor leadership which indeed we have seen over the last couple of years, would it be better to provide for what might be lacking in the Church today?  Would it be better by our own good example and faithful leadership, however that may be played out in our lives, and I include myself of course, to provide for the Church what may be lacking?  What good do we see and where can we offer that good in greater ways? In other words, what is my ministry; my living out of my Christian mission? How and where do I attend to the needs of the flock before me?

If we all think about it, we all have others who look to us for something:  children to their parents, grandchildren to their grandparents, patients to their health care providers, clients to their attorneys, parishioners to their pastors, and further in the Church leaders to attend to the faith formation needs of the flock.  More examples are obvious as we reflect on our own lives.

So, what is your ministry?  What part of your life can be identified as a share in the mission that Jesus offers you?  In short the mission of Christ is a way we offer to others a sharing in the love of God for his people.

Next Sunday, our Gospel is about the loaves the fishes and the feeding of this very crowd that pursue Jesus and his band of men.  They are now hungry and tired and Christ sees a golden opportunity to not just attend to their physical needs but in a dramatic gesture show them how God’s generosity is available for all. 

So, here we have the ultimate example from Jesus himself, of how we must live our lives. Whatever sort of ministry of service and love that I identify in my life, it’s good to ask in the end who do I point to – myself or to Jesus himself?  Am I truly bringing others to the Lord or do I seek to have my own self recognized.  Are parents, as they form their children, really directing them to come to know and love the Lord or simply to see them as a good Mom and Dad?

Yesterday, when visiting a gentleman in the hospital I had seen last year, I also found there one of his daughters and her husband.  We had a great chat and then the daughter said to me: “Father, you really worked a miracle on Dad last year.  After you prayed, despite what doctors had told him, he recovered enough to still be with us today at the age of 93.” 

Well, if I was brazen enough to take that literally and now see myself as a great miracle worker, I better be ready to hear what God spoke to the poor shepherds of Israel: “Woe to the shepherds who mislead . . .” 

So, let’s examine our hearts as disciples on the mission of Christ given us. Our Eucharist gatherings remind all of us whose mission we are privileged to share in.  As Ghandi once said: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

He always showed compassion

for children and for the poor, 

for the sick and for sinners,

and he became a neighbor

to the oppressed and the afflicted

(Preface: Eucharistic Prayers for Various Needs IV)

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

July 22nd, 2018 – Fellowship with Christ

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

[Mark 6:30-34]

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So, they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, I believe in you. I trust in you because as a man you experienced everything I experience except sin. You have pity on me in my weakness because you became weak for love of me. I believe in you. I trust you. I thank you for your everlasting love and benevolence.

Petition: Lord, help me to know you more intimately.

1. Father, Brother, Mentor: The apostles joyfully reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. They are like children, and he is a true father and a brother toward them. He is their mentor par excellence. He listens, responds, encourages and instructs them. They feel privileged to belong to him. Because of their love for Christ they continually renew their commitment to his cause. There is no doubt that he deserves this and much more. That is why they stick with him even when doing so means serving the large crowds amidst their own hunger and exhaustion. They wouldn’t leave him for the world.

2. Empowering the Apostles: Christ is a true leader for his apostles. He attracts them and guides them. His leadership is highly positive. He conquers their hearts because he is a man possessed by a transcendent and eternal ideal, which radiates from him with extraordinary vigor. With his deep knowledge of the human person (John 15:13), he is able to draw from each apostle’s qualities the maximum benefit for what is true and good. He doesn’t use them as lifeless instruments or tools. He begins by promoting each one’s temporal and eternal good and then directs them towards fulfilling the ideal that unites them. He creates a healthy mystique of belonging to the circle of his disciples.

3. Fellowship with Him: The crowds find out where Jesus and his apostles are going. From all the towns they hasten there on foot and arrive at that place before them. Imagine their excitement, their drive to seek out Jesus, and their rush to be with him. It is true that they are a fickle crowd. They have yet to know the Lord in all the breadth of his virtue and goodness. Nevertheless, the little they know of him resounds in the depths of their hearts. They sense in the Lord and within the community of his followers bonds of loyalty and fellowship and a spirit of authentic love. This is what their human hearts long for. Those who seek out Christ are never disappointed.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you were a father, a brother and a guide for the apostles. You were a master sculptor, molding them into your image of goodness, humility and generosity. Do the same for me, Lord. Mold me. Sculpt me into your image. Make me one of yours.

Resolution: I will see myself as your apprentice today, Lord. I will try to listen to your voice in every thought and action. I will do this for love of you.

[Salvation]

Scripture Speaks: Working and Resting

Gayle Somers

Jesus took His apostles away for a quiet retreat after their exhausting preaching mission. It didn’t go exactly as planned. Why?

Gospel (Read Mk 6:30-34)

St. Mark tells us that when the apostles returned to Jesus after a busy mission of preaching and healing (see Mk 6:7-13), He wanted them to “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” They all went off in a boat so they could have an opportunity to catch their breath, because “people were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.” This simple description gives us an idea of how intense Jesus’ public ministry got at times. It’s easy for us to forget that although there were times of quiet for Jesus and the Twelve, they lived and moved amidst crowds of people with pressing needs. This invitation to rest after their work is an echo of the Creation story, when God worked and then rested. Here, in the work of Redemption, there is the same rhythm of work and rest.

The third of the Ten Commandments God gave to His people to regulate our spiritual and moral lives makes the Sabbath “rest” an obligation for man. God always commands what is best for us (not “rules” but light on our path). To be called to rest after our work is one of the clearest marks that we are made in the image and likeness of God. He worked and rested; so do we.

As we contemplate the refreshment Jesus and the apostles are anticipating in their “deserted place,” St. Mark draws back a curtain so we can see other action also taking place in this scene. “People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot…and arrived at the place before them.” Busted! It seems the people were determined not to let Jesus out of their sight. His plan to give some much-needed solitude to the apostles was thwarted by their desperation. St. Mark lets us feel the sharp clash of competing needs in this brief episode. We can imagine how the apostles must have longed for their boat to reach what they thought was an isolated destination. We can also imagine the fervor of the people to be as near Jesus as they could possibly get. How would this conflict get resolved?

St. Mark gives us only Jesus’ reaction (maybe that’s a good thing?): “When He disembarked and saw the vast crowd, His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.” We can assume that Jesus Himself also desired rest from the constant pressure of the crowds. He most certainly desired it for the apostles. However, when He saw the lost look on the faces of the people who had tracked Him down, He could not resist them. He knew no one else could meet their aching need. He served them rather than Himself. He gave a powerful example of selflessness to the weary apostles, too. Ever the Good Shepherd, He lovingly fed His sheep.

We should be careful to savor these moments in the Gospels—times when we see Jesus moved to pity, in a deeply human way, for those in need. His tenderness and sympathy are real. His Sacred Heart beats with the same kind of human love that so imperfectly beats in our hearts, too. In our times of great need, when we do everything in our power to get His attention, let us not forget what we see here—we always have it.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, help me to know when I need to rest and when I need to serve others. May my heart be as tender as Yours.

First Reading (Read Jer 23:1-6)

We have to wonder if Jesus, in our Gospel story, had this Scripture in mind when He decided to answer the need of the crowd of people already gathered in the deserted place rather than take the rest He desired. Here, the prophet, Jeremiah, who lived in the sixth century B.C., delivered both a warning and a promise to God’s people. He warned the bad shepherds of coming woe because they had misled and scattered His flock through their covenant unfaithfulness. The kings of Israel were supposed to be good “shepherds,” as the original shepherd-king, David, had been. The sinful kings cared only for their own welfare, neglecting the care of the sheep.

God, however, promised to “raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king He shall reign and govern wisely.” Jesus knew He was that king. The leaderless people He saw in the Gospel reminded Him of His mission. In His patient teaching “many things” to them, even in His exhaustion, He fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy of a coming king who would “do what is just and right in the land.” He is “The LORD, our justice.”

Possible response: Lord Jesus, thank You for leading us as a Shepherd-King. Thank You that we can trust Your Shepherd’s staff carried today by the bishops of Your Church.

Psalm (Read Ps 23:1-6)

This beautiful, familiar psalm extols the treasures of being a sheep in the Lord’s flock. It describes the kind of rest and security we can trust when we follow Jesus, the Good Shepherd of our souls. In peaceful times of feeding in “verdant pastures,” in times of travail as we walk “in the dark valley,” and even when we are face-to-face with our enemies, the Lord’s kindness and mercy are unfailing. Perhaps the people in the eager, anxious crowd in our Gospel story—the ones who outran a boat by hoofing it to the deserted place—had this psalm in mind when they saw that Jesus was ready and willing to care for them when He arrived. They, like us, could sing, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read Eph 2:13-18)

As often happens in our epistle reading, these verses from St. Paul can seem unrelated to the theme of our other readings—Jesus as our loving, tender Shepherd. However, we can best understand the relationship if we see that St. Paul is giving us an example of how Jesus is the Good Shepherd. We know from the other readings that Jesus listens to, guides, heals, and teaches us. Here we see that He has also done the miraculous work of bringing Jews and Gentiles together, by dying for all men, “that He might create in Himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one Body, through the Cross.”

When we think of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, it is usually in very personal, individual terms—His kind mercy and tender love for me. Very true, of course. Yet Jesus loves the whole flock of God, and, in St. Paul’s day, the flock was deeply divided because of all the Jewish ritual separation (i.e., in worship, dietary laws, dress, observance of feast days, etc.) from Gentiles. Jesus abolished all those ritual laws, drawing all believers into Himself for salvation. “He came and preached peace,” says St. Paul, and then Jesus created peace by breaking down “the dividing wall of enmity” that kept Jews and Gentiles apart (possibly a reference to the wall in the Temple courtyard that kept praying Gentiles outside of its holy inner precincts). “For He is our peace,” and that is yet another reason we call Him the Good Shepherd.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, You gave Your life for all Your sheep. Help me love all Your flock as You do.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Espanol

All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 4

<< Sunday, July 22, 2018 >>

16th Sunday Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 23:1-6
Ephesians 2:13-18
View Readings

Psalm 23:1-6
Mark 6:30-34
Similar Reflections

PEACE TALKS

"It is He Who is our Peace, and Who made the two of us one by breaking down the barrier of hostility that kept us apart." �Ephesians 2:14

Micah prophesied that the Messiah would not only be peaceful or make peace but that He would be Peace (Mi 5:4). Moreover, Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount, the quintessence of His preaching, by proclaiming: "Blest too the peacemakers; they shall be called sons of God" (Mt 5:9). On the night before He died, Jesus announced that He would leave peace to His disciples in His last will and testament (Jn 14:27). Considering all this and more, St. Paul came to the conclusion that Jesus "is our Peace" (Eph 2:14), Who establishes peace (Eph 2:15) and announces "peace to you who were far off, and to those who were near" (Eph 2:17).

It is clear that Jesus is Peace. But is He your Peace? For this to be so, we must follow Jesus by making peace through the blood of the cross (Col 1:20). For Jesus to be our Peace, we must accept Jesus as our Peace by forgiving, loving, and reconciling with everyone, including our enemies. We make Jesus our Peace at the cross. Take up the cross of Peace, your Peace.

Prayer: Father, give me peace on earth and in heaven forever.

Promise: "I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the Lord." —Jer 23:4

Praise: Alleluia! Jesus is risen! He has conquered sin and death. Alleluia!

[Salvation]