Mark 6:30-34 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time June 21, 2024 “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while”
Mark 6:7-13 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 14, 2024 “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.”
July 13, 2024
John 6:1-15 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 28, 2024 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
July 27, 2024
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Ephesians 2:13-18
Mark 6:30-34
A. Text/Context
• So the gospel story tells us that wherever Jesus and the apostles go they are always followed by many people
• It is only in the gospel of Mark that the disciples are called apostles and this happened when the disciples arrived from their mission
• Naturally, upon arrival, coming from a difficult mission Jesus gathers them together for a recollection and sharing of their many experiences in the mission
• Jesus told his disciples “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while”
• So they need some kind of privacy to gather and group themselves together and for a rest or recreation after a tiring mission
• The excitement to talk a lot to your loved ones and everybody would love to listen and then you would rest after a tiring journey to compose yourself and reorient yourself once more
• But they cannot do this because many people are following them. Jesus and the apostles have become very popular and the most sought after by the people and so they were mobbed wherever they go
• The gospel says that people were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat
• So this is the pitiful sight of the people that Jesus sees with his own eyes. People following them seemed so desperate and hopeless
• Something is missing in their lives that has not been met
• And so his heart was moved with pity and compassion for them because they were like a sheep without a shepherd and he began to teach them many things
B. Human Situation
• As ordinary Christians we also share the same spirit of the mission to gather the sheep of the Lord
• What was the response of Jesus when he saw that the people are weary, tired, aimless and hopeless? It is compassion
• The sheep have a strange mysterious behavior. If there is no shepherd they will just lie down and they will not move ahead. If they fall into a ditch they will not struggle but just wait
• And there are a lot of people who are like this and this explains that in leadership there are many who will simply follow and there are very few who will lead
• And the few ones who will lead they even compete each other especially if they are motivated with some self-serving intentions
• In the 1st reading, the prophet Jeremiah gives a warning of punishment to the leaders who are no longer doing their duties and obligations
• This world that we live needs compassion. A lot of people need our attention so how can we fulfill our mission as a good shepherd like the Lord?
• You don’t have to go places in order to do it. We have to begin right from what status of life we belong
• The father or mother in the family plays the role of a good shepherd to their children by being good models of Christian virtues
• It is the duty of the parents to provide a home with an atmosphere of love and charity and safety where the children can grow with the right values
• If the children see that the parents are so caring and loving trying to provide them with all the basic needs, the children will grow up to be so grateful they will also act as providers someday because the son or daughter has interiorized the value of love and charity
• Of course, there are many other factors in the development of a child but the home is the most crucial factor
• This is shepherding right within the walls of a home or family
• And the same thing applies to whatever work or occupation we are assigned. If we love our work, we will always find progress
• If we love our work, it is natural and normal that we also dispense our duties and obligations according to what is expected of us
• And not only that, if we love our work we perform not only the duties and obligations assigned to us but most of all we go beyond what is expected of us and people trust us. Love of work propels us to progress
C. Challenge
• So the gospel today reminds us that just like Jesus we have a mission to fulfill and they are the duties and obligations assigned to us in whatever state of life we belong we have a duty of shepherding
• We cannot provide for all the needs of our neighbor and therefore, we can only give what we can afford
• Another very important message in the gospel is what Jesus has directed them to do: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while”
• When we do the mission of shepherding we must also have time for ourselves
• Jesus and his disciples were mobbed by the people and so they look for a secluded place and find time for themselves
• Because the needs are endless, you will find out that no matter how much time and effort we spent the recipients of our charity will never be finished
• We have to find time for ourselves so that we can continue to assist others. That is the mission
• Those who are chosen as leaders must lead their subjects according to the parameters defined in their duties
• Those who have chosen to become followers must follow in order to harmonize with leadership
• So we can see here that both the ruler and the ruled have a mission to do
• In other words, there is no escape of this mission. If we can perform our duties and obligations in our role of shepherding the flock of the Lord, surely, just like the apostles, we will come home successful from our mission
• We present to God what we did and in the end, God himself will assess and evaluate what we did and then we find time for ourselves to be recharged
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