Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time B
July 22, 2012
Reading I: Jeremiah 23:1-6
Responsorial Psalm: 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
Reading II: Ephesians 2:13-18
Gospel: Mark 6:30-34
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072212.cfm
Reading 1 Jer 23:1-6
Woe to the shepherds
...
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
...
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.
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
...
This is the name they give him:
"The LORD our justice."
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
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,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
...
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
...
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.
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
...
This is the name they give him:
"The LORD our justice."
Reading 2 Eph 2:13-18
Brothers and sisters:In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
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,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Gospel Mk 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.
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.
Like sheep without a shepherd: one of the most common metaphors in the bible. These are not mountain goats or feral sheep capable of looking after themselves: the image is of domestic sheep, tamed to a point of total dependency on people for food and safe shelter. Without good care they will be getting lost in rugged hill country, attacked by wild dogs or wolves, stolen and fleeced by criminals; they will get confused and end up milling round in a circle of blind panic when fear grips the mob. These sheep without a shepherd are vulnerable.
Check out a key reference in the book of Numbers 27:17 "May the Lord God... set over the community someone who will be their leader..., that the Lord's community may not be like sheep without a shepherd."
And the whole of Ezechiel, chapter 34.
"Tu es responsable de ce que tu as apprivoisé."
"You are responsible for what you tame."
-antoine de st. euxpéry, le pétit prince
The Little Prince
The Little Prince
Check out a key reference in the book of Numbers 27:17 "May the Lord God... set over the community someone who will be their leader..., that the Lord's community may not be like sheep without a shepherd."
And the whole of Ezechiel, chapter 34.
+++
His heart was moved with pity for them: In Jesus, God feels compassion for the vast crowd whom we neglect to guide, nourish and protect.
And he began to teach them many things: this is unexpected. No healings today: later there will be food provided, but the first priority is teaching. No practical programs to organise self-help groups, resistance groups to plot against the occupying forces of Rome, or unions to fight for better wages; not even ways to raise their moral standards.
Is Mark saying that teaching is the primary response when sheep are found without shepherds?
Many things: Throughout his gospel account Mark does not tell us much about what Jesus taught, though he insists that Jesus was seen as a teacher. It is Matthew who gives us samples of his teaching in aphorisms and parables. We are left to wonder what he chose to talk about here by the lakeside that afternoon when they had been trying to get away for a quiet time by themselves. Did he give a series of lectures as a professor might? Did he teach them how to pray - or how to think?
Could it be that the thing people need most from a 'shepherd' is help towards understanding. With understanding we can see things for ourselves. We learn to use our own thinking power to sort through our options, prioritise our needs from day to day. As we gain confidence in our own thinking and our own judgement we can make choices for ourselves. We are no longer slaves to law or custom - or peer group pressure, and hence less likely to be enslaved by the powerful who would own even our inner selves if they could. Education leads us out from our confining state of enslavement to make us self-motivating and free.
We often hear it said that the 'gospel' as proclaimed in the christian community does just this: it sets us free. So it is valid to ask this question: Is there a teaching of Jesus that is for you a key to understanding "your" life?
It is said that Jesus saved the world by or through the sacrifice of himself on the cross, and it is the sacrifice of calvary perpetuated in the Mass that is our 'salvation'. That sounds like remote theology compared to the practical reality that salvation is essentially a matter of liberating people from the enslavement of their minds?
I wonder is it going too far to suggest that Jesus might be a 'model' teacher? CathyT has pointed out that he responded to the needs of people who came to him, much as a parent responds to a child. Teaching in the home happens in real life situations, an answer to a question in the immediate here and how, a response to a pressing need. It seems Jesus was often exhausted from responding: did he actually listen to each person and offer them a word that points to a solution, at once educating and liberating?
As a program for anyone who would be a shepherd this seems a likely starting point: to give of your self in taking care to listen well for that will already educate/lead-out the person trapped in some bind.
For every follower of Jesus it could be a practical starting point: just in a natural way, to listen to each one you meet and show the acceptance and love that enables confidence to grow.
And he began to teach them many things: this is unexpected. No healings today: later there will be food provided, but the first priority is teaching. No practical programs to organise self-help groups, resistance groups to plot against the occupying forces of Rome, or unions to fight for better wages; not even ways to raise their moral standards.
Is Mark saying that teaching is the primary response when sheep are found without shepherds?
Many things: Throughout his gospel account Mark does not tell us much about what Jesus taught, though he insists that Jesus was seen as a teacher. It is Matthew who gives us samples of his teaching in aphorisms and parables. We are left to wonder what he chose to talk about here by the lakeside that afternoon when they had been trying to get away for a quiet time by themselves. Did he give a series of lectures as a professor might? Did he teach them how to pray - or how to think?
Could it be that the thing people need most from a 'shepherd' is help towards understanding. With understanding we can see things for ourselves. We learn to use our own thinking power to sort through our options, prioritise our needs from day to day. As we gain confidence in our own thinking and our own judgement we can make choices for ourselves. We are no longer slaves to law or custom - or peer group pressure, and hence less likely to be enslaved by the powerful who would own even our inner selves if they could. Education leads us out from our confining state of enslavement to make us self-motivating and free.
We often hear it said that the 'gospel' as proclaimed in the christian community does just this: it sets us free. So it is valid to ask this question: Is there a teaching of Jesus that is for you a key to understanding "your" life?
It is said that Jesus saved the world by or through the sacrifice of himself on the cross, and it is the sacrifice of calvary perpetuated in the Mass that is our 'salvation'. That sounds like remote theology compared to the practical reality that salvation is essentially a matter of liberating people from the enslavement of their minds?
+++
I wonder is it going too far to suggest that Jesus might be a 'model' teacher? CathyT has pointed out that he responded to the needs of people who came to him, much as a parent responds to a child. Teaching in the home happens in real life situations, an answer to a question in the immediate here and how, a response to a pressing need. It seems Jesus was often exhausted from responding: did he actually listen to each person and offer them a word that points to a solution, at once educating and liberating?
As a program for anyone who would be a shepherd this seems a likely starting point: to give of your self in taking care to listen well for that will already educate/lead-out the person trapped in some bind.
For every follower of Jesus it could be a practical starting point: just in a natural way, to listen to each one you meet and show the acceptance and love that enables confidence to grow.