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SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD - 16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (7/18/2021)
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Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 23
Ephesians 2:13-18
Mark 6:30-34
SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD
What moves the heart of Jesus to pity? It is the sight of people seeking for him like “sheep without a shepherd.” In today’s liturgy we hear about God shepherding his people, both in the reading from Jeremiah and in the gospel. The Responsorial is the beautiful and consoling Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.”
JEREMIAH
Woe! Not too often does a Mass reading begin with that chilling word - “Woe!” In this case it is the Lord, through Jeremiah, calling down woe upon “the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture.” It is noteworthy that the Lord’s anger is roused because the shepherds are misleading the flock.
The Lord promises to punish those unworthy shepherds, but also says, “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock…” The Lord then promises to appoint worthy shepherds for them, “so that they need no longer fear and tremble…”
The prophecy then speaks of a messianic promise that a shepherd/king would come, “a righteous shoot of David,” who will “reign and govern wisely” and do “what is just and right in the land.” We know that this prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
The Lord is never deaf to the plight of his flock who suffer under unworthy shepherds but promises that he will provide a remedy for their situation!
GOSPEL
The gospel today picks up the narrative after the apostles had returned from their missionary journey. They were giving their report when Jesus told them to retreat and take some time to rest. However, it proved difficult for them to escape unnoticed. The crowds actually arrived at the retreat destination before Jesus and his apostles did.
The next sentence is a powerful insight into the character of Jesus. “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.”
Out of compassion for the flock, the “sheep without a shepherd,” Jesus himself shepherds them. Note that it says he began to teach them. Jesus placed a high priority on ministering the gospel, the word of truth, for the truth is what sets us free (cf. John 8:32).
EPHESIANS
The second reading from Ephesians is all about reconciliation. “In Christ you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.” The Gentiles, once far removed from God’s plan of salvation, have now entered in through the blood of Jesus.
Jesus has made peace between God and man, and between Jew and Gentile. “He broke down the dividing wall of enmity through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims…”
This is the essence of St. Paul’s message: through the death, resurrection, ascension of Jesus and through his sending of the Holy Spirit, everyone has “access in one Spirit to the Father.”
CHILLING WORDS OF WOE
The readings today are very poignant in light of the present situation in the Church, which has been called “a Church in crisis.” It is a source of consolation to know that Jesus himself is the “head of the Church” (cf. Col. 1:18) and is himself the Good Shepherd (cf. John 10:11). On this Sunday we should pray for our bishops and priests. Let us pray for worthy shepherds for the flock of Christ, that they may courageously teach the word of God in the face of current pressures to weaken and compromise it. May those chilling words never have to be addressed to the shepherds of today’s Church: “Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the Lord…”
