The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invoke the image of the Good Shepherd who knows the needs of His sheep and is always prepared to respond to us in love.
The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah proclaims restoration after the Exile for the Righteous Branch of David.
* [23:1–8] With the false rulers (shepherds) who have governed his people the Lord contrasts himself, the true shepherd, who will in the times of restoration appoint worthy rulers (vv. 1–4). He will provide a new king from David’s line who will rule justly, fulfilling royal ideals (vv. 5, 6). “The Lord our justice” is an ironic wordplay on the name of the weak King Zedekiah (“The Lord is justice”). Unlike Zedekiah, the future king will be true to the name he bears. Verses 7–8 may have been added during the exile. (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 23 praises the Divine Shepherd.
* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10).
* [23:1] My shepherd: God as good shepherd is common in both the Old Testament and the New Testament (Ez 34:11–16; Jn 10:11–18).
* [23:3] Right paths: connotes “right way” and “way of righteousness.”
* [23:5] You set a table before me: this expression occurs in an exodus context in Ps 78:19. In front of my enemies: my enemies see that I am God’s friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Ps 104:15; Mt 26:7; Lk 7:37, 46; Jn 12:2).
* [23:6] Goodness and mercy: the blessings of God’s covenant with Israel. (Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB, n.d.)
The reading from the Letter to the Ephesians proclaims Oneness in Christ.
* [2:14–16] The elaborate imagery here combines pictures of Christ as our peace (Is 9:5), his crucifixion, the ending of the Mosaic law (cf. Col 2:14), reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18–21), and the destruction of the dividing wall such as kept people from God in the temple or a barrier in the heavens.
* [2:15] One new person: a corporate body, the Christian community, made up of Jews and Gentiles, replacing ancient divisions; cf. Rom 1:16. (Ephesians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus time of rest leads to feeding the Five Thousand.
* [6:30] Apostles: here, and in some manuscripts at Mk 3:14, Mark calls apostles (i.e., those sent forth) the Twelve whom Jesus sends as his emissaries, empowering them to preach, to expel demons, and to cure the sick (Mk 6:13). Only after Pentecost is the title used in the technical sense.
* [6:31–34] The withdrawal of Jesus with his disciples to a desert place to rest attracts a great number of people to follow them. Toward this people of the new exodus Jesus is moved with pity; he satisfies their spiritual hunger by teaching them many things, thus gradually showing himself the faithful shepherd of a new Israel; cf. Nm 27:17; Ez 34:15. (Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
John Shea, S.J. comments that the disciples return from their missionary journeys, reporting to Jesus all they had done. Jesus perceives their need for some rest and so they set off in a boat to a deserted place. Unfortunately, the people figured out where they were going and arrived there first. Instead of dismissing the crowd, Jesus’ heart is moved with pity “for they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
We are not God or Jesus. We do need rest. But we also need to allow our hearts to be moved with pity. In Jesus’ time, shepherds worked 24/7 with little time for rest, always on the lookout for a lost or sick sheep or for a threatening predator. Balancing our own needs against the needs of our neighbors requires careful discernment. It also requires trust in Christ who, as our second reading reminds us, is the source of our peace. Jesus provides us the life and energy to serve others. Jesus gives us the strength to cancel our “vacation” when the need arises. And it is in Jesus where we can find true rest. (Shea, 2024)
Don Schwager quotes “The good shepherd feeds us with the words of God,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God, 'How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in my mouth!' (Psalm 119:103)."(excerpt from Sermon 366.3) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 6:30-34 comments that their plans were disrupted when a huge crowd showed up. They must have felt the way exhausted parents can feel when everyone in the house has come down with the flu: stretched beyond their limits and more than a little dispirited. Some of them might have even wished that the people would go home—and take their diseases, their demons, and their troubles with them.
Hold this image of Jesus close to your heart as you celebrate Mass today. Believe that, in the midst of all the other prayers arising to him right now, he still sees you and hears you. He is never too tired for you; he always has time for you. So quiet your racing heart and let him minister to you. Bring him your needs, and wait patiently to hear what he has to say to you.
“Jesus, I am amazed at your tireless, endless love for me!” (Meditation on Mark 6:30-34, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes how Jeremiah laments the failure of the shepherds of Israel and proclaims that God, Himself would be the leader of His People. The healing of the difference between Jew and Gentile by Jesus is not especially found in Paul’s writing. It occurs in Colossians and Ephesians, likely written in the name of Paul. Friar Jude reminds us that Jesus will lead the people who are let down by the religious authorities.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, responds to the perennial question, “Why do we pray?” If God already knows what we need before we ask, and God actually cares about us more than we care about ourselves, then why do both Step 7, Humbly asked [God] to remove our shortcomings, and hear Jesus say, each in their own way: “Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7)? Are we trying to talk God into things? Does the group with the most and the best prayers win? Is prayer of petition just another way to get what we want, or to get God on our side?
So, Step 7 says that we must “humbly ask God to remove our shortcomings.” We don’t dare go after our own faults or we will go after the wrong thing—or, more commonly, a clever substitute for the real thing. Instead, we have to let God first reveal our real faults to us (usually by failing and falling many times!), and then allow God to remove those faults, from God’s side and in God’s way.
It’s important that we ask, seek, and knock to keep ourselves in right relationship with Life Itself. Life is a gift, totally given to us without cost, every day of it, and every part of it. A daily and chosen “attitude of gratitude” will keep our hands open to expect that life, allow that life, and receive that life at ever-deeper levels of satisfaction—but never to think we deserve it. (Rohr, n.d.)
We are grateful to learn of the desire of the Good Shepherd to invite us to accept the fullness of life we seek in Him.
References
Ephesians, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 21, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ephesians/2?13
Jeremiah, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 21, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/23?1
Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 21, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?30
Meditation on Mark 6:30-34. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved July 21, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/07/21/1029869/
Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved July 21, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved July 21, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-mystery-of-asking/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Come Away and Rest a While. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 21, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jul21
Shea, J. (2024, July 21). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved July 21, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/072124.html
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