16TH ORDINARY SUNDAY B
(Jer 23:1-6; Eph.2:13-18; Mk 6:30-34)
The disciples who were sent on Mission came back and gave the completion report to Jesus. They have narrated their success stories. Indirectly the report reveals that all is well and there were no incidents of shaking of the dust against anybody. The expression of Jesus appears to be satisfactory and in appreciation he invites them to rest for while.
We all are commissioned not only by the virtue of the Baptism but every time the priest celebrates the Eucharist, he sends us on Mission in the place of Jesus saying “go and announce the Gospel of the Lord”. Therefore whenever we come back to Jesus we need to give a periodical completion report of our lives that includes all the stories of success and failures along with the future plans. Remember even every day before we retire to bed, in the recommended night prayer we find examination of conscience of the activities of that particular day. We should be able to see whether Jesus would be happy of our report and appreciate it or condemn it. Definitely it would include both of them. Hence thank the lord for all the successes and ask for the grace to rectify the failures.
Secondly we need to have the shepherding attitude of Jesus. In the Gospel passage it is said that Jesus is moved with pity at the life situation or the existing condition of the people gathered there. If we analyse the real condition of the sheep when there is no shepherd:
The sheep will not have anybody to lead them;
Nobody to guide them;
Nobody to lead them to the better pastures and living streams;
Nobody to protect them from all sorts of dangers;
Nobody to heal the wounds and to bring back the lost ones.
Hence the life of the sheep ends up in a great mess and confusion.
Our life situation also is very similar to that of the sheep without shepherd many times. The only difference is not like the sheep has no shepherd at all, we have, but we withdraw ourselves from the protected folk just like the prodigal son who refused to be under the protection and guidance of his father. Likely we too refuse to be in the presence of the Lord, to take guidance and advise, to be under His protection, to receive the help and to be communion with Him and consequently with others. Eventually we also end up in a mess and confusion like Judas Iscariot finding ourselves in the darkness of the world.
Hence we need to approach the presence of the Lord as the people gathered at the place where Jesus arrived even before him. As the people listened to the teachings of Jesus we need to gather in the Churches, places of prayer in order to listen to his representatives i.e. the teachings of the Church, the priests, parents and well wishers and so on, to be shepherd by them. We also need to be the shepherds to others in a special way to our own family members. It is to be noted that the parents are THE SHEPHERDS of the family. The parents need not curtail the freedom of the children but need to have a constant protective eye over their daily activities. It is better to say that the parents have the bounden duty of protective care of the shepherd for the children till their last breath.
We also execute our shepherding responsibilities towards others, we need to teach them, guide them in proper way, lead them into the right path of justice and peace; bring them back to the sacramental life and life of communion with others. We need to protect them from all inward and outward evils. We need to heal their wounds caused by various reasons, sooth them and bandage them becoming yourselves a medicine! Here we need to remember the words of the scripture in the book of Ezekiel: “When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 3:18-19)
This shepherding should be done always with love and compassion.
Then we can be sure that we save our lives and the lives of the others.
-Fr John Raju Junjunuri