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"Sheep Without the
Shepherd"
Peace! In today's Gospel (Mk 6:30-34), the apostles return their
mission to report excitedly to Jesus their accomplishments.
Seeing how exhausted they are, Jesus tells them to go to a deserted
place and "rest a while". But the people followed them, and when
Jesus saw the vast crowds, "He had compassion on them", for they
were "like sheep without a shepherd".
"Come . . .rest a
while."
- By calling the
apostles to "rest a while", Jesus is giving them the chance to
recharge or energize themselves, both physically and spiritually.
While physical rest is badly needed after an arduous mission, what is
more important is the privileged time and place to attune oneself with
God so that one's action will once again be in keeping with his will.
- Jesus had said.
"Come to me all you who are weary and find burdensome, and I will
refresh you." The call to "rest a while" serves two
purposes; it renews and strengthens the mission. "If we lacked
faith in the mission given to us by God, the vastness of our task
would nearly overwhelms us. The first means to take, therefore, is
prayer, which proceeds from great faith" (Venerable Fr. James
Alberione, SSP).
"They where like
sheep without a shepherd."
- In today's gospel,
Jesus dealt with the people compassionately even though they had
interfered with His plans to rest. Seeing how lost and aimless they
were - like sheep without a shepherd - He set aside His plans
and taught them about God's reign.
- Jesus wants to do
the same for us. He sees us searching for fulfillment, but finding
thins that only lead us to more thirst and hunger. He wants to guide
us toward His Father, who alone can give us the life that we long for.
He is ever available to us, ready to feed us with His truth in
scripture, with his body and Blood in the Eucharist, and with His love
through brothers and sisters.
- Jesus wants to do
all these for us not just so we would be eager but passive recipients
of His love. He wants to make us into men and women who in words and
in deeds bring His love to others. Let us allow the Good Shepherd to
care for us and , through us, to bring God's love to others: to
be good shepherds to others, too.
"Jesus had
compassion on them"
- Jesus reveals His
compassion in a different way. The Son had come to share everything
with us, making Himself poor among the poor, able to feel with
others instead of giving them His words and deeds of mercy from
above.
- This compassion of
Jesus helps us understand that Christian commitment to the poor is not
complete as long as the church is not deeply rooted in the lowest
class of society. Let us, therefore, be ever mindful of the poor and
underprivileged in our midst and be to them as goon the manner of our
Lord.
"Lord
Jesus, open my heart to You and be the Shepherd in my Life"
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