Like Sheep without a Shepherd!

 (Homily 16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. B)

                 The word of God this Sunday centers on the familiar scriptural themes of sheep and Shepherd. It presents the gestures of the Good Shepherd as opposed to those of the wicked shepherds, who usurp the things meant for the sheep, especially as emanating from the first reading and the Gospel. On a more practical terms, the epistle reading calls our consideration to what ought to be the outcome of the work and presence of the Good Shepherd in our midst, among members of the flock, and that is unity. For the Good Shepherd gathers his sheep together, in order to feign for them, he does not take care of them in division or separation. Be that as it may, this gesture of the Good Shepherd, places the theme of unity at an important position in today’s reflection. For we are not to talk or merely think about what the Good Shepherd does, but essentially we are to meditate on the outcome of the gestures of the Good Shepherd in our midst.

     The first reading (Jer. 23:1-6) presents the political situation of the Israelites at a particular historical period. Jeremiah uses the metaphor of the sheep and shepherd. The historical period that Jeremiah was called to prophesy was a period in the history of Israel, when both religious and political leaders were soaked in corruption and injustices. There were indeed, moral and religious crises (people abandoned the worship of the true God, for the worship of foreign gods). Jeremiah writes towards the end of the reign of Zedekiah, before the final captivity. Jeremiah did a sort of evaluation of the recent reigns and condemned the last Kings of Judah, he categorized them as shepherds who misgoverned their flock. Therein, we see King Zedekiah who failed in his role as a leader. He listened to wrong advice and rebelled against the King of Babylon and thus he brought ruin on his people. For Nebuchadnezzar sent his armies against Jerusalem and reduced it to nothing. It was during this period and in this context that Jeremiah was called to be a prophet. Today’s first reading starts with God’s words addressed to the political leaders and shepherds who were corrupt: “Woe to the shepherds who lose and scatter the sheep of my pasture” (v. 1). Therefore, the prophet compares them to shepherds who lead their flocks to destruction. The high point of this passage is where God takes the matter upon Himself: “But for the remnant of my flock I myself shall gather from all the countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; they will be fruitful and increase in numbers” (v. 3). God Himself will come as Shepherd to lead his people. But question is: How is God going to do this? The fascinating point is that the denunciation of Jeremiah ends with the promise of a righteous Branch from the house of David, and that righteous branch will be the Messiah. Thus, the Prophet assures the people that God will not abandon them; he will take care of them and lead them back to their land. That He will raise from the house of David a wise King. This prophecy was fulfilled beyond people’s expectation through Jesus, whose Kingdom is not of this world.

     In the Gospel (Mk. 6:30-34) periscope St. Mark focuses attention on the theme of shepherding, but with a mild tonality. In the passage, verses 30-33 serve as a link between the mission of the disciples and the feeding of the multitude. On the other hand, verse 34 opens a new periscope, the feeding of the multitude, while verse 32 introduces an important theme of Mark that is the teaching given in secret to the 12, even though the fulfilment of this is delayed until Chapter 8 (Caesarea Philippi). Mark often emphasized on the teachings of Jesus without revealing the contents of his teaching. Through the gesture of Jesus in this passage we see the fulfilment of the promise of the Lord in the prophecy of Jeremiah in the first reading, God says I myself will shepherd my people, and here Jesus himself teaches and cares for his people.

     In today’s Gospel the attention is shifted from the missionary experience of the Apostles to that of shepherding. The apostles returned from their mission and they gathered around Jesus for evaluation and to recount to Him all that they have accomplished, “all they had done and taught”. And after listening to them empathically Jesus said to them: “come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (v.31). Jesus felt in their shoes and understood that they needed some moments to be alone with Him and to also rest. This supposed to serve for them as a moment of spiritual and physical revitalization; spiritual because it was going to be a moment of intimate reunion with the Master, and physical because it was also a time to regain strength after the fatigue of the first missionary experience. Then the Gospel of Mark recounts that “they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves”, far from the multitude, the multitude traced them and even arrived there before them. As a result, the attempt of Jesus and the apostles to depart from the multitude was in vain. But upon seeing them Jesus was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without shepherd. This indeed, could be termed the hit track of this passage. Jesus didn’t shun this attitude of the multitude; rather He ceased the opportunity to nourish them with His words. Truly, the Good Shepherd feeds his sheep not only with mere food but also with the living Word of God.

     A thorough reflection on this Gospel narrative reveals that the drama of this passage revolves around three major characters: the apostles, Jesus and the multitude.

●THE APOSTLES: they were conscious of the need to go from the Master and also to return to Him. This reminds us of the need for a constant contact with Jesus. The apostles recognized their need of Him. It is therefore pertinent to ask: Those of us that are preachers of the Word, how often do we make this dual movement, from him and back to Him? We can’t do without Him, really the author of the letter to the Hebrews captured it vividly well when he made the spiritual clarion call thus: “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection” (Heb. 12:2). How often do we go to Him to tell Him ALL THI NGS as they did? Remember a servant is not greater than His Master.

●JESUS: Jesus proved himself to be the “princeps pastorum”, as St. Peter called Him, “the Chief Shepherd” (1Pt. 5:4). Jesus in His quality as the Chief Shepherd cares for both the multitude and His future shepherds. Jesus in this Gospel appears like an ideal Bishop, who finds time to be with His clergy, without of course forgetting the rest of his flock (these are the two fundamental moments of Jesus’ pastoral activity). Jesus as the Chief Shepherd always walks in front of us to lead us, He walks alongside and among us to accompany us, He walks with us to encourage us, He equally walks behind us to see those that are weak, broken or sick. He does not only walk in front or among us, He is equally behind us to care for those that are wounded. He is ever ready to leave everything to go and meet His flock, especially the stranded and those without orientation. He is a compassionate Shepherd, a compassionate God! He is not insensitive and indifferent to human plight. In all, in the Gospel we see the two distinguishing qualities of Jesus: Compassion (to the multitude) and Tenderness (to the apostles who just returned from their first missionary exploit).

●THE MULTITUDE: who went in search of Jesus and his apostles. This crowd did not follow them because they were fed with bread, as it was the case in the Gospel of John (6: 26), they did not come for selfish interest. Rather because they had no one to go to or to take care of them. So they went to Jesus, and He gave them hope. When we are disoriented and confused where do we go? Whom do we run to? The multitude of today’s Gospel teaches us to go to the Chief Shepherd, who is ever ready to attend to us, even ever ready to forget the already programmed rest with his apostles in order to attend to the need of the rest of His flock. Therefore, we can say that the Good Shepherd goes in search of the sheep, likewise, a good sheep also has to go in search of the Shepherd. This indeed, remains a vital lesson for both pastors (priests) and the lay faithful.

     In the concluding part of the Gospel, Jesus teaches his flock through his word, “for they were like sheep without a Shepherd.” This gesture for St. Mark is an essential function of the Shepherd. In the responsorial psalm, the Good Shepherd also prepares a banquet for his flock (as in stanza 3). Thus, this points to the twofold manifestation of the Good Shepherd, He nourishes his flock not only with his Words, but He equally prepares a banquet for them. Jesus is indeed the Chief Shepherd who has human welfare at heart.

     The second reading (Eph. 2:13-18) is a presentation of the unity wrought by Jesus through His Words and Events. Jesus broke down all barriers that kept people apart; he united the people by destroying the law of division between the Israelites and pagans. He reconciled them with God, and with each other. Are you reconciled with God and with your neighbour? As Christians we are called to live and witness this unity and peace among us. Sometimes we are divided among ourselves, however, in the midst of all those human negative tendencies, we are called to show that the love of God can break down walls of hatred, division, fighting and inordinate self-seeking. What is the barrier that divides us today? Why do we see each other as enemies? How do we forget so easily that “He made us, we belong to Him, we are his people, the Sheep of His flock” (Ps. 100:3). Indeed, the consciousness of the beginning of our existence from Him, the awareness that we belong to Him and that we are part of one sheepfold ought to propel us to embrace the value of universal fraternity. It ought to create unity amongst us, for we cannot belong to the same sheepfold and yet live in disharmony.

     Above all, today by means of the metaphors employed by the sacred authors on sheep and shepherding, we have been reminded overtly that we will be effective shepherds, wherever we find ourselves, if and only if, we allow ourselves to be led by the Good Shepherd, listening to his voice and following his way. Only true disciples can be true shepherds; only if we have learned to become a disciple can we be faithful to our baptismal calling to leadership. May we therefore pray imploring the aid of the Chief Good Shepherd to mend our brokenness, to come to our aid when we are weighed down, confused and have no one to go to!!!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)