Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mk. 6:34). Like his Father, Jesus sees the distress of his people, who have no one to care for them. Jesus knows himself as the Good Shepherd. He also knows his sheep and speaks words of comfort to them in their times of distress. His heart is moved to pity for us. He descended from his heavenly throne to accompany us in our times of alienation. The Son of God became a man so that no one would be neglected, and that all of us might know and experience the Father’s love. He chose to be our traveling companion as we journey through our fractured and divided world. He who knew the love of the Father came into our world to love us. Seeing our sadness and confusion, He speaks a word of peace and reconciliation. Knowing the mess that we have gotten ourselves into, our Good Shepherd places us on his shoulder and carries us to the heart of His Father.
The shepherd-king of Israel knew something about the heart of the Good Shepherd. Knowing the Holy One of Israel was their shepherd, David, and all the People of God were confident that they would lack no blessing, and all their needs would be supplied. The imagery of a loving shepherd underlines God’s personal care, guidance, and protection for the flock of Israel. Mindful of the needs of the sheep, the shepherd leads them to streams of flowing water and verdant pastures. He attends to them when they are injured or ill and protects them from attacks from ravenous wolves. The Beloved Son became the great shepherd of the sheep. Throughout life’s journey, he cares for them, guides them, protects them, and ultimately lays down his life for them. Trusting Him to care for our needs, safety, and protection we can be confident that we will lack nothing necessary to experience abundant life in Him. We may not have everything we want, but the Good Shepherd assures us that we will always have what we need. He will always be with us, blessing us and watching our every step.
Today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel presents Jesus responding to the needs of the people with a shepherd’s heart. With the springs of living waters flowing from his pierced heart, Jesus refreshes his thirsting flock. With outstretched arms, he becomes a resting place for our troubled hearts. With words of comfort, he quiets our troubled minds. With his body and blood, he feeds our hungry souls. Faithful to his promise, he provides for us no matter the circumstances. As shepherd of the flock, Jesus leads us home and draws us into his relationship with the Father. Having anointed us with the Holy Spirit, the Father sees and loves in us what he sees and loves in His only-begotten Son. Acknowledging us as sons and daughters in the Son, the loving Father speaks heart-to-heart with us. He encourages, empowers, and strengthens us in all we have to endure for the sake of the kingdom.
As the Father sent the Son, he also sends us, who are members of His Body, to search out and find those who are wandering and lost. As the Son revealed to us all that he had heard from the Father, we are to proclaim all we have learned from the Son, in the Holy Spirit. We are called to make visible and tangible the love and concern Jesus had for the crowd who were like sheep without a shepherd. I will leave you with a beautiful reflection from James Baldwin. “To be with God is really to be involved with some enormous, overwhelming desire, and joy, and power which you cannot control, which controls you. I conceive of my own life as a journey toward something I do not understand, which in the going toward, makes me better. I conceive of God, in fact, as a means of liberation and not a means to control others” (James Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name).