HOMILY FOR SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B. 18.07.2021.

Readings: Jeremiah 23:1-6; Psalm 23; Ephesians 2:13-18 and Mark 6:30-34. 

SHEPHERDING DEMANDS SACRIFICE

 

When people of the same nation, religion or group are scattered and can no longer stay together, it’s an indication of bad leadership and a failed system. Today’s liturgy presents to us values of a good leader or shepherd. He/she should be strong and capable of defending his flock against wild animals. He/she becomes a real father/mother to his/her flock, with a heart full of compassion. A shepherd tends, cares for, guides and leads. Do we acquire these values or not?

 

From the first reading, these values of a shepherd were missing at the time of the prophet Jeremiah and at the time of Jesus Christ. God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” This address to shepherds includes all aspects of leadership, both civil and spiritual.

 

Regarding the civil and spiritual leaders, God rebuked and warned those shepherds who were concerned about feeding themselves and not their flock. Shepherds who were motivated by self-interest, capitalizing on their position to extort from their flocks without caring for them in return. No interest to strengthen the weak, nor heal the sick, nor bound up the broken, nor seek what was lost. Concerning these shepherds, the Lord says, “You have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them… I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them back to their fold… I will set shepherds over them who will care for them…” These promises of God are similar to what we find in Ezekiel 34, where God promises to do the works the unfaithful shepherds would not do. It is a warning to all, specifically to religious and political leaders, to parents, directors and anyone in leadership position that has allowed those under their watch to be destroyed and scattered. Also, the prophesy has a messianic tone when it says, “Behold, the days are coming when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch… in his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.”

 

Christ is the fulfilment of the prophesy of Jeremiah; He is the King to come from the line of David, ready to sacrifice his time and gather the people who were scattered. He realized this with his disciples whom at their return from mission needed rest. He knew the importance of hard work, at the same time, knew how effective they will be after some rest and he said to them, “Come away by yourself to a lonely place, and rest a while.” Rest is necessary for those who labour. However, the multitude saw them going to have their rest and followed them. We may say the multitude were demanding too much of their time, especially in a moment like this when they needed uninterrupted rest. Christ however, “had compassion on them because they were like sheep without shepherd and he began to teach them.”

 

How often have we been called to render help during our siesta time or moments we needed some rest and what has been our reaction? Do we see these calls as burden, worries, disturbance or moments of expressing compassion for the people of God in need of it? A true shepherd will arise and attend to the cry, hunger, thirst and need of a sheep/soul at any time. Christ knew the sheep cannot fend for themselves, that is why he has placed shepherds over them. And so we must do same as he did by teaching and handing over the faith to them.

 

St. Paul in the second reading presents the preoccupations of the shepherd to unite the flock. He said, “For Christ is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between the Jews and Gentiles…” Christ, who has made us one is greater than any difference we have with others, be it political, racial, economic, language, geographical difference or whatever. Through his sacrifice on the cross, he broke down the barrier that keeps us apart and reunites us with His Father. This reconciliation only happens in Jesus the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life and took the place of sinners to bring us nearer to God.

 

In a nutshell, the life of a shepherd requires sacrifice and we are all shepherds in our respective spheres of life. We should learn from Christ the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep, feeds his sheep, educates them with right doctrine and teaching, protects and defends them. If we can do these, we can confidently pray with the psalm saying, “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.”

 

Happy Sunday!

Fr. Ken Dogbo, OSJ