BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (# 34)
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – July 20, 2003 *
BIBLE READINGS
Jer 23:1-6 // Eph 2:13-18 // Mk 6:30-34
In 1995 I traveled about eight hours by bus to the scenic rural town of San Antonio. It is situated at the foot of Mount Pinatubo, a small volcano that violently erupted on July 16, 1991 after five hundred years of dormancy. The people of San Antonio experienced the devastation brought about by the fiery, slumbering volcano galvanized into action. The town I saw was still full of sand and other volcanic debris spewed out by the relentless Mount Pinatubo in its notorious 1991 eruption. My friends narrated to me the terrible plight of the frightened populace as they scrambled in all directions to save their lives. They were dispersed like sheep without a shepherd. As they vividly recounted their stories of what happened four years earlier, my heart was filled with pity and compassion for them. I would like to comfort them and attenuate the pain in their hearts. In a mysterious way, I was participating in the compassion of Christ described in the Gospel episode, when “he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mk 6:34).
The focus of the Gospel episode proclaimed in this Sunday’s liturgy is the Lord Jesus who shepherds. He shepherds the weary disciples returning from their missionary ministry, reporting to him what they had done and taught. Above all, he shepherds the large crowd of needy people hungering for the bread of his life-giving Word. Indeed, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophetic promise reported in Jer 23:1-6 about God himself being the shepherd to his people. Harold Buetow remarks: “Some religions believe in a God who is a creator, who merely makes the world and people and sets things in motion. One of the distinctive understandings of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures is that God, who created us in love, continues to reach out to us and to care for us as does a shepherd with his sheep.”
Today’s pericope of the disciples’ return to Jesus (Mk 6:30-34) depicts the intimate participation of the disciples in his saving ministry, the intense longing of the pitiable crowd for Jesus, and the compassion that he displayed on their behalf. This Gospel passage is in verbal relationship with the missionary charge (Mk 6:7-13) that was proclaimed in last Sunday’s liturgy. The disciples sent by Jesus are now returning to be recharged by him, the Good Shepherd referred to in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose: beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.”
The thoughtfulness of Jesus shown to his tired, laborious apostles is heart-warming. He invites them to a well-deserved respite and quiet: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mk 6:31). Indeed, the apostles who have just completed their first mission of preaching repentance, driving away demons and anointing sick people, have a right to rest. The authors of the book, Days of the Lord: The Liturgical Year, vol. 5 comment: “Jesus teaches the apostles that they must adopt a rhythm of life similar to his, with a balanced alternation of time generously given to others and solitude, of intense activity and rest.”
The invitation of Jesus to come away with him to a place of quiet and repose is, likewise, addressed to the overworked apostles of today. According to Cardinal Leon Joseph Suenens: “We stand in need of rest; rest in the ordinary sense of the word, and also rest in God. We must find a place for him in the bustle of the day; a place for private prayer, for slow and meditative reading. We need this oxygen. No luxury this; it is one of our vital necessities. It is a good thing to sit down, like Mary, at the feet of the Master before we go on to carry out our indispensable daily tasks. In the midst of work, we must keep our hearts open to God. It helps so much to keep things in proper proportion if we keep a window open to heaven.”
The shepherding care shown by Jesus on behalf of his weary disciples acquired a wider and deeper dimension in the second part of the narrative. The pastoral concern of Jesus for his intimate friends expanded to welcome the restless crowd who wanted to take refuge in him, seeking to be guided and nourished by him (Mk 6:32-34). Like the tired apostles, the weary crowd also had a legitimate right to come away with Jesus and rest with him. They were also in need of a tryst with Jesus, the restorer of souls. The weary “sheep without a shepherd” needed to be welcomed by the Shepherd and led into the verdant pastures where he would give them repose.
Mark’s narrative describes the tender and loving response of Jesus to the pathetic plight of the pursuing crowd: “His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them with many things” (Mk 6:34). Indeed, the primary pastoral action and care of Jesus is to teach, that is, to nourish the hungry souls with the bread of the Word of God. The teaching ministry, which is a nourishing ministry, is the first and foremost task of Jesus the Shepherd. He nourishes the pitiable crowd seeking solace and nourishment with the bread of the Word, the saving message of God’s love.
According to Adrian Nocent: “It is by teaching the sheep that Jesus gathers them together … His teaching is filled with power and creates a new people. The crowds gather around him and share his teaching with one another by telling one another of their impressions; slowly they form a united flock on which Jesus bestows his love and for which he prepares future shepherds.”
How do we respond to the plight of those who are weary and heavily burdened? Do we respond to them with the heart of the Shepherd?
When we are tired and weary of heart, do we turn to Jesus and respond to his invitation: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.”
Is the rhythm of our life similar to that of Jesus, with a balanced alternation of time generously given to others and solitude, of intense activity and rest?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.”
Assembly: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he give me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.
Leader: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.”
Assembly: You spread the table for me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.” (Mk 6:31)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Spend some moments of peace and quiet solitude with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Relish the beautiful experience of “coming away with him to a deserted place to rest awhile”.
ACTION PLAN: With the compassionate heart of the Shepherd, welcome those who are “like sheep without a shepherd” and share with them the bread of God’s Word.