Walking with Jesus: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 23:1-6, Ephesians 2:13-18, Mark 6:30-34

We have comforting words in today’s readings:

• “You have scattered My sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them … I Myself will bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply.”  [Jeremiah 6:2-3]
• “The Lord is  my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” [Psalm 23:1]
• “He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” [Ephesians 2:18]
• “‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’ … When He disembarked and saw the vast crowd, His heart was moved with pity for them, they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.” [Mark 6:31,34]

Our past 18 months have been shocking, hurtful, discouraging ... anything but peaceful, and yet God continues to let us know His presence brings peace and love. There have been “across-the-board reactions” which embraced and affected all classes of society. Have we wondered where God was? Have we been appalled by hateful and violent responses from people and places we never expected? Have we been surprised by our own lack of hope and trust in God’s plan of redemption? Have the divisions around the world and our own country led us away from the peace centered in God?

Everything was not peaceful in Jesus’s time either.

The newly formed Christians were persecuted from the start and were ostracized from their Jewish community. When St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, there were Jews who remained faithful Jews but accepted Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. There were also gentiles who came to believe and were baptized. What a commotion when these newcomers didn’t have to believe in the 613 Torah laws, including circumcision. And all came together around the Eucharistic table of love and fellowship. How fragile a peace it was when families were reporting their relatives to the authorities, both political and religious, for banishment, prison or capital punishment. All were trying to live God’s peace amid totally different ideologies. Where is God? What is He telling us about Himself and His plan for the world today? What can we learn from today’s readings?

Jeremiah encountered resistance from the two kings of Judah, both of whom had neglected to follow God’s rule of love, care and forgiveness. Today Jeremiah is admonishing the kings for neglecting to care for God’s people. Their faithless leadership has led to the collapse of the Kingdom. Jerusalem has collapsed from Babylon’s invasion and many of its skilled and leading citizens -- 4,600 according to Jeremiah -- have been led off to slavery. Yet God continues His care for the people and will bring them together. He will establish a king, Solomon, who will govern wisely because he will serve God and follow His commandments.

Paul explains that all the hostility and division the people have suffered have been redeemed by the peace Jesus brought by His saving death. Once divided, we have become a holy priesthood united by the blood of Christ. The estrangement from God has been healed in the very person of Christ, both the body of Christ on the cross and now the body of Christ that is the church. But reconciliation continues to be a full-time job, because things are always getting broken. Things like our relationships within families, cultures, races and religions, political viewpoints and all. If we wish to maintain God’s peace, we have to carry the peace of Christ within our hearts and lives.

The Gospel reminds us to respond to the new chapter God is presenting to us in our lives. The apostles have just returned excitedly from their preaching and healing ministry. Many found their new ministry of feeding the people physically very rewarding, but they still needed to feed them spiritually. We have so much to give and we are depended upon to give so much: That is the role of a follower and believer in Jesus. How are we to respond? People have needs … they don’t need to be rejected. We are called to love the unloveable as well as the loveable. We don’t need to always get our way. If someone’s need is greater than ours, we can choose to let go of our own.  Can I defer out of love? There seems to be much lacking of respectful caring and civility in the Church, the government, our workplaces and our relationships. Whatever unites us needs to be better than what divides us. Tenderness is a hallmark of the true disciple. We are to be love!

So I reflect on:

• Love comes with the grace of compassion that shows up in small ways: a guest helping with dishes, a neighbor with yard work, a parishioner bringing a meal, help being given to a food pantry.
• So many people need help; how can I help someone carry his or her load today?

Sacred Space 2021 states:

“Lord, there are times when I want to get away from the crowds, when I feel oppressed by company. There are other times when I just wish that somebody knew that I exist; I can have too much of aloneness. If I can reach You in prayer, and know that You are more central to me than my own thoughts, I feel at peace, as the apostles must have felt.”