July 19, 2015
Sunday, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Jer 23:1-6
2nd Reading: Eph 2:13-18
Gospel: Mk 6:30-34
The apostles returned and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, “Go off by yourselves to a remote place and have some rest.” For there were so many people coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves.
But people saw them leaving and many could guess where they were going. So, from all the towns they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them.
As Jesus went ashore he saw a large crowd, and he had compassion on them for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began a long teaching session with them.
D@iGITAL EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
When Jesus invited his disciples to withdraw to a deserted place for some rest, the people who couldn’t get enough of them got to the place even ahead of them. Surprisingly, Jesus was not disturbed. He took pity for them for they were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus set aside his right to rest in order to be more available to the people. Here we see him gradually revealing himself as the shepherd of the New Israel which we read about in Numbers 27:17 and Ezra 34:15.
Today, fewer people seek Jesus, not because they are no longer spiritually thirsty but because they have invented lots of alternatives. Take, for example, the thirst for peace about what tomorrow brings. Instead of working hard with full trust in God’s divine providence, they go to fortune-tellers to know what lies ahead in an effort to be in perfect control of life. Jesus is the only real answer to all problems because he is the true shepherd. But human beings have not only invented false gods to replace Jesus but have also installed themselves as the god above all. In effect they have become God’s competitors. God has not only become a footnote that may or may be passed upon but has also become like a footnote to an absent text, making him irrelevant. To be like sheep without a shepherd is pathetic enough, what more being in a state of shepherdlessness and settling with poor substitutes?
Like the crowd who caught up with Jesus and his disciples to the desert, we are all like sheep without a shepherd. But our situation is worse. The people of Today’s Gospel were without shepherd but at least they knew which desert to run to in order to find the true shepherd. Our case is more alarming because we do not know which shepherd to follow. Let us turn to Jesus. He alone is our true shepherd. — Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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