Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor.
“Looking Ahead” is our continuing series of reflections on the Sunday readings, for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Perry.
By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor
Jeremiah speaks of shepherds who “mislead and scatter the flock.”
Through the prophet, God not only sees the evil that has been done, but he promises to gather “the remnant of the flock,” and to appoint new shepherds who will shepherd them so that they can fulfill the promise he made to them — “there they shall increase and multiply.”
In the Gospel, the apostles had been appointed to “shepherd” the people. They went forth, sent by Jesus, to teach and heal, and were even given authority over unclean spirits.
Now, Jesus seeks to spend some quality time with his disciples to listen to their experiences and to share what they’ve done. The crowd would not allow them to have any time alone; they kept coming, so hungry were they for the words of Jesus.
So, Jesus took his apostles to a place even more deserted to spend some time sharing with them. The hungry crowd followed and even arrived before the disciples. When Jesus saw them, he noted that they were “like sheep without a shepherd.”
Again, he began to teach them
Jesus always went the extra mile to give them not what they wanted, but what they needed. Like sheep without a shepherd, he shepherded them with words, with compassion, with love, with truth.
We usually spend most of our time focusing on what we give to the Lord, how we love him, and what we need to do for him.
These readings make it quite clear that the most wondrous things have been done and are being done again by the Lord for us and to us.
This living word of God gives us the confidence to proclaim —
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”
Quote of the week |
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” — Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).
