Jijo Kandamkulathy, CMF
Claretian Publications, Macau
Mk 6:30-34
16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
Gospel Reflection
The gospel we read today is the continuation of the passage we heard last Sunday where the twelve apostles were sent out for a mission. They had apprenticed long enough with Jesus in prayer, healing, and casting out demons. Then, they were sent out to do the mission that Jesus was doing. When the disciples returned successfully from their first internship in the villages, the Lord invites them to a little rest and peace.
What strikes first in this scene is the motherly nature of the Divine revealed in Jesus. In most cultures, taking care of the family’s physical needs, including their food and rest, is a function of the mother. Jesus does this function traditionally attributed to women, revealing a tender and compassionate heart of God. His mission involves not only the care of the sheep but also of the shepherds. The image of maternal care in this text is not the only example of Jesus’s serving role. We find him cooking fish and waiting at the shore for the disciples to return after some fishing (John 21:1-17). Confining Divine qualities totally to the masculine does not do justice to the image of Jesus that the gospel draws. The Church’s tradition of celebrating the Sacred Heart of Jesus is in tune with this compassionate and tender love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
Reading the gospel passage in the background of the first reading will deepen the meaning of divine shepherding. In the first reading, Jeremiah has a complaint against the priests (the shepherds of Israel). He says they have scattered the sheep instead of caring for them. Then God promises Israel that He will give shepherds after His own heart. Here is Jesus from the Davidic dynasty now sending the apostles as shepherds after the heart of their Master. Seeing the people flocking around him as they were getting down from the boat, Jesus felt that the people were like the sheepfold without a shepherd, which reminds us of these words from Jeremiah.
In the peaceful retreat after the work, Jesus was teaching them that the ministry of shepherding is not just about frenetic activity but also interiorization. It is a journey inside as much as it is outside. Jesus guides them through this internal journey as well. He was taking this retreat on many occasions himself (Luke 5:16, 9:18). The resources he gathered in these intense moments of the retreat powered up his mission with the people.
After their time among themselves, when they were back to the shore, they found the people were still there eager to listen to Jesus. So, they start to work again. We need to learn the skill of alternating between empowering prayers and immersing work to take care of the people who want to listen to the word of God.
Our mistake will be to think that this text is addressed only to the priests who have official shepherding roles in the Church. All are called to shepherd because we are all entrusted with the care of one another: a father and mother to their children, the siblings among themselves, teachers to the students—practically everyone has to assume the role of shepherding. We need to strive to be shepherds after the heart of Jesus.
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