16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Church is defined as the People of God – that is, all of us.  But as with any large group of people, there would be utter chaos if we didn’t have anyone to guide us, a shepherd to literally show us the way.

The Word for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
Ephesians 2:13-18
Mark 6:30-34

Our first reading is from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah.  Jeremiah, as you may recall, was witness to the final days of the Kingdom of Judah.  Jeremiah was called to prophecy in support of the reform minded King Josiah.  But that support of the monarchy was short-lived with Josiah’s premature death, and Jeremiah was forced to watch the eventual downturn and first fall of Jerusalem in 568.  While he tried to council King Zedekiah (placed on the throne by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar), he eventually failed, and with that came the destruction of Jerusalem in 587.  Jeremiah fled to Egypt while the rest of Israel was taken into Exile in Babylon.  The passage for this Sunday’s reading comes near the midpoint of the book Jeremiah he is pleading with Zedekiah to shepherd his people to the Lord.  His frustration is heard in the opening lines, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock…”  Jeremiah knows the people need a good shepherd, one that will rally them back toward the Lord.  Our Psalm, the well-known Psalm 23, reminds us that the Lord is our shepherd.

Our Gospel from Mark continues from where we left off last week (with Jesus sending the Apostles out to minister to the community).  This Sunday the Apostles have returned from their mission and are eager to tell Jesus of their experience.  Jesus is rightly eager to hear, so in an attempt to get some privacy with the 12, they head out in some boats.  But the crowds are relentless and follow them.  Jesus, like the Good Shepherd, sees that they need tending, and so he begins to teach them.  In Mark’s gospel this is the story that comes right before the miracle of feeding the 5000.  

Our second reading continues our study of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  In this week’s passage Paul tells them that though they were once far off, that they are made near through the blood of Christ.  While these references to being “far off” seem a little unusual to us, they speak clearly to this new Christian community in Ephesus.  This is because the ancient city of Ephesus is on the far west coast of modern-day Turkey.  On foot this would be more than a 1,000-mile journey from Jerusalem and nearly 600 miles by boat.  For the Ephesians to feel disconnected from the body is understandable, but Paul is reminding them that though there is some physical distance between them, the Holy Spirit still binds them to the greater Church.

Final Thoughts:
The roll of the shepherd is well documented in scripture and forms the archetype of the ideal master.  God takes on the role of shepherd the beloved Psalm 23, caring for his sheep seeing that they want for nothing.  The prophets of ancient times consistently urged their kings and leaders to follow God’s example.  Failing that, God sent us Jesus to show us how a good shepherd cares for his people, and later, passed on that trust to his Apostles.  Today we turn to the successors of the Apostles for that guidance – to our bishops, priests, and deacons to continue the work of the good shepherd.

Of course, in order for this metaphor to work, this casts us in the role of the sheep, a name which we don’t much care for since our modern lexicon gives the word “sheep” a negative bias.  I don’t think it was the intent of these ancient authors to insult us.  Rather, when viewed in context, it recognizes at that we, the Church, are owed (and deserve) good pastoral care.