Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Osmond Anike

Readings:

First Reading: : Jeremiah 23:1-6 – I will gather together the remnant of my flock and raise up shepherds for them

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22(23) – The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

Second Reading: Ephesians 2:13-18 – Christ Jesus is the peace between us.

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34 – They were like sheep without a shepherd.

To understand chapter 23 of Jeremiah read in the first reading, one needs to go back to chapter 22 which provides the background for chapter 23. In chapter 22, Jeremiah mentioned three of the last five kings of Judah by name as having done evil in the eyes of Yahweh. In actual fact, apart from Josiah who carried out religious reforms after having read the discovered scroll containing the Torah, the subsequent last four kings of Judah were known to have not harkened to the voice of Yahweh. Jehoahaz (known in the Book of Jeremiah as Shallum, cf., ch. 22:11-17) reigned only for three month before being deposed; Jehoiakim (known also as Eliakim) succeeded him; then Jehoiachin (known also as Coniah); and finally Zedekiah (also known as Mattania). All these four kings were variously deposed either by Egypt or by Babylon (under Nebuchadnezzar). The invasion of Judah by either of these pagan powers left a trail of blood and devastation as many were killed and the rest taken captives and into exile. It was understood that it was because of their negligence of duty that Judah was defeated, humiliated and exiled. These four kings were therefore the “shepherds” that Jeremiah was talking about, “who allowed the flock of (Yahweh’s) pasture to be destroyed and scattered”. It was because of the care shepherds usually give to their sheep that the word ‘shepherd’ became a metaphor for other leaders such as kings, priest, prophets, parents, teachers, and indeed everyone in a position of authority. It is also in this sense that the NT speaks of Jesus as the Good shepherd.

But Jeremiah is pronouncing woe to the shepherds who did not do their work of shepherding well and consequently, allowed the sheep (the people of Israel) to be scattered and taken into exile. They led the people from one disaster to another until they were literally “scattered” and dispersed – many of them to Babylon as captives. But Yahweh promised to bring back the remnant from where he has driven them. Although God had earlier rebuked the “shepherds” for dispersing the flock, he now acknowledged that it was in fact he (God) who drove them away. But there is no contradiction here. The kings drove the people into sin, and God in turn drove them into exile as a punishment and a way of cleansing them of their sin. Yahweh will now bring them back to their homeland and raise shepherds who will lead them according to the will of God. The promise to raise a virtuous Branch for David was fulfilled in Jesus Christ – the Good Shepherd.

In today’s gospel, Jesus exhibited that shepherding skills when he encountered a group of people yearning for teaching and instruction. He described them as being “like sheep without a shepherd”. The people needed to deepen their knowledge and understanding about God, but no one provided that for them. The disciples just returned from their apostolic work and reported back to Jesus what they did. They were about to go to a lonely place and “rest”. But the people were still clamouring for more. Jesus then “took pity on them” and stepped forward “to teach them at great length”. However, there is something a little strange here at play. We are all familiar with Jesus taking pity on a number of people and consequently providing succour for them: he takes pity on sinners and forgives them their sins; he takes pity on the poor and the needy and provides food for them; he takes pity on the sick, the paralytics, and heals them; he takes pity on the mourners and raises their dead, etc. In today’s gospel, however, the pity he showed does not fit the regular pattern. He takes pity, not on a particular group of people or individual, but rather on the entire people, and then provides teaching. He did not take pity on them and began to perform miracles, but rather began to teach them; thus highlighting the importance of teaching ministry in his overall mission.

Oftentimes, we do not think that teaching could be an expression of pity or mercy. The average adult in the world does not want to be taught. We think that to submit ourselves to be taught means the acknowledgement that the person teaching us is superior to us. And since everybody has his/her own sense of superiority, we unconsciously resist being taught. This resistance is felt more when the subject of teaching concerns religion and spirituality. Most people have made up their minds what they want to believe, and no amount of teaching will make them shift from their position. They think that talk about the divine is an option which one can choose or not. But Jesus had demonstrated today that teaching about the divine is not an option in the world; it is a necessity. The teachings of Jesus (and by extension, our own teachings today as Christians) go beyond mere transferring of skill on how to pray or how to help the poor and the needy. They entail bringing people to wisdom in the form of acknowledging that our lives here on earth are incomplete without realization that there is more to life than biology. The teaching of Jesus entails how to realize our divinity by perfecting our humanity. The question for us though is whether we are willing to sit as students at the feet of Jesus and be taught at length as he did to the people in today’s gospel.

We are unwilling to be taught because we think that there is something wrong with the other person. But in actual fact, there is something wrong with all of us. Before the new translation of the missal, a priest, at the beginning of the mass, was fidgeting with his faulty microphone. Unknown to him, the microphone started working just as he was talking to himself in frustration. He said: “There is something wrong with this microphone”. The people (thinking that he has started the mass with the familiar opening greeting) instinctively replied, “And also with you”. Funny, but the truth is that there is something wrong with all of us. None of us is perfect. St. Paul talks about Christ coming to break down the walls and barriers that separate us. And this is the mission of Christianity – breaking down the walls of separation. We don’t listen to others because we think that there is something wrong with them. But we must remember that there is also something wrong with us. If we realize this, then we will be more open to treating each other with compassion because something is wrong with all of us. Whether we are shepherds (people in positions of authority) or sheep, something is wrong with us all. Whether we teach or learn, something is wrong with us all. If we are constantly conscious of this fact, then it will help us to develop the same compassion that Jesus is known to have developed when dealing with one another.