Sixteenth Sunday Ordinary Time  (Cycle B)

The tie in between today’s readings:  The shepherd is everything to the sheep.

Psalm 23: 1-6, Jeremiah 23: 1-6, Ephesians 2: 13-18, Mark 6: 30-34

Being called sheep is not a compliment. Sheep are dumb helpless animals. Our Father, in His love, has not left us on our own, but has Himself taken on the role of shepherd. Even people who don’t know the Bible receive comfort from the words of the 23^rd Psalm: The Lord is my Shepherd. These six verses sum up the quintessential provisions of God’s care for us.  He provides goodness, guidance, and mercy as we contend with the difficulties of this life. Then, He takes us through the valley of the shadow of death to dwell in the house of the Lord forever…aah, good stuff. But, as we see in Jeremiah 23: 1-6 and also in Ezekiel 34, not all the shepherds do their duty. 

God set up the social and religious structures in Israel so their leaders could shepherd the population. Instead, they abused their positions and fleeced the flock. Both the nobles and the priests held the Lord in contempt.  The people followed their lead into sin, also.  After many years of warnings by the prophets, God had to act.  Verse 3, in our Jeremiah reading, is interesting to note because here God scatters the flock along with the shepherds. There is a compelling dynamic here. It’s not only failure in leadership that the Almighty addresses, but also the waywardness of the people. All we, like sheep, have gone (and always want to go) astray (Isaiah 53:6). So, if the higher ups aren’t correcting us or leading by example, then we’re not complaining. In the ministry, especially, a pastor that doesn’t call his people to task is often loved. Meanwhile, sin permeates unnoticed. The Church degrades from the body of Christ into a Jesus club. God must judge! The pastor that loves his flock, unlike the nobles and priests in our text, will risk using his rod and staff to keep the sheep on the right path. That is why shepherding leadership is difficult, rare, and always to be respected.

In our gospel today (Mark 6:30-34) Jesus sees the people as a flock abandoned. Like a couple trapped in a loveless marriage, they go through the motions of sacrificing and keeping the Sabbath, but they yearn for that missing something.  Maybe that is why so many people say that they get nothing out of church and drop out. Jesus shows that the Father wants a relationship with His people not mere religion. The Lord wants to be their shepherd. They are His sheep. In our gospel, at least, they are hearing His voice and following.

After the Resurrection, religion, as they’ve known it, is gone. It’s been replaced by a relationship with the Lamb of God who took away their sins.  No more impossible rules and feckless rituals to follow. There are no more Jews or Greeks, male or female, slave or freeman.  United under Christ, all barriers between God and man and man with his neighbor fall. To summarize today’s epistle (Ephesians 2:13-18), the Old Testament prophesies are being fulfilled as the Jewish and Gentile worlds unite to form a new flock under God’s Messiah, the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep.

How about you? Are you far off from Christ, the Good Shepherd? Do you hear His voice? Are you a part of His flock? If not, He is looking for you. Call out to Jesus for forgiveness. Give your life to Him. He’ll take you for His own. There is room for you in God’s sheepfold. Don’t wait! Come in! If you want to know what the rest of us sheep think…it’s not so baaaad.