Whenever we heed the soft voice of care and empathy whispering in our soul, we might feel so great and so uplifted that we ignore our need to rest and get re-energized. This is what happened to the first Twelve. Boosted by the enviable feeling with which the Lord rewards good deeds, they were eager to share with him their successes and feats. (cf. Mark 6:30)
The crucial aspect of our human nature, which needs to be pointed out, is that our Lord is constantly aware of our fundamental underlining frailty beyond the peaks of elation and the valleys of dejection. We might tend to ignore our exhaustion whenever we feel great after having spent considerable energy. But this would expose us to possible regrettable decisions.
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31)
On the other hand, the Lord urges us to get back on our feet after we are well-rested but hesitant because of a defeat that is still burning. Oftentimes, the urgency in attending to the needs of our brothers and sisters cannot be postponed or ignored.
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ (Matthew 25:45)
For this Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, our first reading and Gospel passage give us the comforting reassurance that the Lord God always has the most accurate reading of our true condition at any given time.
In the first reading, Jeremiah (23:1-6) shows God’s displeasure with the poor reading done by the shepherds he had appointed because it was obscured by self-interest and lack of empathy for the real condition of the sheep.
In the Gospel of Mark (6:30-34), we find Jesus in action as the fulfillment of God’s promise to raise up a righteous shoot to David (cf. Jeremiah 23:2-6) to train new shepherds to be always attentive and readily moved with pity just as he, Jesus, was for the crowds that were like sheep without a shepherd.
From God’s disappointment with shepherds who are aloof and distant from the wellbeing of the sheep and from the way Jesus’ heart was moved with pity at the sight of the shepherdess crowds, we realize that God’s constant concern for our condition and his intention to intervene directly stem from his heart brimming with mercy.
Today must mark a turning point in our life as sheep of the Lord’s flock and as his “assistant shepherds.” In the Gospel passage, we saw how the situation in which the crowds found themselves was so dire and pitiful that he did not even have time to train his first Twelve to become compassionate shepherds. In the wake of what is going on in our country and in other parts of the world, we must be easily convinced that we cannot afford to pass up any grace-filled opportunity to rest in the Lord by meditating on his words of life and my recovering our energies through Holy Communion.
Once, in genuine humility, we decide to rest in the Lord availing ourselves of his channels of grace whenever we are depleted and tired, we are bound to appreciate the following order which, up to now, most likely, sounded totally preposterous:
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:36)
At any given time, whether the Lord sees us as hurting, ailing sheep or as his untrained assistant shepherds, we must accept wholeheartedly that we always need to experience mercy and tenderness. Basic honesty and humility will help us to own up to our past mistakes and errors and embrace our fundamental frailty which, automatically, factors in the likelihood of future mistakes and errors. Hence, as this first step is taken, and we feel comfortable as sheep of the Lord’s flock, we look for and count on God’s infinite mercy, unexpectedly, we realize that the mercy we enjoy and we count on, forces us to be merciful and moved with pity also whenever our enemies are looking for mercy and empathy.
Perhaps, up to now, we have failed to live out the significance of our request in the Our Father: forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us….
In training us to be filled with pity, the Lord reminds us that good or bad, cooperative or rebellious, we are all his children, all in need of his mercy. But what he demands of us is that we may all find lasting joy in a generous application of tenderness, compassion and pity with each other. This openness to mutual reconciliation secures for us the right inner disposition to benefit from his training by teaching us many things. (cf. Mark 6:34).
