Following on from last week when our focus was mission and the sending out of the ‘Twelve;’ the image that dominates the readings today is focused on the sender [Jesus] as Shepherd.
In all peoples whose origins are pastoral and nomadic, shepherds are important personages. Usually they are the heads of families who work at their tasks with the help of their sons and daughters. If they must have recourse to strangers, these must be trustworthy persons because they are charged with an important responsibility. As a consequence, among those peoples, in the Ancient East in general and among the Hebrews in particular, the image of the shepherd is naturally used to designate the chiefs, the kings, and even God. The people whose vocation and story the Bible reports was the property of God, who had chosen it, who had acquired it. It follows that its leaders could only be the Lord’s intendants. Those chosen as shepherds were held to observe God’s instructions and give him an account of their management. If the flock was ill cared for, exhausted by too long a drive; if the sheep got lost, the shepherds in charge, accounted responsible, deserved to be dismissed, even punished when the losses were too severe, or worse, when the shepherds were convicted of neglect or dishonest dealings. The prophet Jeremiah speaks in this context.
‘Doom for the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed and scattered.’ Says God in our First Reading from Jeremiah. (Jer 23:1). The Gospels go further, where we see ‘The Good Shepherd’ in action: ‘He took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.’ In the Psalm we see what the Good Shepherd is about: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose……….’ (Psalm 23:1).
In our first reading Jeremiah indicts the official leader’s for neglecting their duties towards the people. They must shoulder the blame for the misfortune that has befallen the people. But God will not let His people languish. He Himself will assume the mantle of leadership, and entrust the flock to good and faithful shepherds.’I will raise up shepherds to look after them…..’ But much more than this God promises to send his Messiah, the Good Shepherd, so it is, therefore, toward God and his Christ, that Jeremiah’s oracle turns our eyes: ‘See the days are coming — it is the Lord who speaks — When I will raise a virtuous Branch for David, who will reign as true King and be wise, practising honesty and integrity. In his day’s Judah will be saved and Israel dwell in confidence, and this is the name he will be called: ’The Lord — our integrity’’.
In today’s Gospel we see this promise from the book of Jeremiah fulfilled in Jesus ‘The Good Shepherd.’
The image of the shepherd is one that we think people can easily understand, however, they may not be aware of the true reality of what being a shepherd entails. — the Shepherd has to herd his sheep, lead them to pasture to feed them, count them, sheer them, dip them, dose them, protect them from marauding dogs and wild animals; and on occasions drag them out of a ditch, or pull a briar or piece of barbed wire from their suffering wool: This might give us an insight to some of the duties a shepherd might encounter; but even this doesn’t give the full impact of the ‘shepherd’ image; because in Our Lord’s time the relationship between shepherd and sheep was extraordinarily close. In those days, the shepherd didn’t just go out to work in the morning or the evening to look after the sheep, he was their constant companion, he stayed with them all day long, and at nighttime he brought them into the sheepfold, every single one of them; to protect them from wolves and the suchlike. No such things as electric fences to keep the sheep in and the wild animals out, this responsibility fell to the shepherd. And unlike today’s modern shepherds who use sheepdogs and other device to drive the sheep, the shepherd in Our Lord’s day would lead them into the sheepfold, he walked in front of them, and they followed him, they knew him, and, more amazingly from our point of view he knew every one of them by name. So the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep was one of knowledge, trust, protectiveness, concern, dependence, it’s a perfect analogy for when Our Lord talks about being our Shepherd, He’s using a beautiful pastoral image to tell us that he knows us, cares for us, protects us and, no matter what happens, he stays with us: ‘I am the Good Shepherd…. I lay down my life for my sheep.’ (Jn 10:14-15)
In the Gospel today we see the apostles return from their mission, given to them by the ‘Good Shepherd’they were ecstatic with the results of their labours but they were also exhausted. Mark, who up to now has spoken of the Twelve, here he calls them apostles, which means emissaries, envoys. They had returned from their mission and they ‘reported all they had done and taught.’ It would be of no interest to us to amplify or sum up this report. The apostles have proclaimed that one must be converted; they had driven out many demons and healed the sick. Quite simply, they have transmitted the teaching given by Jesus himself as later on the evangelists and other preachers of the good news will do. Marks’s comment reminds us that all envoys must act and teach only as faithful spokespersons who must give the Lord an account of what they say and do. They are tired after their work, Our Lord recognises this and we immediately see the Shepherd in action, and the care Jesus has for His apostles. We also see the compassion he has for the ordinary people.
Firstly we see His care for the ‘apostles’, Jesus could see they were tired and He said to them: ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest awhile.’ In solitude with him they would hope to recover their vigour; they doubtless had much to tell him about their travels and still more to learn from Him. Jesus Himself, regularly went to a deserted spot to pray in a silent face to face encounter with His Father after days in which He had not had a free moment. (Mk 1:35). Jesus teaches the apostles that they must adopt a rhythm of life similar to His, with a balanced alternation of time generously given to others and solitude and prayer, this was to be the usual norm after intense activity. With this in mind, they headed towards Bethsaida near the spot where the River Jordan enters the Lake. Southeast of this place a great plain stretches away to the hillside, it might be described as a desert; but like the desert at Judah both plain and hills are green in the springtime. It was here they were to take their rest and pray.
However, the apostles were about to learn another important lesson from the Master: they too were to be shepherds and their training was not yet complete. People had guessed their intention to go to this place and as they stepped from the boat, the people of the Eastern shore were already there, and they were soon joined by those from Capharnaum, by now a great crowd had gathered.
We have to admire the simplicity of the evangelists here: they are in no way concerted by this apparent disappointment, on the contrary they emphasise Jesus’ kindness — Jesus does not turn elsewhere with His apostles to find solitude but is moved with compassion for ‘They were like sheep without a shepherd, and He set Himself to teach them at great length.’ No time for rest now. Here again we see the urgency of Christ’s mission; although it was their original intention to rest, Jesus teaches the apostles that every opportunity must be seized: ‘He taught them at great length’ Here Jesus feeds them with His word. He will later feed them with loaves and fishes and later still with His own Body and Blood.
Many incidents like those above give us insights into Jesus’ deep and genuine humanity. He was considerate and understanding of even physical weakness, He sometimes prepared food, for example, when He knew His disciples were hungry. Here, He suggests they rest, yet was quickly responsive to the ordinary people’s desire for His message; He did not spare Himself, or His trainee’s, they should consider, this might be the very reason they were here. They could rest later.
The Son of God was sent to earth to announce the good news of peace to those who were much ‘like sheep without a shepherd’ and to give them ‘access in One Spirit to the Father’ He formed the apostles for this ministry by awakening them to pity for the crowds that were hungry for word and bread, and by teaching them, through his example, what they were to do and teach. This urgent mission has priority over all the rest. When the multitudes are here, waiting for the food the shepherds are supposed to give them, it is not the time for rest and self-absorption. This is not to say that the missionaries of the Gospel do not have the right to seek solitude. On the contrary, it is indispensable for them to enjoy a well-deserved rest—this will come in due course when the work is finished—but to get closer to God and to Christ and in a more intimate communion, to learn what it means and what is demanded of them when moved with pity for the crowds is most important.
We all need some silence in our lives. We need space— space to pray, to reflect, to retreat, to renew, to speak with our God, the Lord knows this, but life as we know it is busy, we need to take our opportunities when we can, because like the apostles we might be called into urgent action and our plans may change and sometimes at the most inopportune time. But we should always trust in the Lord and follow where He leads us, for He is ‘The Good Shepherd’ he is Our God — He knows our every need, He will not ask us to do something which is impossible for us to achieve. He is as considerate and delicate in His perception of our own personal needs as He was with His disciples fatigue. His concern for us has the same human and refined quality. We can be sure of this and depend on it in our prayers. Nothing that is a human concern of ours — no matter how small or insignificant it might seem — gets by His constant, careful regard for us.
‘The Lord is my shepherd
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
Where He gives me repose.
Near restful waters He leads me,
To revive my drooping spirit.’
‘He has prepared a banquet for me
In the sight of my foes…..’
We shall find out more about this next week!
