Who is Your Shepherd? - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

As we remember from the Gospel Reading of last Sunday (15^th Sunday)(Mark 6:7-13), Jesus sent his twelve disciples on mission, two by two, with nothing for themselves but to trust God’s providence on the way. He wanted them to learn what it means to follow him as his disciples. He began preparing them to be sent out as his Apostles, upon Pentecost, after the completion of his threefold glorification: his death, resurrection, and ascension.

Today’s Gospel Reading (Mark 6:30-34) picks when the disciples returned from their mission and happily report Jesus of their missionary experience. While the disciples were on mission, John the Baptist was executed by Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great (Mark 6:17-29). So, Jesus was grieving while looking forward to the return of his disciples from the mission.

So, the disciples successfully completed the mission and gathered around Jesus upon their return, reporting him their experience (Mark 6:30). Jesus wanted to give them a break. He wanted to have a retreat with them.

Then, his plan had to be averted as people are coming and going rather frantically, not even giving Jesus and the disciples to grab a bite.

Jesus wanted the disciples to have a break that they deserve, in a quiet place, away from the people coming and going in a great number. So, he ordered the disciples to leave by boat. And so they sailed and went to a deserted place on another shore.

In the meantime, the people hurried themselves on foot from all towns to catch Jesus and his disciples, upon seeing them leave by boat. And they must have walk extremely fast or run fast as they outpaced Jesus and his disciples.

As he was getting off a boat, Jesus saw the people in a great number already there and was deeply moved by compassion (ἐσπλαγχνίσθη/esplanchnisthe) as they looked like sheep without a shepherd (πρόβατα μὴ ἔχοντα ποιμένα/probate me echonta poimena) (Mark 6:34).

In today’s Gospel Reading (Mark 6:30-34), there are two important themes found in v. 34:

Compassion (σπλάγχνα/ splagchnon) of Jesus

Need to have a shepherd (ποιμήν/poimen)

The Gospel Reading is about Jesus and the people in great number, who kept chasing Jesus and did not even give him and his disciples a chance to eat. They must have been so desperate about something and thought to get it from Jesus.

Though he was rejected in his in the town where he grew up, Nazareth, as people there recognized him as Mary’s son (Mark 6:1-6), Jesus certainly drew popularity in another town on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. It was like a bunch of people who were as desperate for Jesus as the woman, who grabbed the hem of Jesus’ cloak out of the crowd (Mark 5:25-34), kept chasing him.

When he realized how desperate they were in seeking him, therefore, he could not get away from them, Jesus was moved with compassion (ἐσπλαγχνίσθη/ esplanchnisthe).

The word, “ἐσπλαγχνίσθη/ esplanchnisthe ἐσπλαγχνίσθη/ esplanchnisthe” comes from the verb, “σπλαγχνίζομαι/ splagchnizomai”, which means “to be moved with σπλάγχνα/ splagchnon, innermost parts, internal organs. Though some English-language bible versions translate this as “Jesus felt pity”, it is better to say, “Jesus was deeply moved with his compassion – moved as deeply as his inner organs were moved with his compassion. Actually, there is another biblical Greek verb, “οἰκτείρω/oiktiro”, which is closer to the English word, “pity”, as well as, “mercy”. But, in the original Greek text, the verb, “σπλαγχνίζομαι/ splagchnizomai” is used in Mark 6:34 to describe how Jesus responded to the people. “σπλαγχνίζομαι/ splagchnizomai”, to give the nuance that Jesus’ response to them was not just emotional but deep and strong enough to be visceral. At the same time, he saw them as “πρόβατα μὴ ἔχοντα ποιμένα/probate me echonta poimena” – sheep without a shepherd.

Imagine a large number of sheep without a shepherd. How could they survive?

Sheep really cannot live without a shepherd to tend and guide. They would be attacked by wild animals and easily go astray as “lost sheep”. They would perish without a shepherd. And that was how Jesus saw the people, who desperately chasing him, looking for something from him.

What was the people looking from Jesus? What were they trying to get from him?

And this is to understand why they so desperately kept chasing him all the way to another shore.

Perhaps, we can find a reasonable answer in the meaning of the Greek word for shepherd - ποιμήν/poimen.

According to Strong’s biblical Greek dictionary, the word, ποιμήν/poimen, which is translated as shepherd, literally means “someone who the Lord raises up to care for the total well-being of His flock, the people of the Lord,. This word shared the same etymological root with ποιμαίνω/poimaino, which means “to feed”.

So, who is the shepherd?

Remember, how Jesus identified himself in Jerusalem.

He said, “Ἐγώ/Ego εἰμι/eimi ὁ/ho καλός/kalos ποιμὴν /poimen” – “I am the Good Shepherd”(John 10:11).

So, out of his deeply visceral compassion (σπλάγχνα/ splagchnon) for them, what did Jesus do to them?

First he fed them with his Word, teaching with many things (Mark 6:34b).

And, he literally fed them out of five loaves of bread and two fish, by multiplying miraculously, though his disciples tried to send these people home, thinking it would be impossible to feed them (Mark 6:35-44//Matthew 14:15-21//Luke 9:12-17; John 6:6-14).

Did the people stop chasing Jesus upon being taught with the Word out of his mouth and fed with bread, as well as, fish?

No. According to John, they kept chasing Jesus even on the following day, as it seemed that they regarded Jesus as merely a compassionate man who generously fills their hungry stomachs, rather than recognizing him as the Messiah, the Christ, even though they had just witnessed a miraculous sign performed by him for them. So, Jesus really had to reveal who he was to them (and to us)(John 6:22-71).

Yes, it is actually Jesus himself who feeds us as the Good Shepherd with his own flesh and blood, as he is not only the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) but also the Living Bread of Life (John 6:51). If we truly understand and accept this teaching of his, we would not keep chasing him desperately but rather follow him as his disciples – just as sheep follow their shepherd. But, to follow Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, who feeds us with his own flesh and blood as our Living Bread of Life, does not lead to mere greener pastures but to where we enjoy eternal life, the eternal Jerusalem, envisioned in Revelation 21.

As a matter of fact, this is reflected in our Mass, as its main components are the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The First Reading (Jeremiah 23:1-6) reminds us that the Father in heaven sent us His only begotten Son as our Good Shepherd. It is to steer us from ways to hell, as we have acted like lost sheep and sheep without a shepherd, being lured by false shepherds into evil ways of sins or into destructive ways, but to the way to eternal life and joy with the Good Shepherd, His Son (John 10:1-18). He is for an abundant life (John 10:10), and it means that he gives us eternal life through his flesh and blood (John 6:26-58), as well as, his words, which as the spirit of life (John 6:63). For this, the Father has raised a righteous shoot to David (Jeremiah 23:5).

Therefore, Jesus, our Lord, is our shepherd, and we lack nothing. So, we do not want anything else but his grace, as reflected in the Responsorial Psalm (23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6). We are secure with our shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Good Shepherd, feeding us with his Word (words) and himself, the Living Bread of Life. And our Mass is this banquet, as the altar in the sanctuary is the table spread before us in the presence of enemies (Psalm 23:5).

The Second Reading (Ephesians 2:13-18) gives an image that our Good Shepherd is no longer far off from us. It means that we are no longer lost sheep or sheep without a shepherd. We do have the Good Shepherd with us to follow and to be nourished! And, through our Good Shepherd, we are brought to peace and transformed, as divisions among us are broken down. And this leads us not only to our unity but also our unity with Triune God. Ultimately, we are lead to our unity with the Father (John 17:20-23), through the Son, who is our Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ with an access to the Holy Spirit. So, we become one body with many parts, loaded with many gifts, endowed by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1-28).

So, who is your shepherd? Who do you follow? Whose words do you listen to? What are you fed with? Are you content with what you receive? Of are you constantly feeling anxious as you have never felt at peace and in contentment?

Is your shepherd compassionate for you, and his compassion deep enough to be visceral to his core?