In the First Reading today, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking at the eleventh hour as the Babylonian armies are already marching on Jerusalem. If the shepherds, that is, the Kings and Religious leaders had been faithful, this tragedy would have been avoided. The reading from Jeremiah also contains a prophecy of the Messiah: …The remnant of the flock I myself will gather……and will bring them back to their pastures. The promise is made that God is going to come to earth as our Shepherd. The promise is kept in today’s Gospel, in the Person of Jesus, who cares for the people of Israel as a true Shepherd. We see His care also for the Apostles who were exhausted after returning from their mission. Jesus takes them away to a quite place where they can rest.

Psalm 23 talks of the Shepherding of Christ: Near restful waters he leads me…. This can be seen to represent Baptism. You have prepared a banquet for me… The Holy Eucharist. My cup is overflowing…The Precious Blood or our Saviour. My head you have anointed with oil…Confirmation. Fresh and green are the pastures…The Scriptures that nourish the heart. He guides me along the right path….The teachings of Christ and his Church.

For the faithful Catholic, only goodness and kindness from the Lord will accompany us, all the days of our lives. To stay close to the sacraments is to stay close the Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Christ has broken down the dividing wall of enmity between the Chosen People and the Gentiles. In the Temple in Jerusalem there was a real wall that separated the two sections of the ancient Jewish Temple. The outer section was where gentiles (non-Jews) were allowed to pray. The inner section was where only Jews were allowed. But God never meant that separation to last forever. The Old Testament community was a preparation for the New Testament Community, that is, the Catholic Church. The word Catholic comes from the Greek word Universal. Through Baptism we are adopted by God and welcomed into His family. Only our Creator can satisfy the human heart, not pleasure, power or popularity, but only God, because that is how we were made. We were made to know, love and serve God and be with him forever.

Jesus’ life on earth was characterized by service and sacrifice: For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mk 10:45). Jesus also said:  Whoever would be great among you must be your servant (Mk 10:43). Jesus strongly encourages us to be servants of one another. The late Fr Slavko of Medjugorje who had a PhD in psychology said: Mental health begins with serving others; mental illness begins with serving ourselves.  Most of the Jewish kings as described in the Scriptures were not good kings. Sadly, they served themselves, instead of the people. Many leaders of today are guilty of the same faults and do not serve the common good and family life. Our life on earth should be one of prayer and service. Gratitude is a great motivator to serve. If we thank God every day for His many gifts, we will desire to show our gratitude by serving God in our neighbour.   It can be said that prayer and service are two sides of the one coin.

Jesus took the Apostles away to a quiet place for prayer and rest after returning from their mission of preaching, anointing the sick and casting out demons. They were so busy, that they hardly had time to eat. Balance is important. In our free time we need to recuperate our energies and achieve the right balance. A cord cannot endure constant tension. This is why the archer needs to loosen the ends of the bow. Jesus as the Good Shepherd is solicitous to the needs of his flock. The people in today’s Gospel were hungering for our Lord’s teaching. They had worked out where Jesus and the Apostles were heading to in the boat;  so they raced there on foot. When Jesus stepped ashore, He saw a large crowd. Was Jesus annoyed by this? Of course not, because He is the Good Shepherd, who is gentle and humble of heart. He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and He taught them at some length. Jesus puts other’s needs before His own and sets aside His own plans.  The Lord teaches us by example. To be a true servant, the needs of others must come before one’s own. Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever!