A SHEEP - SHEPHERD BRAND OF RELATIONSHIP

A SHEEP-SHEPHERD BRAND OF RELATIONSHIP

16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Jer 23: 1-6/ Ps 23/ Eph 2:13-18/ Mk 6: 30-34

There are many kinds of relationship. A relationship between an ugly boy and a beautiful girl is called DISKARTE! How about if it’s between a handsome boy and an ugly girl? It’s called SWERTE! What if the boy is handsome, the girl is beautiful, and their children look like the face of angels? It’s called TADHANA! But what if both faces are indescribable? It’s called SUMPA! There are many kinds of relationship. But God’s relationship to us is more than just a diskarte, swerte, tadhana, or a sumpa.

In our Gospel today, after seeing the vast crowd, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for they are like sheep without a shepherd. Thus, in this 16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Our Lord is inviting us into a relationship with him, a relationship like that of a sheep and a shepherd.

We are the sheep!

Sheep have the reputation of being considered as one of the dumbest animals on earth. They easily get lost. They are very vulnerable to other animals. They are always in need of a guide, a shepherd to look after their needs. Indeed, Jesus was right when he saw the vast crowd following him and even arriving first than him. They were like sheep. They are in need of a guide, a master.

Such is the condition of humanity today. Every day of our lives is always marked with a constant search for survival. We look for money. We study for a better future. We work hard for a secured family. And in the course of our searching, we get lost. We become like sheep who are easily led astray. In the course of our searching, we give in to temptations and end in sin. No matter how knowledgeable we are about God, we remain dumb and stupid in the face of sin.

This is therefore our first challenge this Sunday – to humbly accept our delicate condition and like the sheep who longs for a shepherd, may our hearts ultimately and primarily long for God. There is nothing wrong in our work for survival. However, we must not forget that only in God can we truly survive for only in Him can we have the fullness of life as our Responsorial Psalm has assured us today, “the Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”

Jesus is the Shepherd!

Given the condition of sheep, there is a need for a shepherd. A shepherd is not only there as an ordinary worker. He has to know his sheep. He must be able to identify who are the weak ones, the stronger ones, and those who easily get lost. He has to be intimate with his sheep so that he can be recognized by his flock.

This is the promise of God in our first reading today. Time will come when God will send a Good Shepherd who shall “reign and govern wisely…who shall do what is just and right in the land.” Such promise is fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus. Paul in our second reading today tells us that through Christ we become nearer to God. Through Christ, “we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

This is our second challenge this Sunday – that as we admit our vulnerability and accept our need for God, we must also acknowledge Jesus, as our Good Shepherd. Money, power, authority, and fame do not secure our future. Only when we listen and follow Jesus, the Good Shepherd can we truly be kept away from harm and enjoy the rich green pasture of life. We must not be afraid to approach Jesus because he is the misericordia vultus! He is the “face of the Father’s great mercy.”

Every time we gather together for this Eucharist, Jesus sees us and his heart is moved with pity. That is why he shares with us not his money, fame, or power, but his very self – his body and blood. Let us then ask for the grace of humility to always long for God and listen to the one voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

How is your relationship with God? Diskarte ka lang ba ng diskarte? O depende lang ba kung swe-swertihin ka? O nakasalalay lang ba sa tadhana? O matagal mo bang isunumpa na away mo na sa kanya? No matter how unfaithful we are, until now, God continues to offer us a “sheep-shepherd brand of relationship.” It does not have an expiration date, you simply have to grab it now! Amen.

Photo taken from  www.zwallpix.com