Homily for 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 21, 2024
Mark 6: 30-34
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

“His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6: 34).

The Good Shepherd
(fresco, catacombs)

Sheep and shepherds are the main theme in today’s Scriptures.  You and I don’t know much about sheep or shepherds.  The only sheep around here are at the Bronx Zoo.  I think there are a few also on farms up in Westchester County.

Sheep aren’t particularly bright; I hope that’s not why God calls us his flock.  They’re prone to wandering off if not closely managed by a shepherd; that’s more like us, who find it hard always to focus on God.  They’re vulnerable to wild animals like the wolf Jesus speaks of in John ch. 10 (v. 12) or the lions and bears David fought off while watching his family’s flock (1 Sam 17:34-36).  St. Peter warns us, “Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8).

So we need the guidance and protection of a good shepherd.  Jesus identifies himself as that good shepherd in John 10.  In today’s gospel he demonstrates his care for his followers.  He’s moved with pity, Mark says, with compassion, even tho both he and his apostles are tired and looking for rest, so beleaguered they can’t even manage a decent meal (6:31).

What does our compassionate Lord do for the vast crowd that comes to him?  Mark tells us today that “he began to teach them many things” (6:34).  Next week we’ll hear what else he did:  feeding the vast crowd with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish.  Jesus teaches, and Jesus feeds.  Like the shepherd in Ps 23, he refreshes souls with spiritual food (v. 3), and he spreads a table before his people (v. 5).

Jesus continues to care for his flock.  He teaches us in 3 ways.  1st, he speaks to us in the Sacred Scriptures.  We need to listen to him teaching us—not only when we come to Mass but also by taking up our Bibles at home and reading them, absorbing their contents.

2d, Jesus speaks to us thru the Church that he founded, which provides sound teaching of God’s truth and God’s way of living.  The Church, after all, wrote the Scriptures—the gospels, the letters of the apostles, and even the Old Testament, which comes from God’s people before Christ.  The Church, further, determined which ancient writings were divinely inspired and belonged in the Bible, and which didn’t.  And Jesus promised to remain with us “always, until the end of the age” (Matt 28:20), and the powers of hell will not overcome the Church (Matt 16:18).  The Church, led by Christ, continues to teach us truth, e.g., about God’s love for every human being, and moral living, e.g., on war and peace and the right use of our sexuality.

3d, Jesus speaks to us in prayer.  Our prayer is partly the words we speak to God and the saints—with customary prayers like the Our Father and Hail Mary, and prayers that rise directly from our hearts in our own words, or as St. Paul says, “with sighs too deep for words” (Rom 8:26)—about our joys and our sorrows; and prayer’s partly what God says to us in our hearts when we open them up to him.

So, there you have 3 ways in which Jesus our Good Shepherd continues to teach his flock:  Scripture, Church, and prayer.  Next week he’ll feed his followers with physical bread, leading up to his teaching about spiritual bread:  his own body and blood, the Holy Eucharist, the food that nourishes us as we journey toward eternal life.