XVI SUNDAY -B
Introduction:
Today’s readings explain how God, like a good shepherd, redeems His people and provides
for them. They also challenge us to use our God-given authority in the family, in
the church and in society, with fidelity and responsibility. Today, pastoral ministry
includes not only the pastoral care given by those named or ordained as “pastors,”
but the loving service given by all Christians who follow different callings to
serve and lead others.
Life messages:
1) We need
God’s grace to become good shepherds: The Christian life is a continuous passage
from the presence of God to the presence of people and back again. Prayer is essentially
listening to God and talking to Him. By setting aside enough time for Him to speak
to us and for us to speak to God, we should allow God the opportunity to communicate
with us and to recharge us with spiritual energy and strength. He speaks to us powerfully
when we spend some time every day in reading the Bible devoutly and meditating on
the message God gives us. We receive strength from God to do our share of preaching
and healing ministry as shepherds by praying to Him individually, in the family
and as a community in the parish church, participating in the Eucharistic celebration.
2) The Church
has the double responsibility of teaching and feeding: There can be no true
Christianity without the proclamation of the gospel. Teaching the Word of God is
essential to a Christian community. Christians must also display the compassion
of Jesus by meeting the social and material needs of others in our works of charity
as individual Christians and as a parish community.
Anecdote:
# 1: “Altar of the Chair:” Today’s gospel
presents Jesus as the good shepherd for people who were like sheep without
shepherd. At St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the role of Pope as a teaching shepherd
is depicted very powerfully in art. At the very back of the basilica, there is one
of the most famous pieces in art history, done by the great sculptor Bernini. It’s called
the
“Altar of the Chair”
and it was so beautiful
and influential that art historians say it
was the start of the baroque era. It was Pope Alexander VII who commissioned Bernini to build a sumptuous
monument
which would give prominence to the ancient wooden chair believed to have
been used by St. Peter. Bernini built a throne in gilded bronze richly ornamented
with bas-reliefs, in which the chair was enclosed: two pieces of furniture, one
within the other. At the top of the altar, there is the brilliant translucent image
of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove surrounded by angels. The Holy Spirit is
descending upon a huge bronze chair which houses what in the 16th century was believed
to be the actual chair on which St. Peter sat to teach the people of Rome. Peter’s
chair is a symbol of the teaching authority of the Church and particularly of the
Popes, the successors of St. Peter, who are Christ’s vicars on earth. The most formal
teachings of the Church are called “ex cathedra,”
meaning literally “from the chair.” Underneath the chair there are four bishops,
all famous teaching saints in the early Church—Athanasius, John Chrysostom, Augustine,
and Ambrose—who are depicted referring to and spiritually upholding the teaching
authority of the Church and the papacy. But the element that is most relevant to
today’s Scriptures is found sculpted into the backrest of the Chair. It’s a depiction
of Peter feeding Christ’s sheep. It’s a reference to the end of St. John’s Gospel,
when Jesus asked Peter three times, “Simon,
son of John, do you love me?” Peter replied that he did. And Jesus responded, “Feed my lambs,” “tend my sheep,” and “feed
my sheep.” Peter’s obedience in caring for Christ’s sheep is seen above all,
therefore, in his TEACHING of Christ’s truth. Every year on February 22, the Church
celebrates the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, to commemorate St. Peter's teaching
in Rome.
# 2: The hour
of a mid-week prayer service in a little church: Michael Faraday, an early pioneer
of electromagnetic current, once addressed a convocation of scientists. For an hour,
he held the audience spellbound with his lecture on the nature of the magnet. After
he had finished, he received a thundering ovation. The Prince of Wales, later King
Edward VII, stood to congratulate him. The applause thundered again. Just as quickly,
a deadened silence pervaded the audience. Faraday had left. It was the hour of a
mid- week prayer service in a little church of which he was a member. Do we have
a similar commitment? Like Faraday, have we pledged our allegiances to a Power that
outlasts the short-lived fads and governments of this world? One of the reasons
we gather for worship each week is for the refreshment of our spirits, the recharging
of our spiritual; batteries. We need to shut the world out and focus our attention
on God's presence in our lives. Jesus knew the value of getting away to a quiet
place. With our families, would we put into practice what the Wall Street Journal suggested a generation
ago?
"What America
needs ... is a revival of piety - the piety of our fathers. Today’s gospel tells
us how Jesus takes his worn-out disciples to a lonely place for rest and refreshing.
# 3: Expectant
waiting for dear ones: A story from the life of Mother Teresa shows her love
for the lonely and unwanted people, the "sheep without a shepherd," who,
while materially well-off, are sometimes "the poorest of the poor." On
one occasion, she visited a well-run nursing home, where good food, medical care
and other facilities were offered to the elderly. As she moved among the old people,
she noticed that none of them smiled unless she touched them and smiled at them
first. She also noticed that many of them kept glancing expectantly towards the
door while listening to her. When she asked one of the nurses why this was so, she
was told: “They are looking for a visit from someone related to them. But, except
for an occasional visit, birthday gift or a ‘get well’ card, this never happens."
Jesus invites us, in today’s gospel, to show concern, mercy and compassion for such
sheep without a shepherd.
Faith Messages:
1) As Christians,
we need to be people of prayer and action: The Christian life is a continuous
passage from the presence of God to the presence of people and back again. Prayer
is essentially listening to God and talking to Him. One of our main problems is
that we do not truly allow God the opportunity to speak to us. We also do not know
how to "be still and to listen." Hence, we are often in danger of refusing
to allow God to recharge us with spiritual energy and strength. Besides, we do not
set aside enough time for Him to speak to us and for us to speak to God. How can
we shoulder life's burdens if we have no contact with the Lord of Life? How can
we do God's work unless we rely on God's strength? And how can we receive that strength
unless we pray to him individually, in the family and as a parish community in the
church and unless we receive His grace by participating in the Holy Mass and through
the reception of the sacraments? However, we must never seek God's fellowship in
order to avoid the fellowship of men. Rather, communion with God prepares us for
human fellowship and ministry. From our reflection on today’s Gospel, let us remind
ourselves that the Christian life consists of meeting with God in the secret place
so that we may serve Him better in people met in the marketplace.
2) The Church
has the double responsibility of teaching and feeding: People today find it
difficult to balance these two aspects of the Christian life. Some apparently believe
that the social ministry of the Church is all that is needed to make Christ present
in the world. Others seem to believe that the Church's major concern should be preaching
the Gospel, rather than feeding the hungry and healing the sick. The Church's duty,
so the argument goes, is to spread the gospel and provide for public worship. Both
views are one-sided. There can be no true Christianity without the proclamation
of the gospel. Teaching the Word of God is essential to a Christian community. But
that is only half of the story. Christians must also display the same compassion
for the suffering that Jesus exhibited by meeting the social and material needs
of others - even those who are not members of our Church.
3) The Church
needs ideal pastors in this Year of Faith:
The pastor must be a person of compassion. He must be able to feel deeply the suffering
of others, to understand why they fear and tremble. The pastors are also called
to lead and “govern wisely” (Jer.23:5), living
the teaching they communicate. They are to guide people in right paths and are to
be concerned about what is right and just. Their pastoral care should be involved
and peaceful care and guidance. There are very many people searching for truth today,
people hungering for instruction, good people who are looking for direction. They
may be parents who are sick with grief over the future of a troubled child; a man
stripped of his dignity by unemployment; a woman facing a pregnancy alone; elderly
people who feel the diminishing of life-energies in their bodies; people who are
angry and confused because they have lost confidence in their leaders, whether political
or religious. They are people who are looking for answers and for meaning. They
are like sheep without a shepherd. They all need
ideal pastors filled with
the spirit of
Christ the “Good
Shepherd.”
Joke of the week:
# 1: The young pastor was teaching the 23rd psalm to the Sunday school children. He told them that they were sheep who needed guidance. Then the priest asked, "If you are the sheep then who is the shepherd-- obviously indicating himself. A silence of a few seconds followed. Then a young boy said, "Jesus. Jesus is the shepherd." The young priest, obviously caught by surprise, said to the boy, "Well then, who am I?" The boy frowned thoughtfully and then said, "I guess you must be a sheep dog."
# 1: The young pastor was teaching the 23rd psalm to the Sunday school children. He told them that they were sheep who needed guidance. Then the priest asked, "If you are the sheep then who is the shepherd-- obviously indicating himself. A silence of a few seconds followed. Then a young boy said, "Jesus. Jesus is the shepherd." The young priest, obviously caught by surprise, said to the boy, "Well then, who am I?" The boy frowned thoughtfully and then said, "I guess you must be a sheep dog."
