Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
A COMPASSIONATE SHEPHERD
Introduction
In a final exhortation, the author of Hebrews sums up what he had said for the practical living of Christians. This is the blessing he wishes to his people.
What a pity if our world would become so heartless as to do away with compassion? We hear in today’s Good News that God shows in Jesus that he cares for us with a love deeper and more tender than that of a mother for the child to which she had given life. He is particularly close to those who need him most: the weak, those who suffer, the abandoned, and those who count for nothing. That is the love he showed us in Jesus; that is the love he invites us to have for one another: deep, tender, lasting, and not afraid of showing itself.
Reading 1 Heb 13:15-17, 20-21
So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name. Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them?
Pray for us. We have no doubts about what we’re doing or why, but it’s hard going and we need your prayers. All we care about is living well before God. Pray that we may be together soon.
May God, who puts all things together,
makes all things whole,
Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,
the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant,
Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd,
up and alive from the dead,
Now put you together, provide you
with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
Gospel Mk 6:30-34
The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. Jesus said, “Come off by yourselves; let’s take a break and get a little rest.” For there was constant coming and going. They didn’t even have time to eat.
So they got in the boat and went off to a remote place by themselves. Someone saw them going and the word got around. From the surrounding towns people went out on foot, running, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus arrived, he saw this huge crowd. At the sight of them, his heart broke—like sheep with no shepherd they were. He went right to work teaching them.
Prayer
Our loving God,
your Son Jesus, has revealed you to us
as more warmhearted, tender and compassionate
than any mother could ever be.
Be near to all who are wounded in life,
care for the little people trampled upon.
Make all those who follow your Son
people who can forgive and heal,
who make themselves like nourishing bread
for all who are hungry in any way.
Make us care for one another
as you care for us through Jesus,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Reflection:
4 February 2023
Mk 6:30-34
Please! Go and Rest!
This is what the Lord is telling me and many of us today: “You are busying yourself on unnecessary things. You don’t have sufficient rest, and you spoil your health – of body and mind. Please, go and rest!”
We are living in a busy world. We are often too busy with our work, struggles to climb up the ladder, or even our genuine efforts to serve others. Our busy schedules are often at the cost of our relationship with the family, our own health and, more importantly, our relationship with the Lord.
Jesus tried to make a retreat, but he couldn’t get away. Does it sound familiar? God reveals the nature of a concerned Father and invites us to rest amidst our frenzy of life and work in this busy world. He tells his disciples: “Go off by yourselves to a remote place to have some rest.”
“Go and rest,” the Lord invites us. What would he say to us today? He might say, “You poor thing, you are wrecked from overwork! Like the seventy-two, you hardly have time to eat! The world hasn’t got any wiser in twenty centuries. My friend, please go and rest!” In today’s reading, we see the Twelve returning from their mission. Obviously, they had not done anything similar earlier. He told them they needed to rest: to rest and to be silent.
We find Jesus himself moving away for his personal time with the Father. Scattered here and there through the gospels are verses that tell us volumes about Jesus on his retreat. “When daylight came, he left the house and made his way to a lonely place” (Lk 4:42). Another is Mk 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” See also Lk 5:16, “He would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray.” And Lk 6:12, “He went out into the hills to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.”
How busy are you today? Why not take a break… Go with the Lord for a time of rest!