Jesus the Compassionate and Caring Shepherd

Jesus the Compassionate and Caring Shepherd

July 19^th, 2015   Sunday Homily :Fr.Francis Chirackal CMI

Jer 23: 1-6,Eph. 2: 13-18, Mk 6: 30-34

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In his encyclical “Charity in Truth” Pope Benedict XVI says, “One of the deepest forms of poverty a person can experience is isolation. If we look closely at other kinds of poverty, including material forms, we see that they are born from isolation, from not being loved or from difficulties in being able to love”. During my visit to some of our elderly homebound parishioners, one of them have the following complaint, “Father, nobody comes to visit me. When I was young all our neighbors used to go and visit the sick and old in our neighborhood”. It is natural for everyone to have a craving for love, concern and care. Our life becomes miserable if we experience isolation, even if we have all material comforts and facilities.

In the first reading, Prophet Jeremiah speaks of God as true shepherd, who saves the sheep from all dangers and fake shepherds. He consoles and encourages the people of Israel as were suffering under the uncharitable functioning of religious and civic leaders. He consoles them saying that bright and happy days were in store for them. These words became fulfilled in Christ as He said, ’I am the good shepherd’. The second reading explains how Jesus, the good shepherd reconciled us with His Father by offering himself on the cross.  He tries to summarize the ministry of Jesus in a few words as he says, “He came and preached peace”. These words reflect the words of angels at the birth of Jesus.

Gospel presents the story of Jesus attending to his weary apostles, who have just returned from their first preaching mission, while at the same time expressing his concern for the people who were like ‘sheep without a shepherd,’ have gathered to meet him in the wilderness. We see people running towards Jesus. They found relief and Comfort in the presence of Jesus. Jesus understood their condition of helplessness, and craving for concern and care. Responding to the situation, Jesus became a compassionate and caring shepherd.

Jesus responds to the needs of the people as they were in need of His presence, Word and actions. He was not concerned of His tiredness or hunger, though He told His disciples to take rest. His compassionate heart was with his flock. Jesus’ first act with them was to teach them, and then to heal and feed them, and finally to protect them. Just as people were searching for Him to get healed and to be taught of Kingdom of God, the purpose of His incarnation was to find His lost sheep and to give life to His flock. By shedding his blood and giving His life for the human race he proved that He is the good shepherd, who really takes care of His flock.

Our search for God makes God to come to us. Our one step towards God makes God to take hundreds of steps toward us to help, save and to grant the eternal life.   Our repentance compels God to forgive us and lift us from all kinds of evils, just as He did to repenting people of Niniveh. Knowing that the people will repent on Prophet’s words, Yahweh sent His prophet Jonah and preached repentance. For God, each and every one of us is important just as for a good shepherd his every sheep is valuable. He himself takes care of the sick and the weaker ones, and always gives only the best.

In our day-to-day life, we are also entrusted with the role of being a shepherd. We are entrusted with many persons under our care and protection. In a family parents, elders and care takers are shepherds to their children, younger ones, elderly and the sick. In schools, teachers are shepherds to their students. At work, superiors are shepherds to their subordinates and employees. In a community or group, leaders are shepherds to the members. In the Church bishops, priests and deacons are shepherds.

As shepherds, we have many responsibilities such as teaching, feeding, guiding, protecting and so on. There can be no true Christianity without the proclamation of the gospel. Teaching the Word of God is essential to a Christian community. As our Holy Father Pope Francis says, “Be shepherds with the smell of your sheep, in the midst of your people like Jesus the good Shepherd”. Holy Father shows it by own example. We must also display the same compassion of Jesus also by meeting the social and material needs of others by our works of charity in love as individual Christians, as a parish community and members of larger human family.

Therefore let us pray to God to strengthen us to draw Christian spirit from our God through our prayer and to live that Christian spirit through a life of true faith, love, commitment and service. God bless you.