From Fr. Jude Botelho:
The kings in Jeremiah's times were supposed to be good shepherds of the flock entrusted to them by God, but they were using the flock for their own evil purposes. Jeremiah, issues a stern warning against the shepherds who have not lived up to their calling and at the same time a message of hope for those who have suffered at their hands. Today's message is not only addressed to shepherds of the Church, but also to every Christian because all of us are called to be 'shepherds' in some way or another, called to care for others; to encourage one another by the good example of our lives. At the same time if we have been disillusioned by the failures of our leaders, we do not have to lose hope. All is not lost, because God has not abandoned his people. He promises that there will be new shepherds who will care for his people and ultimately He reminds us that He himself will care for His flock.
God has not abandoned us
Alexander Solzhenitsyn had been in the Gulag, a Soviet prison camp. He had been forced to do back-breaking labor until he came to the point of exhaustion. With little food and little rest, he was constantly watched by guards and never allowed to communicate with another human being. Never permitted a newspaper or magazine from the outside, he came to believe that he was forgotten by everyone, even God. In his despair, he decided to commit suicide, but he could not reconcile that act with the teachings of the Bible. Then he decided to end his misery by trying an escape, knowing that he would surely be shot. He rationalized that his death would then be at the hands of another and not his own doing. The appointed day came when he would put his fateful plan into action. Sitting under a tree during a brief respite from work, just as he started to jump and run, a prisoner he had never seen before stood in front of him. Looking into his eyes, Solzhenitsyn said he could see more love than he had ever seen before emanating from the eyes of another human being. The prisoner stooped down with a small twig in his hand and began to draw the symbol of the cross in the soil of Soviet Russia. When Solzhenitsyn saw the cross, he knew God had not forsaken him. He knew God was right there beside him in his deepest pit. Little did he realize that at that very moment, Christians all over the world were praying for his release, and within three days he would be sitting in Geneva, Switzerland, a free man.
Joe Brown, in 'Battle Fatigue'
In the gospel we reflect on the new shepherd, Jesus Christ; we see the compassion and care of Jesus both for the shepherds and for the sheep. Jesus had sent out his apostles on their mission and they were returning tired and weary with all the work they had done. Seeing their fatigues and knowing that they would be drained out because of the demands made on them, Jesus immediately invited them to a quiet rest, a retreat, an outing by themselves. And the Gospel adds the reason for this invitation, 'for many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.' These lines give us an insight into Jesus. He is not a hard taskmaster making impossible demands of his disciples. He is sensitive to their needs and to their limits and so he suggests a break. In the last part of the gospel we observe the care of Jesus for his sheep. The crowds, knowing where the disciples and Jesus were heading to, hurried to the place before them and when Jesus and his disciples reached there the crowds swamped them. Though Jesus and his disciples needed rest, the needs of the people were a priority for Jesus and forgetting his own need he began to teach and administer to the crowds. We can go through life seeking to meet our own needs first before we think of others or we can put our own needs aside, delay satisfying our own needs and think of others first. The sign of maturity is seen in the ability to forget self and think of others. Jesus is the good shepherd and he gives his disciples a live lesson in compassion and care.
Coolie
Here is a true story about a 'coolie', a luggage porter. He was poor, illiterate and the lone breadwinner of his eight-member family. He had to labour hard in order to earn a day's pittance. What was remarkable about this man was that he complained to none despite the hard labour which kept him occupied from dawn to dusk. Unlike his fellow coolies, he would never charge more than his due. He would often help his fellow coolies to carry luggage in addition to the heavy weight he used to carry himself. One day, a gentleman, seeing this act of kindness, asked him, "Young man, I have noticed your generosity. Why do you do this while all others are concerned with themselves?" The coolie looked straight at the eyes of the gentleman and answered: "Sir, I am poor and illiterate. I don't know any other work than carrying luggage. But I know that I have only one life to live and this life is a waste if I don't set aside a little energy of mine to help others and share their burden. I know that this is not a great act. But I do believe that my creator does not demand more from me since He knows me more than anybody else."
Inspirational Quotes
The interruptions are my work!
Once, a man went to see a friend who was a professor at a great university. However, as they sat chatting in the professor's office, they were continually interrupted by students who came knocking at the door, seeking the professor's advice about something or the other. Each time the professor rose from his chair, went to the door, and dealt with the student's request. Eventually the visitor asked the professor, "How do you manage to get your work done with so many interruptions?" "At first I used to resent the interruptions to my work. But one day it suddenly dawned on me that the interruptions were my work." the professor replied. He made his work consist of -being available to his students. And it was by no coincidence that he was the happiest and most fulfilled professor on the campus.
Flor McCarthy, in 'New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies'
No one comes!
Mother Teresa tells how one day she visited an old people's home in Sweden. It was efficiently run. The food was good. The staff was trained, and treated the old people well. It seemed an ideal place in which to end one's days. There were about forty elderly people in the home. They seemed to have everything they wanted. Yet as she went around she noticed that none of them smiled. She also noticed something else. They kept looking towards the door. She asked one of the nurses why this was so. 'They are longing for someone to come to visit them,' the nurse replied. 'They are always looking and thinking, "Maybe my son, may be my daughter, maybe somebody will come and visit me today." But no one comes. It's the same every day.' 'No one comes!' The phrase haunted Mother Teresa. These elderly people had been put away in this home by their families and then abandoned. That sense of having been abandoned was by far their greatest suffering. Sometimes a person may have no choice but to put an elderly parent in a home. However, it's the spirit in which this is done that matters. Having put an elderly parent in a home, one person may abandon that parent, whereas another visits that parent regularly. A Christian who doesn't care is like a lamp that doesn't give light. But caring is never easy. Yet all of us are capable of caring. All that is required is an open heart. When we care, we are living the Gospel.
Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies'
You have no rights!
On a visit to the United States the Premier of China Wen Jiabao was constantly bombarded with questions on human rights from the people he encountered. His response was, "We have a different understanding of human rights. You trace your understanding of human rights to Rousseau in the time of Enlightenment. We trace our understanding back to a 13th century Chinese philosopher." Whoever did the research for the Premier did an excellent piece of work. The language of human rights grew out of a time in history when people felt more secure in understanding their life in the world without reference to God. So the emphasis became human rights, not God-given rights. The Bible doesn't use the language of human rights. In fact, the disciples of Jesus have no rights, as we see in today's gospel. In the words of the Apostle Paul, "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
Sam Rowen in 'Reflections'
The Good Shepherd
A soldier lay dying on a Korean battle-field, and asked for a priest. The medic could not find one; but a wounded man lying near, heard the request and said, "I am a priest." The medic turned to the speaker and saw his condition, which was as bad as that of the other. "It will kill you to move," he said. But the priest replied, "The life of a man's soul is worth more than a few hours of my life", and crawled to the dying soldier. He heard his confession, gave him absolution, and the two died hand in hand.
Anthony Castle in 'Quotes and Anecdotes'
Shepherds alone with God
Every shepherd -pastors, religious, church leaders, and priests too are called to become a part of Jesus by resting with Him and reflecting on Him. Jesus' apostles were so involved in the ministry that they had no time even to eat. Thus, like a shepherd leading his flock to restful waters, Jesus leads them to a lonely place - for rest, reflection and re-creation. Many shepherds - Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi -spent many hours in silence before starting their daily work. Let us pray with Tagore: "Lord, I ask for a moment's indulgence to sit by your side. The works I have in hand I will finish afterwards. Now it is time to sit quiet, face-to-face with Thee, and to sing dedication of life in this silent overflowing leisure."
Francis Gonsalves in 'Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds'
May we find rest in Him to work for others!
******
From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:
The kings in Jeremiah's times were supposed to be good shepherds of the flock entrusted to them by God, but they were using the flock for their own evil purposes. Jeremiah, issues a stern warning against the shepherds who have not lived up to their calling and at the same time a message of hope for those who have suffered at their hands. Today's message is not only addressed to shepherds of the Church, but also to every Christian because all of us are called to be 'shepherds' in some way or another, called to care for others; to encourage one another by the good example of our lives. At the same time if we have been disillusioned by the failures of our leaders, we do not have to lose hope. All is not lost, because God has not abandoned his people. He promises that there will be new shepherds who will care for his people and ultimately He reminds us that He himself will care for His flock.
God has not abandoned us
Alexander Solzhenitsyn had been in the Gulag, a Soviet prison camp. He had been forced to do back-breaking labor until he came to the point of exhaustion. With little food and little rest, he was constantly watched by guards and never allowed to communicate with another human being. Never permitted a newspaper or magazine from the outside, he came to believe that he was forgotten by everyone, even God. In his despair, he decided to commit suicide, but he could not reconcile that act with the teachings of the Bible. Then he decided to end his misery by trying an escape, knowing that he would surely be shot. He rationalized that his death would then be at the hands of another and not his own doing. The appointed day came when he would put his fateful plan into action. Sitting under a tree during a brief respite from work, just as he started to jump and run, a prisoner he had never seen before stood in front of him. Looking into his eyes, Solzhenitsyn said he could see more love than he had ever seen before emanating from the eyes of another human being. The prisoner stooped down with a small twig in his hand and began to draw the symbol of the cross in the soil of Soviet Russia. When Solzhenitsyn saw the cross, he knew God had not forsaken him. He knew God was right there beside him in his deepest pit. Little did he realize that at that very moment, Christians all over the world were praying for his release, and within three days he would be sitting in Geneva, Switzerland, a free man.
Joe Brown, in 'Battle Fatigue'
In the gospel we reflect on the new shepherd, Jesus Christ; we see the compassion and care of Jesus both for the shepherds and for the sheep. Jesus had sent out his apostles on their mission and they were returning tired and weary with all the work they had done. Seeing their fatigues and knowing that they would be drained out because of the demands made on them, Jesus immediately invited them to a quiet rest, a retreat, an outing by themselves. And the Gospel adds the reason for this invitation, 'for many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.' These lines give us an insight into Jesus. He is not a hard taskmaster making impossible demands of his disciples. He is sensitive to their needs and to their limits and so he suggests a break. In the last part of the gospel we observe the care of Jesus for his sheep. The crowds, knowing where the disciples and Jesus were heading to, hurried to the place before them and when Jesus and his disciples reached there the crowds swamped them. Though Jesus and his disciples needed rest, the needs of the people were a priority for Jesus and forgetting his own need he began to teach and administer to the crowds. We can go through life seeking to meet our own needs first before we think of others or we can put our own needs aside, delay satisfying our own needs and think of others first. The sign of maturity is seen in the ability to forget self and think of others. Jesus is the good shepherd and he gives his disciples a live lesson in compassion and care.
Coolie
Here is a true story about a 'coolie', a luggage porter. He was poor, illiterate and the lone breadwinner of his eight-member family. He had to labour hard in order to earn a day's pittance. What was remarkable about this man was that he complained to none despite the hard labour which kept him occupied from dawn to dusk. Unlike his fellow coolies, he would never charge more than his due. He would often help his fellow coolies to carry luggage in addition to the heavy weight he used to carry himself. One day, a gentleman, seeing this act of kindness, asked him, "Young man, I have noticed your generosity. Why do you do this while all others are concerned with themselves?" The coolie looked straight at the eyes of the gentleman and answered: "Sir, I am poor and illiterate. I don't know any other work than carrying luggage. But I know that I have only one life to live and this life is a waste if I don't set aside a little energy of mine to help others and share their burden. I know that this is not a great act. But I do believe that my creator does not demand more from me since He knows me more than anybody else."
Inspirational Quotes
The interruptions are my work!
Once, a man went to see a friend who was a professor at a great university. However, as they sat chatting in the professor's office, they were continually interrupted by students who came knocking at the door, seeking the professor's advice about something or the other. Each time the professor rose from his chair, went to the door, and dealt with the student's request. Eventually the visitor asked the professor, "How do you manage to get your work done with so many interruptions?" "At first I used to resent the interruptions to my work. But one day it suddenly dawned on me that the interruptions were my work." the professor replied. He made his work consist of -being available to his students. And it was by no coincidence that he was the happiest and most fulfilled professor on the campus.
Flor McCarthy, in 'New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies'
No one comes!
Mother Teresa tells how one day she visited an old people's home in Sweden. It was efficiently run. The food was good. The staff was trained, and treated the old people well. It seemed an ideal place in which to end one's days. There were about forty elderly people in the home. They seemed to have everything they wanted. Yet as she went around she noticed that none of them smiled. She also noticed something else. They kept looking towards the door. She asked one of the nurses why this was so. 'They are longing for someone to come to visit them,' the nurse replied. 'They are always looking and thinking, "Maybe my son, may be my daughter, maybe somebody will come and visit me today." But no one comes. It's the same every day.' 'No one comes!' The phrase haunted Mother Teresa. These elderly people had been put away in this home by their families and then abandoned. That sense of having been abandoned was by far their greatest suffering. Sometimes a person may have no choice but to put an elderly parent in a home. However, it's the spirit in which this is done that matters. Having put an elderly parent in a home, one person may abandon that parent, whereas another visits that parent regularly. A Christian who doesn't care is like a lamp that doesn't give light. But caring is never easy. Yet all of us are capable of caring. All that is required is an open heart. When we care, we are living the Gospel.
Flor McCarthy in 'New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies'
You have no rights!
On a visit to the United States the Premier of China Wen Jiabao was constantly bombarded with questions on human rights from the people he encountered. His response was, "We have a different understanding of human rights. You trace your understanding of human rights to Rousseau in the time of Enlightenment. We trace our understanding back to a 13th century Chinese philosopher." Whoever did the research for the Premier did an excellent piece of work. The language of human rights grew out of a time in history when people felt more secure in understanding their life in the world without reference to God. So the emphasis became human rights, not God-given rights. The Bible doesn't use the language of human rights. In fact, the disciples of Jesus have no rights, as we see in today's gospel. In the words of the Apostle Paul, "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
Sam Rowen in 'Reflections'
The Good Shepherd
A soldier lay dying on a Korean battle-field, and asked for a priest. The medic could not find one; but a wounded man lying near, heard the request and said, "I am a priest." The medic turned to the speaker and saw his condition, which was as bad as that of the other. "It will kill you to move," he said. But the priest replied, "The life of a man's soul is worth more than a few hours of my life", and crawled to the dying soldier. He heard his confession, gave him absolution, and the two died hand in hand.
Anthony Castle in 'Quotes and Anecdotes'
Shepherds alone with God
Every shepherd -pastors, religious, church leaders, and priests too are called to become a part of Jesus by resting with Him and reflecting on Him. Jesus' apostles were so involved in the ministry that they had no time even to eat. Thus, like a shepherd leading his flock to restful waters, Jesus leads them to a lonely place - for rest, reflection and re-creation. Many shepherds - Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi -spent many hours in silence before starting their daily work. Let us pray with Tagore: "Lord, I ask for a moment's indulgence to sit by your side. The works I have in hand I will finish afterwards. Now it is time to sit quiet, face-to-face with Thee, and to sing dedication of life in this silent overflowing leisure."
Francis Gonsalves in 'Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds'
May we find rest in Him to work for others!
******
From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:
# 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:
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:
# 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.
#4: 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."
Humor: Walking on Water
Samuel D. Zumwalt, Jesus Means Compassion
#4: 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."
15- Additional anecdotes:
1) Civilized people have lost the ability to sleep as deeply and peacefully as they should:
In the 1970s, Michael Caine and Sidney Poitier co-starred in the movie Zulu, which was shot in Kenya. They were assigned a local man to drive them around town. One night, after attending a late-night party, Michael and Sidney came out to the car and found their driver to be unconscious. No matter how hard they tried, they could not rouse him, nor could they find his pulse. They called a local doctor and reported the apparent death. After a quick examination, the irritated doctor announced that the man was only sleeping. Michael Caine protested that the man had no pulse and was impossible to wake. But the doctor explained that this is the way all people are supposed to sleep. ‘Civilized’ people, he said, who live in big, noisy cities and hold down draining, stressful jobs have lost the ability to sleep as deeply and peacefully as they should. Maybe that doctor is right. It would be interesting to know how many of us have to take something occasionally to help us sleep. Jesus knew it was important for people to get away from time to time. His apostles had been out preaching and teaching and healing and ministering to the public. And it was Jesus who suggested that they get away from the crowds for a while and rest.
3) Weeping comedian:
Will Rogers was known for his laughter, but he also knew how to weep. One day he was entertaining at the Milton H. Berry Institute in Los Angeles, a hospital that specialized in rehabilitating polio victims and people with spinal cord injuries and other extreme physical handicaps. Very soon, Rogers had everybody laughing, even patients who were paralyzed; but then he suddenly left the platform and went to the restroom. Milton Berry followed him to make sure he was all right. When he opened the door, he saw Will Rogers leaning against the wall sobbing like a child over the tragic situations he was seeing. Berry closed the door, and in a few moments Rogers appeared back on the platform as jovial as ever. Christians are called to a ministry of compassion, and if we are faithful to it, it will cause us to weep with those who weep. Today’s Gospel tells us how Jesus felt compassion for the “sheep without shepherd.”
4) Mother image of a shepherding God: Jim Wallis, the founding editor of Sojourners magazine writes:
“At times I think the truest image of God today is a black inner-city grandmother in the U.S. or a mother of the disappeared in Argentina or the women who wake up early to make tortillas in refugee camps. They all weep for their children and in their compassionate tears arises the political action that changes the world. The mothers show us that it is the experience of touching the pain of others that is the key to change.” Today’s Gospel presents such a God in Jesus who laments over the “sheep without shepherd.”
5) Care of pets:
A 2-year-old girl in Central Florida was found dead on July 1st Wednesday morning, strangled by a pet Burmese python that escaped from a snake cage in her house. If you have a houseful of pets and ignore them there is disaster! If you don’t take notice of their needs there is a problem. There are so many discussions in every house between parents and their children regarding the care of their pet animals and birds. Many of us would be very concerned if we went to a zoo or an animal preserve and saw that the animals in the care and the charge of the managers of that place were not properly nurtured and taken care of. Jeremiah’s contemporaries knew what happened when a shepherd didn’t do his job. But perhaps those shepherds didn’t realize they were accountable – didn’t know that Someone was watching. Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ reaction to the “sheep without shepherd.”
6) “O young woman, throw yourself into the water again.”
In Albert Camus’ novel, The Fall, an established, impeccable French lawyer has his world totally under control until one night when he hears the cry of a drowning woman and he turns away. Years later, ruined by his failure to act, he winds up reliving the experience in an Amsterdam bar: “Please tell me what happened to you on the Seine River that night, and how you managed never to risk your life,” he says to himself. “O young woman, throw yourself into the water again so that I may have a second chance of saving both of us!“ When we fail to act in behalf of someone in distress, something inside of us knows, and will not let us forget, for we have been less than God intends us to be. Today’s Gospel pictures a compassionate Christ recharging the spiritual batteries of his disciples and showing compassion for the crowd.
8) You see, you can’t heal them till you touch them:
Jacob Bronoski, in his landmark television documentary, The Ascent of Man, revealed how medicine progressed in its development as a science. In the beginning, the doctor would read the great classics of healing, but would never touch the patient. He would direct a lowly surgeon to make the incision in the patient. Real healing didn’t take place, until one doctor had the courage actually to touch his patient. You see, you can’t heal them till you touch them. Jesus reached out to people and touched them. He had compassion.
9) Pony Express.
Larry Burkett, in a recent magazine article, used the analogy of the Pony Express. As you know, for a few years in the Wild West, mail was dispatched across this country by a relay system known as the Pony Express. Occasionally, an express rider would be attacked by Indians. Because his big mount was stronger than the Indian ponies, the rider could spur his horse to a gallop and outrun his attackers before his horse would tire. This scenario wasn’t repeated too many times before the Indians changed their plan of attack. Realizing they couldn’t outrun the express rider, they wisely stationed some of their number every few miles along the route. Then, just when the rider had outrun the first group of attackers, the second band would appear, causing him to spur his horse on without rest. This tactic was repeated until at last the rider’s horse would collapse from exhaustion. [“Less Spurs, More Prayer,” Moody (Sept./Oct. 1996), p. 68.] Sometimes we are like those Pony Express horses. We get one crisis resolved and here comes another. If it is not a child in trouble at school, it’s an aging parent needing our attention. If it is not an unhappy client, it is an expensive car repair. One stressful thing after another. There is no rest for the weary, we say. And that is so, UNLESS we plan balance into our lives.
12) “No one comes!”
Mother Teresa tells how one day she visited an old people’s home in Sweden. It was efficiently run. The food was good. The staff was trained, and treated the old people well. It seemed an ideal place in which to end one’s days. There were about forty elderly people in the home. They seemed to have everything they wanted. Yet as she went around she noticed that none of them smiled. She also noticed something else. They kept looking towards the door. She asked one of the nurses why this was so. “They are longing for someone to come to visit them,” the nurse replied. “They are always looking and thinking, ‘Maybe my son, maybe my daughter, maybe somebody will come and visit me today.’ But no one comes. It’s the same every day.” “No one comes!” The phrase haunted Mother Teresa. These elderly people had been put away in this home by their families and then abandoned. That sense of having been abandoned was by far their greatest suffering. Sometimes a person may have no choice but to put an elderly parent in a home. However, it’s the spirit in which this is done that matters. Having put an elderly parent in a home, one person may abandon that parent, whereas another visits that parent regularly. A Christian who doesn’t care is like a lamp that doesn’t give light. But caring is never easy. Yet all of us are capable of caring. All that is required is an open heart. When we care, we are living the Gospel. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
13) The Good Shepherd:
A soldier lay dying on a Korean battle-field, and asked for a priest. The medic could not find one; but a wounded man lying near, heard the request and said, “I am a priest.” The medic turned to the speaker and saw his condition, which was as bad as that of the other. “It will kill you to move,” he said. But the priest replied, “The life of a man’s soul is worth more than a few hours of my life”, and crawled to the dying soldier. He heard his confession, gave him absolution, and the two died hand in hand. (Anthony Castle in Quotes and Anecdotes; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
14) Making a place for forgiveness:
One morning the members of an Iowa synagogue awoke to find neo-Nazi graffiti covering the walls of their temple. The entire religious community of the city reacted with anger and outrage. Two weeks later police arrested an 18-year-old male and his 17-year-old girlfriend. The community demanded that the two be prosecuted to the full extent of the Law — but, first, the synagogue’s rabbi wanted to talk with them. The two offenders met at the synagogue with the rabbi, along with two Holocaust survivors, a former member of the Israeli army and three temple elders. Tears, fear and anger flowed as the rabbi and the members of the Jewish community told their stories of the horror of the Holocaust, of going into hiding and fleeing Nazi atrocities, of struggling to survive and make new lives far from their homelands, despite the scars and nightmares. The teens told their stories, as well. As a child, the boy had been abused physically and, as a result, had suffered a significant hearing loss and a speech defect. He ran away from home at the age of 15 and was taken in by members of a white supremacist group. Completely indoctrinated in bigotry and hate, he came to Iowa to start his own neo-Nazi group. His only recruit was the young girl. The vandalizing of the synagogue was their attempt to call attention to their deranged cause. In their three-hour meeting, a dramatic change took place: The synagogue community came to see the two teens as lost, broken and frightened children. The ugly Jewish stereotypes the young offenders were forced to study disintegrated and they realized the courage and wisdom of this synagogue community. The two asked for the temple’s forgiveness. In the Jewish tradition, forgiveness must be earned. So it was agreed that the two would perform 200 hours of service to the temple — 100 hours under the supervision of the temple custodian, and 100 hours studying Jewish history and the history of the Holocaust with the rabbi. The temple also offered to get medical help for the young man and have the Nazi tattoos removed from his arms. They also agreed to help the two teens obtain job-seeking skills, therapy and their GED. They would meet again in six months and if the two had atoned for what they had done in the manner agreed upon, forgiveness would be given and the criminal charges would be dismissed. The teens exceeded all expectations. Their atonement transformed their lives with new possibilities, new understandings, new relationships. And it all began because a community was able to put aside its anger and demands for justice to come to a place of forgiveness and healing as expected from the good shepherd described in today’s gospel. [The Des Moines Register, April 22, 2012.]
15) Close the Door to turn on the Light:
One evening years ago a speaker who was visiting the United States wanted to make a telephone call. He entered a phone booth but found it to be different from those in his own country. It was beginning to get dark, so he had difficulty finding the number in the directory. He noticed that there was a light in the ceiling, but he didn’t know how to turn it on. As he tried again to find the number in the fading twilight, a passerby noted his plight and said, “Sir, if you want to turn the light on, you have to shut the door.” To the visitor’s amazement and satisfaction, when he closed the door, the booth was filled with light. He soon located the number and completed the call. A writer in the devotional, Our Daily Bread, commenting on this story, writes, “In a similar way, when we draw aside in a quiet place to pray, we must block out our busy world and open our hearts to the Father. Our darkened world of disappointments and trials will then be illuminated. We will enter into communion with God, we will sense His presence, and we will be assured of His provision for us. Our Lord often went to be alone with the Heavenly Father. Sometimes it was after a busy day of preaching and healing, as in today’s Scripture reading. At other times, it was before making a major decision.” (Luke 6:12). And so, should we. (Rev. King Duncan, www.Sermons.com)
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1) Civilized people have lost the ability to sleep as deeply and peacefully as they should:
In the 1970s, Michael Caine and Sidney Poitier co-starred in the movie Zulu, which was shot in Kenya. They were assigned a local man to drive them around town. One night, after attending a late-night party, Michael and Sidney came out to the car and found their driver to be unconscious. No matter how hard they tried, they could not rouse him, nor could they find his pulse. They called a local doctor and reported the apparent death. After a quick examination, the irritated doctor announced that the man was only sleeping. Michael Caine protested that the man had no pulse and was impossible to wake. But the doctor explained that this is the way all people are supposed to sleep. ‘Civilized’ people, he said, who live in big, noisy cities and hold down draining, stressful jobs have lost the ability to sleep as deeply and peacefully as they should. Maybe that doctor is right. It would be interesting to know how many of us have to take something occasionally to help us sleep. Jesus knew it was important for people to get away from time to time. His apostles had been out preaching and teaching and healing and ministering to the public. And it was Jesus who suggested that they get away from the crowds for a while and rest.
2) “Tell us what the unstrung bow implies.”
In ancient Athens a man noticed the great storyteller Aesop playing childish games with some little boys. He laughed and jeered at Aesop, asking him why he wasted his time in such frivolous activity. Aesop responded by picking up a bow, loosening its string, and placing it on the ground. Then he said to the critical Athenian, “Now, answer the riddle, if you can. Tell us what the unstrung bow implies.” The man looked at it for several moments but had no idea what point Aesop was trying to make. Aesop explained, “If you keep a bow always bent, it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use when you want it.” Aesop was talking about balance. As followers of Christ we need to realize that Jesus advocated balance in life too. Christianity has always been an activist Faith in which the emphasis has been on taking up the cross, laying down our life, sacrificing ourself for the cause of Christ. And certainly, that is a major part of our Faith. But it is possible to have an imbalanced Christianity. Jesus never meant for us to be so involved in doing good that we neglect our need for leisure, for rest, for family, for friends. As Vance Havner used to say: “If we don’t come apart, we’ll come apart!”
In ancient Athens a man noticed the great storyteller Aesop playing childish games with some little boys. He laughed and jeered at Aesop, asking him why he wasted his time in such frivolous activity. Aesop responded by picking up a bow, loosening its string, and placing it on the ground. Then he said to the critical Athenian, “Now, answer the riddle, if you can. Tell us what the unstrung bow implies.” The man looked at it for several moments but had no idea what point Aesop was trying to make. Aesop explained, “If you keep a bow always bent, it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use when you want it.” Aesop was talking about balance. As followers of Christ we need to realize that Jesus advocated balance in life too. Christianity has always been an activist Faith in which the emphasis has been on taking up the cross, laying down our life, sacrificing ourself for the cause of Christ. And certainly, that is a major part of our Faith. But it is possible to have an imbalanced Christianity. Jesus never meant for us to be so involved in doing good that we neglect our need for leisure, for rest, for family, for friends. As Vance Havner used to say: “If we don’t come apart, we’ll come apart!”
Will Rogers was known for his laughter, but he also knew how to weep. One day he was entertaining at the Milton H. Berry Institute in Los Angeles, a hospital that specialized in rehabilitating polio victims and people with spinal cord injuries and other extreme physical handicaps. Very soon, Rogers had everybody laughing, even patients who were paralyzed; but then he suddenly left the platform and went to the restroom. Milton Berry followed him to make sure he was all right. When he opened the door, he saw Will Rogers leaning against the wall sobbing like a child over the tragic situations he was seeing. Berry closed the door, and in a few moments Rogers appeared back on the platform as jovial as ever. Christians are called to a ministry of compassion, and if we are faithful to it, it will cause us to weep with those who weep. Today’s Gospel tells us how Jesus felt compassion for the “sheep without shepherd.”
“At times I think the truest image of God today is a black inner-city grandmother in the U.S. or a mother of the disappeared in Argentina or the women who wake up early to make tortillas in refugee camps. They all weep for their children and in their compassionate tears arises the political action that changes the world. The mothers show us that it is the experience of touching the pain of others that is the key to change.” Today’s Gospel presents such a God in Jesus who laments over the “sheep without shepherd.”
A 2-year-old girl in Central Florida was found dead on July 1st Wednesday morning, strangled by a pet Burmese python that escaped from a snake cage in her house. If you have a houseful of pets and ignore them there is disaster! If you don’t take notice of their needs there is a problem. There are so many discussions in every house between parents and their children regarding the care of their pet animals and birds. Many of us would be very concerned if we went to a zoo or an animal preserve and saw that the animals in the care and the charge of the managers of that place were not properly nurtured and taken care of. Jeremiah’s contemporaries knew what happened when a shepherd didn’t do his job. But perhaps those shepherds didn’t realize they were accountable – didn’t know that Someone was watching. Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ reaction to the “sheep without shepherd.”
In Albert Camus’ novel, The Fall, an established, impeccable French lawyer has his world totally under control until one night when he hears the cry of a drowning woman and he turns away. Years later, ruined by his failure to act, he winds up reliving the experience in an Amsterdam bar: “Please tell me what happened to you on the Seine River that night, and how you managed never to risk your life,” he says to himself. “O young woman, throw yourself into the water again so that I may have a second chance of saving both of us!“ When we fail to act in behalf of someone in distress, something inside of us knows, and will not let us forget, for we have been less than God intends us to be. Today’s Gospel pictures a compassionate Christ recharging the spiritual batteries of his disciples and showing compassion for the crowd.
7) All people have a capacity for compassion.
Mencius, a Chinese philosopher who lived several hundred years before Christ and was eager to show that there is good in everyone, said, “All people have a capacity for compassion. If people see a child about to fall into a well, they will, without exception, experience a feeling of alarm and distress. This is not because they know the child’s parents, nor out of desire for praise … nor out of dislike for the bad reputation that would ensue if they did not go to the rescue. From this we may conclude that without compassion one would not be a human being.” Mencius was right to say that compassion is a component of true humanity, but alas, recent wars have shown us that there are also those who would as soon throw a child into a well as to pull one out. Some people are so self-occupied that they don’t even notice those who are suffering. The compassion of which we are capable needs cultivating if it is to find expression. Following Christ is one way to nurture that characteristic. Flannery O’Connor, the insightful Catholic writer, lifted up the Christian dimension when she wrote: “You will have found Christ when you are concerned with other people’s sufferings and not your own.” The beginning of compassion involves becoming aware of the suffering of others. But it is not enough simply to see the suffering of others; we need to feel it.
Mencius, a Chinese philosopher who lived several hundred years before Christ and was eager to show that there is good in everyone, said, “All people have a capacity for compassion. If people see a child about to fall into a well, they will, without exception, experience a feeling of alarm and distress. This is not because they know the child’s parents, nor out of desire for praise … nor out of dislike for the bad reputation that would ensue if they did not go to the rescue. From this we may conclude that without compassion one would not be a human being.” Mencius was right to say that compassion is a component of true humanity, but alas, recent wars have shown us that there are also those who would as soon throw a child into a well as to pull one out. Some people are so self-occupied that they don’t even notice those who are suffering. The compassion of which we are capable needs cultivating if it is to find expression. Following Christ is one way to nurture that characteristic. Flannery O’Connor, the insightful Catholic writer, lifted up the Christian dimension when she wrote: “You will have found Christ when you are concerned with other people’s sufferings and not your own.” The beginning of compassion involves becoming aware of the suffering of others. But it is not enough simply to see the suffering of others; we need to feel it.
Jacob Bronoski, in his landmark television documentary, The Ascent of Man, revealed how medicine progressed in its development as a science. In the beginning, the doctor would read the great classics of healing, but would never touch the patient. He would direct a lowly surgeon to make the incision in the patient. Real healing didn’t take place, until one doctor had the courage actually to touch his patient. You see, you can’t heal them till you touch them. Jesus reached out to people and touched them. He had compassion.
Larry Burkett, in a recent magazine article, used the analogy of the Pony Express. As you know, for a few years in the Wild West, mail was dispatched across this country by a relay system known as the Pony Express. Occasionally, an express rider would be attacked by Indians. Because his big mount was stronger than the Indian ponies, the rider could spur his horse to a gallop and outrun his attackers before his horse would tire. This scenario wasn’t repeated too many times before the Indians changed their plan of attack. Realizing they couldn’t outrun the express rider, they wisely stationed some of their number every few miles along the route. Then, just when the rider had outrun the first group of attackers, the second band would appear, causing him to spur his horse on without rest. This tactic was repeated until at last the rider’s horse would collapse from exhaustion. [“Less Spurs, More Prayer,” Moody (Sept./Oct. 1996), p. 68.] Sometimes we are like those Pony Express horses. We get one crisis resolved and here comes another. If it is not a child in trouble at school, it’s an aging parent needing our attention. If it is not an unhappy client, it is an expensive car repair. One stressful thing after another. There is no rest for the weary, we say. And that is so, UNLESS we plan balance into our lives.
10) God has not abandoned us:
Alexander Solzhenitsyn had been in the Gulag, a Soviet prison camp. He had been forced to do back-breaking labor until he came to the point of exhaustion. With little food and little rest, he was constantly watched by guards and never allowed to communicate with another human being. Never permitted a newspaper or magazine from the outside, he came to believe that he was forgotten by everyone, even God. In his despair, he decided to commit suicide, but he could not reconcile that act with the teachings of the Bible. Then he decided to end his misery by trying an escape, knowing that he would surely be shot. He rationalized that his death would then be at the hands of another and not his own doing. The appointed day came when he would put his fateful plan into action. Sitting under a tree during a brief respite from work, just as he started to jump and run, a prisoner he had never seen before stood in front of him. Looking into his eyes, Solzhenitsyn said he could see more love than he had ever seen before emanating from the eyes of another human being. The prisoner stooped down with a small twig in his hand and began to draw the symbol of the cross in the soil of Soviet Russia. When Solzhenitsyn saw the cross, he knew God had not forsaken him. He knew God was right there beside him in his deepest pit. Little did he realize that at that very moment, Christians all over the world were praying for his release, and within three days he would be sitting in Geneva, Switzerland, a free man. (Joe Brown, in ‘Battle Fatigue; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
Alexander Solzhenitsyn had been in the Gulag, a Soviet prison camp. He had been forced to do back-breaking labor until he came to the point of exhaustion. With little food and little rest, he was constantly watched by guards and never allowed to communicate with another human being. Never permitted a newspaper or magazine from the outside, he came to believe that he was forgotten by everyone, even God. In his despair, he decided to commit suicide, but he could not reconcile that act with the teachings of the Bible. Then he decided to end his misery by trying an escape, knowing that he would surely be shot. He rationalized that his death would then be at the hands of another and not his own doing. The appointed day came when he would put his fateful plan into action. Sitting under a tree during a brief respite from work, just as he started to jump and run, a prisoner he had never seen before stood in front of him. Looking into his eyes, Solzhenitsyn said he could see more love than he had ever seen before emanating from the eyes of another human being. The prisoner stooped down with a small twig in his hand and began to draw the symbol of the cross in the soil of Soviet Russia. When Solzhenitsyn saw the cross, he knew God had not forsaken him. He knew God was right there beside him in his deepest pit. Little did he realize that at that very moment, Christians all over the world were praying for his release, and within three days he would be sitting in Geneva, Switzerland, a free man. (Joe Brown, in ‘Battle Fatigue; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
11) “The interruptions are my work!”
Once, a man went to see a friend who was a professor at a great university. However, as they sat chatting in the professor’s office, they were continually interrupted by students who came knocking at the door, seeking the professor’s advice about something or the other. Each time the professor rose from his chair, went to the door, and dealt with the student’s request. Eventually the visitor asked the professor, “How do you manage to get your work done with so many interruptions?” “At first I used to resent the interruptions to my work. But one day it suddenly dawned on me that the interruptions were my work.” the professor replied. He made his work consist of being available to his students. And it was by no coincidence that he was the happiest and most fulfilled professor on the campus. He was a true shepherd caring for the sheep entrusted to his care. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
Once, a man went to see a friend who was a professor at a great university. However, as they sat chatting in the professor’s office, they were continually interrupted by students who came knocking at the door, seeking the professor’s advice about something or the other. Each time the professor rose from his chair, went to the door, and dealt with the student’s request. Eventually the visitor asked the professor, “How do you manage to get your work done with so many interruptions?” “At first I used to resent the interruptions to my work. But one day it suddenly dawned on me that the interruptions were my work.” the professor replied. He made his work consist of being available to his students. And it was by no coincidence that he was the happiest and most fulfilled professor on the campus. He was a true shepherd caring for the sheep entrusted to his care. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
Mother Teresa tells how one day she visited an old people’s home in Sweden. It was efficiently run. The food was good. The staff was trained, and treated the old people well. It seemed an ideal place in which to end one’s days. There were about forty elderly people in the home. They seemed to have everything they wanted. Yet as she went around she noticed that none of them smiled. She also noticed something else. They kept looking towards the door. She asked one of the nurses why this was so. “They are longing for someone to come to visit them,” the nurse replied. “They are always looking and thinking, ‘Maybe my son, maybe my daughter, maybe somebody will come and visit me today.’ But no one comes. It’s the same every day.” “No one comes!” The phrase haunted Mother Teresa. These elderly people had been put away in this home by their families and then abandoned. That sense of having been abandoned was by far their greatest suffering. Sometimes a person may have no choice but to put an elderly parent in a home. However, it’s the spirit in which this is done that matters. Having put an elderly parent in a home, one person may abandon that parent, whereas another visits that parent regularly. A Christian who doesn’t care is like a lamp that doesn’t give light. But caring is never easy. Yet all of us are capable of caring. All that is required is an open heart. When we care, we are living the Gospel. (Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
A soldier lay dying on a Korean battle-field, and asked for a priest. The medic could not find one; but a wounded man lying near, heard the request and said, “I am a priest.” The medic turned to the speaker and saw his condition, which was as bad as that of the other. “It will kill you to move,” he said. But the priest replied, “The life of a man’s soul is worth more than a few hours of my life”, and crawled to the dying soldier. He heard his confession, gave him absolution, and the two died hand in hand. (Anthony Castle in Quotes and Anecdotes; quoted by Fr. Botelho).
One morning the members of an Iowa synagogue awoke to find neo-Nazi graffiti covering the walls of their temple. The entire religious community of the city reacted with anger and outrage. Two weeks later police arrested an 18-year-old male and his 17-year-old girlfriend. The community demanded that the two be prosecuted to the full extent of the Law — but, first, the synagogue’s rabbi wanted to talk with them. The two offenders met at the synagogue with the rabbi, along with two Holocaust survivors, a former member of the Israeli army and three temple elders. Tears, fear and anger flowed as the rabbi and the members of the Jewish community told their stories of the horror of the Holocaust, of going into hiding and fleeing Nazi atrocities, of struggling to survive and make new lives far from their homelands, despite the scars and nightmares. The teens told their stories, as well. As a child, the boy had been abused physically and, as a result, had suffered a significant hearing loss and a speech defect. He ran away from home at the age of 15 and was taken in by members of a white supremacist group. Completely indoctrinated in bigotry and hate, he came to Iowa to start his own neo-Nazi group. His only recruit was the young girl. The vandalizing of the synagogue was their attempt to call attention to their deranged cause. In their three-hour meeting, a dramatic change took place: The synagogue community came to see the two teens as lost, broken and frightened children. The ugly Jewish stereotypes the young offenders were forced to study disintegrated and they realized the courage and wisdom of this synagogue community. The two asked for the temple’s forgiveness. In the Jewish tradition, forgiveness must be earned. So it was agreed that the two would perform 200 hours of service to the temple — 100 hours under the supervision of the temple custodian, and 100 hours studying Jewish history and the history of the Holocaust with the rabbi. The temple also offered to get medical help for the young man and have the Nazi tattoos removed from his arms. They also agreed to help the two teens obtain job-seeking skills, therapy and their GED. They would meet again in six months and if the two had atoned for what they had done in the manner agreed upon, forgiveness would be given and the criminal charges would be dismissed. The teens exceeded all expectations. Their atonement transformed their lives with new possibilities, new understandings, new relationships. And it all began because a community was able to put aside its anger and demands for justice to come to a place of forgiveness and healing as expected from the good shepherd described in today’s gospel. [The Des Moines Register, April 22, 2012.]
One evening years ago a speaker who was visiting the United States wanted to make a telephone call. He entered a phone booth but found it to be different from those in his own country. It was beginning to get dark, so he had difficulty finding the number in the directory. He noticed that there was a light in the ceiling, but he didn’t know how to turn it on. As he tried again to find the number in the fading twilight, a passerby noted his plight and said, “Sir, if you want to turn the light on, you have to shut the door.” To the visitor’s amazement and satisfaction, when he closed the door, the booth was filled with light. He soon located the number and completed the call. A writer in the devotional, Our Daily Bread, commenting on this story, writes, “In a similar way, when we draw aside in a quiet place to pray, we must block out our busy world and open our hearts to the Father. Our darkened world of disappointments and trials will then be illuminated. We will enter into communion with God, we will sense His presence, and we will be assured of His provision for us. Our Lord often went to be alone with the Heavenly Father. Sometimes it was after a busy day of preaching and healing, as in today’s Scripture reading. At other times, it was before making a major decision.” (Luke 6:12). And so, should we. (Rev. King Duncan, www.Sermons.com)
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From the Sermons.com:
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 - "Hurry Hinders Ministry"
Ephesians 2:11-22 - "Zombie Zone or Beulah Land?" by Leonard Sweet
An ethics professor at Princeton Seminary asked for volunteers for an extra assignment. About half the class met him at the library to receive their assignments. The professor divided the students into three groups of five each. He gave the first group envelopes telling them to proceed immediately across campus to Stewart Hall. He told them that they had 15 minutes and if they didn't arrive on time, it would affect their grade. A minute or two later, he handed out envelopes to five others. They were also to go over to Stewart Hall, but they had 45 minutes.
The third group had three hours to get to Stewart Hall. The students weren't aware of it, but the professor had arranged for three drama students to meet them along the way. Close to the beginning of their walk, one of the drama students had his hands on his head and was moaning aloud as if in great pain. About half way to Stewart Hall, on the steps of the chapel, the seminary students passed a man who was lying face down as if unconscious. Finally, on the steps of Stewart Hall, the third drama student was acting out a seizure. In the first group of students, those who had only 15 minutes to get across campus, no one stopped to help. In the second group, two students stopped to help. In the last group, the one that had three hours for their assignment, all of the students stopped to help at least one person. The professor had clearly shown these seminarians that hurry hinders ministry...
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There is nothing like escaping to a cool movie theater on a hot summer night. If you are a high school or college kid on break from school, there is no better stuffy, hot night escape than a scary movie that makes your blood run cold.
Ever since the dawn of movies there have been "fright films." Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman were first on the silver screen. Later on mythical monsters were replaced by urban monsters, and the "teenage slasher" movie was born - where lonely baby-sitters and popular football players were the special focus of crazed creatures with hockey masks or with really long fingernails. But the most popular "scare-bearer" these days seems to be a creature you can't even wish were dead because it already is . . . zombies!
Wait a minute, you say. I didn't come to church to hear about zombies. Well, you not only need to hear about them if you are to understand the mission field God has put us in. But you need to hear about them if you are to understand our text for this morning, a text about "aliens and strangers"...
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There is an old story that has often been re-told in especially the Eastern Orthodox part of the church. According to the tale, a devout abbot from a monastery decided to take a prolonged spiritual retreat in a small cabin located on a remote island in the middle of a large lake. He told his fellow monks that he wanted to spend his days in prayer so as to grow closer to God. For six months he remained on the island with no other person seeing him or hearing from him in all that time. But then one day, as two monks were standing near the shore soaking up some sunshine, they could see in the distance a figure moving toward them. It was the abbot, walking on water, and coming toward shore. After the abbot passed by the two monks and continued on to the monastery, one of the monks turned to the other and said, "All these months in prayer and the abbot is still as stingy as ever. After all, the ferry costs only 25 cents!"
Humor aside, the point of the story is that it's amazing how easily we may sometimes miss the significance of something that is right in front of us. We think we know the meaning of this incident of Jesus' walking on the water, but do we really?
Humor aside, the point of the story is that it's amazing how easily we may sometimes miss the significance of something that is right in front of us. We think we know the meaning of this incident of Jesus' walking on the water, but do we really?
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations on Mark 6:30-56.
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We Are Sheepdogs
Thirty years ago, when I was a beginning seminarian, my pastoral supervisor in my fieldwork parish reminded me that the word "pastor" means shepherd. But then he said, "The people already have a Good Shepherd in Jesus." He said it was as English mystic Evelyn Underhill had written some time before, that the best that could be said of clergy is that we are sheepdogs. Sometimes we do a good job helping the Good Shepherd, and sometimes we just bark a lot and cause general confusion among the flock.
Samuel D. Zumwalt, Jesus Means Compassion
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Close the Door to Turn on the Light
One evening years ago a speaker who was visiting the United States wanted to make a telephone call. He entered a phone booth, but found it to be different from those in his own country. It was beginning to get dark, so he had difficulty finding the number in the directory. He noticed that there was a light in the ceiling, but he didn't know how to turn it on. As he tried again to find the number in the fading twilight, a passerby noted his plight and said, "Sir, if you want to turn the light on, you have to shut the door." To the visitor's amazement and satisfaction, when he closed the door, the booth was filled with light. He soon located the number and completed the call.
A writer in the devotional, Our Daily Bread, commenting on this story, writes, "In a similar way, when we draw aside in a quiet place to pray, we must block out our busy world and open our hearts to the Father. Our darkened world of disappointments and trials will then be illuminated. We will enter into communion with God, we will sense His presence, and we will be assured of His provision for us. Our Lord often went to be alone with the Heavenly Father. Sometimes it was after a busy day of preaching and healing, as in today's Scripture reading. At other times, it was before making a major decision." (Luke 6:12). And so should we.
King Duncan, www.Sermons.com
King Duncan, www.Sermons.com
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Deus Interruptus
Jesus and the disciples had been headed for Bethsaida when the evening's storm blew them to Gennesaret instead. Notice our Lord's response. He does not tell the Apostles to set out to sea and try again. Instead, he disembarks and begins to minister to the people around him. Christ's response is to see the storm as God's will and to minister appropriately wherever he lands.
How do I respond when my day is blown off course? Do I respond to daily (or even major life-changing) "inconveniences" by looking for God's purposes or do I become angry and frustrated at the "interruption" of my plans and purposes?
I have found that the higher my personal agenda; the less I am able to see God's purpose in my daily "interruptions." Yet, I have also found that when make myself available to "Deus Interruptus," incredible and miraculous things frequently happen. Have you ever considered beginning your day by "giving God permission to alter your agenda at any moment and any time?
"Dearest God, feel free to interrupt my agenda today with yours at anytime or in any place."
Jerry Goebel, Sheep without a Shepherd
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The Job Christ Wants Done
Writing about another time and place, Leo Tolstoy said, "I beheld the misery, cold, hunger, humiliation of thousands of my fellow human beings ... I feel, and can never cease to feel, myself a partaker in a crime which is constantly being committed, so long as I have extra food while others have none, so long as I have two coats while there exists one person without any ... I must seek in my heart at every moment, with meekness and humility, some opportunity for doing the job Christ wants done." The job Christ wants done. He set the course; we are to do the rowing.
David G. Rogne, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.
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Compassion and Motive
Jesus renewed people with the power of his compassion. I like the ancient legend about the monk who found a precious stone, a precious jewel. A short time later, the monk met a traveler, who said he was hungry and asked the monk if he would share some of his provisions. When the monk opened his bag, the traveler saw the precious stone and, on an impulse, asked the monk if he could have it. Amazingly, the monk gave the traveler the stone.
The traveler departed quickly, overjoyed with his new possession. However, a few days later, he came back, searching for the monk. He returned the stone to the monk and made a request: "Please give me something more valuable, more precious than this stone. Please give me that which enabled you to give me this precious stone!"
James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True, Dimensions, p. 101
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Restlessness
In this day when we are suppose to have so many devices to save time, I've never seen so many hurried and restless people! If the computer, the laptop, the cellular phone, and all of these other technological wonders are suppose to save us time, why do we have so little time for the things that matter?
It seems that with all we've accomplished, about all we have really added is speed and noise. We get there faster, but we don't know where we are going. And when we get there, we're out of breath.
I read one time about a man who swallowed an egg whole. He was afraid to move because he was afraid it would break. But he was afraid to sit still because he was afraid it would hatch. There are a lot of people like that today--so frenetic, so pressured they don't know which way to go. And the place where the pressure and restless often hit home is in the home.
Adrian Rogers, Ten Secrets for a Successful Family, Crossway Books, p. 71.
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Feeling the Suffering of Others
Flannery O'Connor, the insightful Roman Catholic writer, lifted up the Christian dimension when she wrote: "You will have found Christ when you are concerned with other people's sufferings and not your own." The beginning of compassion involves becoming aware of the suffering of others.
But it is not enough simply to see the suffering of others, we need to feel it. It is possible to see suffering, but not to feel it. Dewitt Jones tells about a photographer who walked down the street one day and came upon a man who was choking. "What a picture," he thought. "This says it all: A man, alone, in need. What a message!" He fumbled for his camera and light meter until the poor fellow who was choking realized that help was not forthcoming. He grabbed the photographer's arm and gasped, "I'm turning blue!" "That's all right," said the photographer, patting the fellow's hand, "I'm shooting color film." Just noticing suffering isn't enough.
David G. Rogne, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost, CSS Publishing Company
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David G. Rogne, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost, CSS Publishing Company
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Unless a Man Has Pity
In his book The Human Comedy, William Saroyan noted: "Unless a man has pity, he is inhuman and not yet truly a man, for out of pity comes the balm which heals. Only good men weep. If a man has not yet wept at the world's pain, he is less than the dirt he walks upon, because dirt will nourish seed, root, stalk, leaf, and flower, but the spirit of a man without pity is barren and will bring forth nothing...." Good people feel the pain of others, and they weep.
David G. Rogne, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost, CSS Publishing Company
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David G. Rogne, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost, CSS Publishing Company
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Avoiding Our Pain
Henri Nouwen wrote that "our culture has become most sophisticated in the avoidance of pain, not only our physical pain but our emotional and mental pain as well. We not only bury our dead as if they were still alive, but we also bury our pains as if they were not really there. We have become so used to this state of anesthesia, that we panic when there is nothing or nobody left to distract us...
