Jeremiah 23:1-6; Psalms 23, Ephesians 2:13-18; Mark 6:30-34
Healing the WoundsDear friends as we enter deeper into the Ordinary Season of the Church’s liturgical calendar, we must have already realized that the readings of every Sunday carry a particular lesson. Last Sunday Jesus sent his disciples on a mission to test how much they had learnt from him. By baptism, we were made the heralds of the Gospel of Christ. Prophet Amos was sent by God to admonish the temple priests who had failed in their responsibility and caused a lot of wounds to the poor and the vulnerable. Jesus came to heal the wounds in the world and sent us also to the world to continue this healing mission.
In today’s Gospel, the disciples report to Jesus what they have accomplished. Realizing that they were exhausted, Jesus suggested that they go to a solitary place to take a rest However, a big crowd was following them from behind. The crowd probably wanted to hear more of this new and uplifting good news about the Kingdom of God that spoke to their wounds. By following the disciples, the crowd arrived where the master was and he, taking pity on them, began to preach to them for they were like wounded sheep without a shepherd. Likewise, every baptized person becomes a disciple of Jesus. The disciple does what he or she has learned from the master. In John 1, we read that having seen where Jesus lived, Philip went and brought his brother Nathanael to Jesus. In John 4, after recognizing Jesus as the Messiah who was to come, the Samaritan woman went back to her village and brought her people to Jesus. And you and me, whom have we got to Jesus so far? The opposite of blessedness is woes. Prophet Jeremiah declares woes to the shepherds who instead of gathering the people to God wounded and scattered them.
The mission of religious leaders is to draw the people to God so that they can be healed and not to themselves. What we see today is preachers, prophets, and prophetesses doing their best to draw as many people to themselves as they can. Instead of healing the woundedness of the people caused by broken families, socio-political and economic injustices, all sorts of abuses, and jealousy, they scatter them with gossip. The question for you and me is how many people have we wounded with our words, gossip, and actions? God promises to raise a shepherd from David’s lineage, a messiah, who will gather all the people from where they have been scattered and heal them. In Psalm 23, David anticipated the coming of this shepherd who would bring comfort to his sheep.
St. Paul tells us that in Christ we have this great shepherd who takes good care of his sheep. In him and through his death and resurrection, all woundedness of the people is healed, and what remains is one flock under one shepherd. Unfortunately, this is not what we see around us. the multiplication of religious denominations continues to cause more wounds and division than healing in the world. People hate each other because they worship God differently and they go on to justify their hatred using God’s name. I am not just admonishing the religious leaders just for the sake of doing so. Being on of those leaders, I think sometimes it is not the faithful who have problems but their leaders who fail to show them the way.
Our Christian faith has two dimensions that support and depend on each other. These are the vertical and the horizontal dimensions. The vertical dimension is our relationship with God and the Horizontal dimension is our relationship with others. The vertical dimension is supported by the horizontal dimension and cannot stand by itself. The horizontal dimension is made possible by the vertical dimension. One cannot claim to be in a good relationship with God if he or she hates fellow human beings. Being a good Christian is not measured by how often a person frequents the worship places or how much offering and tithe he or she gives to the Church. All the offerings and worship mean nothing where there is no regard for others. In Mt 12:7 Jesus asked the Pharisees to learn the meaning of the words of Prophet Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy not sacrifice”. We cannot buy God’s favours he gives them freely to only those who live according to his will. Those who keep the commandment of love for God and neighbour.
The just concluded General Chapter of the Divine Word Missionaries in which I was a delegate, focused on the call to be healers and not the causes of wounds. The theme for the chapter was, “…Being Faithful and Creative Disciples in a Wounded World”. The following is my summary of the chapter’s resolve in five short sentences:- To be aware of the current wounds wherever we are. – To make sure the formation of the missionaries is oriented towards responding to these wounds. – Inspired by the Word of God, to find creative ways to respond to the wounds in the world.- To involve the lay people seriously in our mission.- To find self-reliance strategies to be sustainable in the mission.
As human beings and more so disciples of Christ, our vocation is to make the world better for all using the gifts and opportunities that God has given to us. The questions for reflection today are: What wounds have I caused to others and nature? Do I reflect on the consequences of my words and actions? What can I do to heal the wounds I and others have caused? Do I have wounds of my own that need healing? Have I tried to forgive those who have caused me grievous wounds?
Have a blessed Sunday.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 