06/02/2021 Reflection 1088 (Bro. Periyanayagam Tamil Selvam, OP on Mark 6:30-34)
Like us on Facebook at / dominicanministriesgoa write to us: [email protected] Website: www.dominicans.in “He had compassion on them for they were like sheep without a shepherd”. My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, in Mark 3:14-15, we read, “Jesus appointed the twelve apostles, to be with him, to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to cast out demons.” Today’s gospel begins with the apostles coming back from a successful mission, and reporting it to their master Jesus. Jesus, totally aware of their fatigue, calls them out to a deserted place, to be alone with him, and to rest. From this incident, can be derived, what could be called; “The rhythm of the Christian life”. The Christian life is a continuous cycle of going into the presence of God from the presence of men, and of going into the presence of men being commissioned by God. In simple words, it is the meeting of God in the secret place and the serving of men in the market place. So, as they had planned, they took a boat and sailed across the lake to a deserted land. But the villagers were astounded by the miraculous signs and were so thirsty for the words of life that they hurried to that deserted place on foot, and arrived there before the boat. As Jesus and his apostles stepped ashore, to their surprise, they found a large crowd of people gathered in front of them. Jesus saw them and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd and began pouring out the words of life. In the Old Testament, when the Israelites were in the wilderness like sheep without a shepherd, God in His love, sent them Moses who gathered the people like a shepherd gathers his flock. In the New Testament Jesus is the good shepherd and he fulfils what had been prophesied by Prophet Ezekiel in 34:23 “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them; He shall feed them and be their shepherd”. We Christians are the sheep and Christ, through his church is our shepherd. A sheep without its shepherd cannot find its way home. Daily, we stand at the cross roads between life and death, and it is the voice of the shepherd which we hear through sacred scripture and the teachings of the church that ultimately leads us in the right direction, on the highway to heaven. Today, let us pray for the grace, to follow the example set by Our Lord , that is to be patient and charitable to all those who are in need of our help. Amen. #dominicanmediamission #DOMINICANFRIARSINDIA
