1. God, Compassionate Like a Mother

2. A Shepherd Who Cares 

Introduction
1. God, Compassionate Like a Mother
What a pity if our world would become so heartless as to do away with compassion, with pity! We hear today’s Good News that God cares for us with a love deeper and even more tender than that of a mother for the child to which she gave life. He is particularly close to those who need him most: the weak, those who suffer, those who count for nothing. That is the love he showed us in Jesus; that is the love he invites us to have for each other: deep, tender, lasting, not afraid of showing itself. Let us ask Jesus here with us in the Eucharist for such a compassionate and committed love.

2 A Shepherd Who Cares
There are times when we understand instinctively that a person is very close to us, that he or she understands us and feels with us, even if few words are said. This is how Jesus was one with the people, one of them, feeling with them, seeing their needs without having to be told, also the hidden needs, the needs of the heart. This is how Jesus feels about us. The Gospel expresses this in the image of Jesus as the shepherd who cares. We are gathered here around him and entrust ourselves to him. May we learn from him to care for one another.

First Reading: In Search of a True Shepherd
The leaders of Israel have been bad shepherds, says Jeremiah. But God will give his people a good shepherd, the Messiah.

1 Reading Jeremiah 23:1-6
Woe to the shepherds
who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
says the LORD.
Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
against the shepherds who shepherd my people:
You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
from all the lands to which I have driven them
and bring them back to their meadow;
there they shall increase and multiply.
I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them
so that they need no longer fear and tremble;
and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”

Responsorial Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Second Reading: Christ Our Peace
Through Christ’s blood, both Jesus and pagans become God’s people of the covenant; in this way enemies are reconciled.

2 Reading Ephesians 2:13-18
Brothers and sisters:
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,
thus establishing peace,
and might reconcile both with God,
in one body, through the cross,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Alleluia John 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Jesus’ Heart Went Out to the Leaderless People
When he and his disciples needed some days off for rest, Jesus could not close his heart to the leaderless people who searched for him. As a shepherd, he nourished them with his word.

Gospel Mark 6:30-34
The apostles gathered together with Jesus
and reported all they had done and taught.
He said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”
People were coming and going in great numbers,
and they had no opportunity even to eat.
So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.
They hastened there on foot from all the towns
and arrived at the place before them.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things

Commentary
All the great religions were born in the desert: in other words, born in solitude. It may seem a strange thing that one who is to be a ‘shepherd’ of people should lose himself in a desert. But there is a profound truth in it. In our day, plunging into solitude may seem a quirky thing to do. Quirky, eccentric, romantic…. It has frequently been regarded so, and sometimes with good reason. In past centuries it became a custom among the very wealthy in England to build a rustic hermitage in the garden and pay an “Ornamental Hermit” to live there. For example, in the 18th century the Hon. Charles Hamilton advertised for an Ornamental Hermit and laid down the conditions: he should “continue in the hermitage seven years, where he would be provided with a Bible, optical glasses, a mat for his feet…an hourglass for his timepiece, water for his beverage, and food from the house. He must wear a camlet robe, and never under any circumstances must he cut his hair, his beard or his nails, or stray beyond the limits of the grounds, or exchange one word with the servants….” But contemplation – like blowing your nose – is something another person cannot do for you!

Blessing
A world without pity or compassion
is a world with little room for God.
May our communities reflect
the compassion of Jesus our Lord;
make us attentive to each other’s needs,
both material and spiritual,
for God has entrusted us to one another.
May the kind and merciful God bless you all:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.

Go, follow the Lord,
and be responsible for one another.
R/ Thanks be to God.