"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" says the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: "You have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, says the LORD. "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'
Today's Song of Praise is taken from Psalm 23/24(V/RSV):
The earth is the LORD's and
the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein;
For he has founded it upon
the seas, and established it upon the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill
of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and
a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does
not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing
from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of
those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. [Selah]
Today's Epistle is from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians, beginning at the 2nd Chapter, and the 13th Verse:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And 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.
+ A Reading from the Gospel of Mark, beginning at the 6th Chapter, and the 30th Verse:
The apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
The First Reading talks about bad shepherds -- knowing Jeremiah, he means the Kings of Israel -- who destroy and scatter the sheep of the Lord. He also prophesies a "righteous Branch", who shall reign as king, deal wisely, execute justice, and bring righteousness.
Judaism interpreted this as a restoral of the Davidic line of Kings at first, and later as a prophecy of the Messiah -- the Anointed One of the Lord. The Church sees it as a prophecy of Christ (the Anointed One), who came not to be king, or to rule, but to bring righteousness and salvation.
Paul, in the Epistle, talks about this too -- we are brought near in the Blood of Christ -- we are not anointed with oil, as the kings of old were, but with water in Baptism, and with the Blood of the Anointed One. All who were once far (gentiles) have been brought near, and united in one flesh, one Church with those who were formerly near (Israel).
By His death on the Cross -- by His shedding of His Blood, in which we are washed, by which our sins and differences are dissolved, he made us new, with Him, in one Spirit, and joined us to the Father. He brings us peace, brings us holiness, brings us into the Glory which is the Presence of the Lord.
The Song of praise sings of the Glory of the Lord, how He has made the earth and all that in it is. It asks who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, and stand in His holy place.
Judaism had no totally satisfactory answer, but we do -- those who are washed in the Blood of the Lamb, cleansed of sin, and with hearts made pure by the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We SHALL see the "...face of the God of Jacob."
In today's Gospel, Jesus sends his Apostles out on a training mission, to do exorcisms and heal. He gives them instructions not to stay in any one place for too long, not to get involved or collect possessions, but to keep moving and doing His work. This is very much like the training that an aspirant to the priesthood goes through on his way to ordination -- one of the traditional steps is "Exorcist", who was also the healer in the early church community.
Notice that this training mission was before Pentecost -- before the descent of the Holy Spirit, before the Apostles were fully ordained and consecrated for their mission. Unlike what some sects think, the Holy Spirit did not just descend upon them, magically turning country bumpkins into inspired preachers and healers. Our Lord carefully trained his Apostles, and they trained their successors, and so on, down to our own day.
Let us pray, then, that, hearing the Word of the Lord, we may be trained to become the good shepherds that Jeremiah prophecies...
In the Name of The Father + And of the Son And of the Holy Spirit Amen.