Take time to be with Jesus

FROM A READING FOR JULY 22, 16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
‘As He went ashore, He saw a great crowd; and He had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to
teach them many things...” — Mk 6:34

In this Sunday’s readings, we are led to bring two fundamental ideas together: the nature of real peace and Christ Jesus as the shepherd.

In bringing them together, we come to realize that Jesus Christ, as our shepherd, is the bringer of peace.

Jeremiah gives a detailed description in Sunday’s first reading (Jer 23:1-6) of what the people of God look like without a shepherd. He says they are scattered; they are driven away; they fear and tremble; and some are missing, meaning that they have been lost or devoured.

In short, there is no peace for them — neither within their hearts nor in the world around them. God responds to this situation by proclaiming that He will gather them and appoint shepherds for them. Not only that, He will raise up a “righteous shoot” — a king — whose own name will invoke the holy name of God.

Sheep are us

In the description of the sheep, we are meant to recognize the ups and downs of our own lives and how those vicissitudes increase our desire for definitive peace.

Do you ever wonder where God is in your life, or if He cares about you? Do you ever pray, expecting not to be heard? Do you ever look at your life and think that God is simply absent? All these are experiences meant to bring us to ask for peace from the one who can give it.

Sunday’s Gospel (Mk 6:30-34) teaches us that Jesus Christ is the bringer of that peace. He is the righteous shoot raised up by God as promised in Jeremiah.

In the Gospel, Jesus greets the Apostles after having sent them out on mission. They have been hard at work, so He invites them to take some time and rest a while. When they arrive at the desired resting place, the crowds have beat them there and are waiting to be fed and healed.

Jesus, seeing the crowds, recognizes their distress and has compassion on them. He teaches them and meets their need and desire to be near Him.

The distress of the crowds, and our own distress, is in some way alienation from the Father, who is the ultimate peace and final resting place. We come to the Father and experience peace and communion with Him through Jesus.

Toward Him, peace

The process described in Sunday’s Gospel of moving toward Jesus in order to experience peace and communion with God is succinctly described by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (Eph 2:13-18). Paul states, “He is our peace.”

In order to come to know this peace that is Jesus, we must take time to be with Him like the Apostles did, and we must approach Him, seeking Him out as our access point to healing and wholeness.

The Gospel makes it clear that Jesus is not interested in leaving us to languish in our misery, and Paul says even more: Not only does God not just leave us wallowing, He Himself, in the person of Jesus, came to break down the walls that separate us from God and from each other.

It is through Jesus’ sacrifice of His own life that those walls come down. Now, Jesus is alive, and through Him, resurrected from the dead, we have access to God the Father in the Holy Spirit.

Paul says that we who were once far off — not just through outward sin, but through a lack of trust and hope in God, like the sheep — have been brought near.

Bring yourself to Jesus so that He might bring Himself to you. Say to Him, “Here I am. Please come into my life.” He will hear your prayer.