A Flock without a Shepherd

Homily

16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

21^st July 2024

First reading	Jeremiah 23:1-6
Responsorial Psalm	Psalm 22(23)
Second reading	Ephesians 2:13-18
Gospel	Mark 6:30-34

 

In preparing for this homily, I reviewed what others were saying. Some said keep it short and simple. Another said it’s about being lost and found. But the one point that struck me most was a comment by Father Hanly in his on-line Homily from 2009:

“Remember that. You do not convert people with your mouth, you convert them with your life.” (Hanly, 2009)

Being a Christian is not about what you say. In today’s world we see many leaders making promises which are often never kept. Much of this year has been taken up with elections of one kind or another.

Russia had one with a massive majority. With no opposition, it was a landslide victory allowing their leader to remain in power from the end of 1999 (European Union, 2024).

France had a snap election for a new prime minister. In the first round, it looked like the far-right would gain power, but various left-leaning parties rallied round to prevent this happening in the second stage. However, the president managed to secure enough votes with his centre-right party to control the National Assembly (Goury-Laffont, 2024).

The UK had its election around the same time, with a landslide by Labour with 412 seats to the Conservative’s 121 seats (Leach, 2024) but there were less people out voting than there had been in 2019. Labour had over 10 million votes in 2019, against Conservatives nearly 14 million votes (Clark, 2024). However, in 2024 Labour had around 9.7 million votes to win the election, against the Conservatives’ 6.8 million (Leach, 2024) (Cracknel & Baker, 2024).

The next big election coming up in the West is in the USA. Donald Trump was grazed by an assassin’s bullet and thanked God for being alive (Fitzgerald, 2024), while Joe Biden said in an interview it would take God to come down and ask him to step aside because of concern for his mental and physical health (Shear, 2024). The next day he was reported to have COVID and had to self-isolate (Gray, 2024). He is now considering his options (Lee, 2024).

The outcome of this election has the potential to shift world politics and change alliances at a crucial point with the war in Ukraine (Foy, 2024), China’s threats to Taiwan (Reuters, 2024) (Foy, 2024), and how the African Nations and Asian countries are realigning themselves toward Russia and away from the Imperial oppressors from the past (Banchereau, 2024).

The stories above have been referenced from a range of media outlets. The news on Friday was how a piece of faulty security software caused worldwide havoc across corporates, governments, transport and especially hospitals (Graham-McLay, 2024).

It seems that not a day goes past that something major erupts and impacts our lives. Not dissimilar to how Jeremiah reprimands the leaders of Israel in the first reading, for allowing their flock to be scattered and destroyed under their watch. God was angry because those who were in charge were more concerned about themselves and did not care about the people. Yet, in all this disaster, God promised to bring a true king from the line of David, who would have integrity to save the flock so they could live in confidence.

The psalm reminds us that the Lord is our shepherd, and we will want for nothing. Paul tells the Ephesians that those who are far apart will be brought together in peace. Barriers will be broken down that kept people apart. This has been achieved through Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, and we have been forgiven. Allowing us to be reunited with the Father, guided by the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel, tells us how the Apostles after their journey to spread the Word, cast out demons and had healed the sick, were weary when they met up with Jesus. He could see they needed rest and wanted to take them away, a kind of retreat. They were so busy they had no time to eat.

Initially, Jesus had taken the Apostles by boat to find a place to rest, but the people were so eager to be with him they worked out where they had gone and were able to get there before them. Seeing the large crowd as he stepped off the boat, he saw how they were leaderless, and needed someone to guide them.

Today, we need that same kind of leadership and guidance as our world looks fit to break itself apart, scattering everyone in all directions. Our minds have been dulled, our ears can no longer take in the roar and our eyes have been blinded by a deluge of images. We find it hard to process everything as our anxieties are being heightened. We may feel like crying.

Did you know crying is the body’s way to cope with stress? (Sinha Dutta, 2024) It helps to enhance our mood, and the deep breathing encourages us to calm down. It is a natural way to help bring our emotions under control.

I started this Homily by reflecting on how it is not what we say that brings about conversion, but how we live our lives. Each day God grants us on this planet we can share our time with others and help them along their journey. If we can form habits in our lives that can see the benefits God has brought to us, this will be reflected in our actions and the way we deal with others. If we are angry all the time, this will also ripple through to those around us who will feel it and respond in kind. But if we can see good in those we meet, greet them with respect and love them as we love ourselves, this will also be reflected in how people respond.

What I love about watching a GAA match, is that no matter how hard the game is, the players from both teams, at the end, walk across the field and shake each other’s hands. The spectators are not clumped in two separate groups, both team colours are all together, to enjoy the experience. It is a family event, and all feel safe.

If we can show people our faith and trust in Jesus, his light will shine through us. Others will want to follow, and we can lead them to Our Lord through what we do and how we act. Not through what we say. The Lord is knocking at our door and is waiting for us to answer his call. If we open our hearts to him, he will come into our lives and will dine with us.

Amen.

References

Clark, D. (2024, July 4). Number of votes won in the general election of the United Kingdom in 2019. Retrieved from Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1084308/uk-general-election-results/

Cracknel, R. B. (2024). General election 2024 results. London: House of Commons Library. Retrieved from https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-10009/CBP-10009.pdf

European Union. (2024, March 13). Russia's 2024 presidential election: What is at stake and what is not. Retrieved from Think Tank European Parliament: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2024/760358/EPRS_BRI(2024)760358_EN.pdf

Fitzgerald, J. (2024, July 19). Trump recounts shooting in marathon Republican convention speech. Retrieved from BBC NEws: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ngwmjedm3o

Goury-Laffont, V. (2024, July 18). Macron wins shock vote to keep coalition hopes alive. Retrieved from Politico: https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-france-shock-vote-coalition-centrist-thursday-president-elections-2024-nfp/

Gray, F. (2024, July 18). Joe Biden has caught covid at the worst possible time. Retrieved from The Spectator: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/joe-biden-has-caught-covid-at-the-worst-possible-time/

Hanly. (2009, 7 19). 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. Retrieved from Father Hanly.com: https://fatherhanly.com/journey-with-father/year-b-16th-sunday-in-ordinary-time/

Leach, A. e. (2024, July 5). UK general election results in full: Labour wins in landslide. Retrieved from The Guardian Newspaper: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2024/jul/04/uk-general-election-results-2024-live-in-full

Lee, C. E. (2024, July 19). Biden's family starts discussing his possible exit plan from the 2024 race. Retrieved from NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/bidens-family-starts-discussing-exit-plan-2024-race-rcna162658

Shear, M. D. (2024, July 7). A Defiant Biden Says Only the ‘Lord Almighty’ Could Drive Him From the Race. Retrieved from The New York Times: Biden's family starts discussing his possible exit plan from the 2024 race

 

 

 

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