The Gospel of Mark, chapter 6:34

You wake up to a hot and sticky Sunday morning outside. The air conditioner inside the house is purring contentedly and all’s right in your world. Gradually, you begin to think of getting up and going to church. You dread the thought of the heat, the smell of the pews in the church, the closeness of all those troublesome and worried bodies and, perhaps, the long homily. “Maybe I should just stay here,” you think. “Yeah, I can worship God without being packed like sardines in a pew. After all, whether I go to church or not, I’m still a Christian; I can worship God in my own way.”

But, can you? Without the gathering, how can you call yourself part of the gathered?

In today’s scripture passage we are compared to sheep and Jesus is the good shepherd. He has gathered us into the fold of God. Jesus has done this the hard way-by shedding his blood and giving His life for us. Through Jesus the shepherd, we now may enjoy real and lasting peace, the peace of a people united to one another and to God.

Today’s gospel of Mark, chapter six, offers a brief, but touching account of how the Good Shepherd acts. Jesus’ apostles had just returned from their journey. Surely they had much to tell him, much to ask. Surely Jesus had much to say. So Jesus takes his apostles away to be alone with them. But there is to be no solitude for Jesus. The crowd follows Him. Upon seeing the people, Jesus cannot suppress his shepherding instincts. He is filled with compassion for the crowd. He knows he cannot leave them unguided. So, Jesus turns to the crowd.

What Jesus does with the crowd gives us a hint at what he sees to be the heart of shepherding; namely, He begins to teach them. For Jesus, catechesis: sharing the good news is the shepherd’s primary task. In his teaching (which is later confirmed by miracles), Jesus gathers the crowd of “lost sheep.”

In a very special way, today’s gospel celebrates gathering; it celebrates what it means to be together. Only with Jesus as our shepherd, can we call ourselves church. Only when we gather on Sunday in his name, are we what we say we are: God’s own people, the flock the Lord tends. That is why our Sunday gathering is so important. Without that gathering, we are like lost sheep. We cannot be sheep of the Shepherd without being part of the great memorial of His Life and Death.

Give some thought to spending some unhurried time to prepare for mass next Sunday. Welcome next Sunday with a special prayer on Saturday night. Plan ahead so you won’t be rushed in getting to church on Sunday morning. Come early to experience, a welcome and get acquainted with other parishioners. Remember, we’re all in this together. We’re sheep of the same shepherd who visits with us and shepherds us in the Eucharist. That’s why He told us: “Do this in memory of me.”

Fr. Hugh Duffy