READING OF THE DAY First reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah Jer 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.”
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[a] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Eph 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.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to Mark Mk 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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER Today we could pray during this Mass for our shepherds, that the Lord give them the grace to walk with the people and to be present for them with much tenderness and closeness. When the people finds its shepherd, they feel that special sensation only felt in the presence of God. This amazement [comes from] feeling the closeness and the tenderness of God in the shepherd. (Santa Marta, 30 January 2018)
READING OF THE DAY First reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah Jer 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.”
PSALM 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians Eph 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.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to Mark Mk 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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER Today we could pray during this Mass for our shepherds, that the Lord give them the grace to walk with the people and to be present for them with much tenderness and closeness. When the people finds its shepherd, they feel that special sensation only felt in the presence of God. This amazement [comes from] feeling the closeness and the tenderness of God in the shepherd. (Santa Marta, 30 January 2018)
FAUSTI - "Come, you alone, on the sidelines" says Jesus to His own who return from the first sowing, to lead them to the place where he will give the bread, In the synagogue (meeting) in the center is the Word; here in the center is the One who sent them, and now invites them in solitude, in the desert. It will be the new synagogue, a people gathered to listen to His Word and receive His food. This passage is the immediate prelude that frames and gives the interpretative key to the multiplication of the loaves. It tells us the basic characteristics of the Church, which is in close connection with the Eucharist. In fact, the Eucharist makes the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist. The Community of the disciples is first of all constituted by gathering before Jesus, the only referent of each and every one. The Mission, as it starts from Him, thus leads to Him, without distracting from Him, on the contrary leading all the others to Him. In this meeting, or synagogue, there is a confrontation of what is done and said with what He has done and said (Acts 1:1), a measure of everything. Our prophecy is the memory of Him, the fulfilment of every promise. In this dialogue with the Word, we feel the invitation to the desert, that is, to exodus, to find true rest, in intimacy with Him, who communicates His secret to us. It will be the Eucharist, where we eat and live with Him and Him, together with all those who want to follow Him. "This compassion is not an attribute of God, it is God Himself, in the depths of His gratuitous Love, who will come to light on the Cross. Jesus is a Candidate Shepherd not out of a desire for power, but because he is an immolated Lamb who gives his life for the sheep. According to the promise, God himself becomes the Shepherd of His people (Ez 34:1). The first bread he gives is His Word. For "not only of bread shall man live, but of every word that comes out of the mouth of God" (Dt 8:3). Sooner or later, material food will fail, as will life itself. But His Word and His faithfulness endure for ever.
D. FREDO - This is the only occasion in Mark's Gospel where the word "apostle" appears, which does not indicate a title, an office, but a function: it means "sent." When disciples are sent, they are "apostles". Well, these apostles, the disciples, " came together around Jesus and told Him everything they had done and everything they had taught". But Jesus had not authorized them to teach and also what they did was not what Jesus had instructed them to do. We saw already last time how these disciples did not do that for which Jesus had sent them. So they did and taught and Jesus was not very happy of their relationship and in fact he says "Come aside". This 'aloofness' is a technical term used by the evangelists - we find it several times not only in Mark, but also in the other authors of the Gospel - that always indicates incomprehension or hostility, or actually, opposition to Jesus. Therefore, every time when Jesus takes the disciples "aside" it is because on the disciples' side there is incomprehension, hostility or opposition to Jesus' message.
-->So these disciples who did not do what Jesus had commissioned them to do and even began to teaching - Jesus never authorized them to teach. There is a difference in the Greek language between 'teaching' and 'preaching'. 'Teaching' means using the categories of the Old Testament to announce the new and this will be a role that Jesus takes for Himself, only Jesus knows what of the Old is still good to announce the newness of the Kingdom. So Jesus never authorizes the disciples to teach, instead He sends them out to 'preach'. To 'preach' means to announce with new categories. So they have taught, they have taken the categories of the Old Testament and have produced a result that is a bit confused. In fact, the evangelist writes that "many were coming". Presumably these disciples announced the Messiah according to nationalist categories and this created some enthusiasm. Whereas Jesus in the synagogue of His country was greeted with skepticism, the preaching of the disciples is greeted with enthusiasm. So it means that Jesus' line and the disciples' line is not the same. "Then," the evangelist writes, "they went with the boat to a deserted place, apart." So Jesus wants to separate them from the crowd because they have created a false expectation, that of the triumphant Messiah, the victorious Messiah. And, we note this particular " He,got off the boat" - the evangelist should have written ' they got off the boat'. No, the disciples stay in the boat, Jesus distances them from the crowd. ... "Jesus saw a large crowd and had compassion". This 'having compassion' is a technical term in the Old Testament and also in the New that is used exclusively for God. Men have mercy, but it is only God who has compassion. Compassion is not a sentiment, but a Divine action by which life is restored to those who have no life. In the Old Testament it is reserved exclusively to God, in the New to God and Jesus. Well, Jesus' compassion towards these people who have no life is because they were "sheep that have no Shepherd". Moses had asked that there should always be a shepherd among his people so that the flock would not be strayed and instead the crowd is like 'sheep that have no shepherd'. But in reality they did have shepherds, many, perhaps even too many, but these shepherds did not care about the good of the people, but only about their own interests. They didn't care about the health, the life of the people, but they defended their own privileges; they didn't serve the flock, but they dominated it. So Jesus, faced with the situation that had already been denounced by the prophets, takes on the role of Shepherd. CONCLUSION From this moment Jesus will be the True Shepherd of Israel. "And He began to teach them many things." Jesus does not teach doctrines to dominate people, but, we will see, He becomes food, vital communication, which allows the people to live.
READING OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaFirst reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jer 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.”
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
Eph 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.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Today we could pray during this Mass for our shepherds, that the Lord give them the grace to walk with the people and to be present for them with much tenderness and closeness. When the people finds its shepherd, they feel that special sensation only felt in the presence of God. This amazement [comes from] feeling the closeness and the tenderness of God in the shepherd. (Santa Marta, 30 January 2018)
READING OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaFirst reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jer 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.”
PSALM 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
Second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
Eph 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.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 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.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Today we could pray during this Mass for our shepherds, that the Lord give them the grace to walk with the people and to be present for them with much tenderness and closeness. When the people finds its shepherd, they feel that special sensation only felt in the presence of God. This amazement [comes from] feeling the closeness and the tenderness of God in the shepherd. (Santa Marta, 30 January 2018)
FAUSTI - "Come, you alone, on the sidelines" says Jesus to His own who return from the first sowing, to lead them to the place where he will give the bread, In the synagogue (meeting) in the center is the Word; here in the center is the One who sent them, and now invites them in solitude, in the desert.
RispondiEliminaIt will be the new synagogue, a people gathered to listen to His Word and receive His food.
This passage is the immediate prelude that frames and gives the interpretative key to the multiplication of the loaves. It tells us the basic characteristics of the Church, which is in close connection with the Eucharist.
In fact, the Eucharist makes the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist.
The Community of the disciples is first of all constituted by gathering before Jesus, the only referent of each and every one. The Mission, as it starts from Him, thus leads to Him, without distracting from Him, on the contrary leading all the others to Him.
In this meeting, or synagogue, there is a confrontation of what is done and said with what He has done and said (Acts 1:1), a measure of everything.
Our prophecy is the memory of Him, the fulfilment of every promise.
In this dialogue with the Word, we feel the invitation to the desert, that is, to exodus, to find true rest, in intimacy with Him, who communicates His secret to us. It will be the Eucharist, where we eat and live with Him and Him, together with all those who want to follow Him.
"This compassion is not an attribute of God, it is God Himself, in the depths of His gratuitous Love, who will come to light on the Cross.
Jesus is a Candidate Shepherd not out of a desire for power, but because he is an immolated Lamb who gives his life for the sheep. According to the promise, God himself becomes the Shepherd of His people (Ez 34:1).
The first bread he gives is His Word. For "not only of bread shall man live, but of every word that comes out of the mouth of God" (Dt 8:3).
Sooner or later, material food will fail, as will life itself.
But His Word and His faithfulness endure for ever.
D. FREDO - This is the only occasion in Mark's Gospel where the word "apostle" appears, which does not indicate a title, an office, but a function: it means "sent." When disciples are sent, they are "apostles". Well, these apostles, the disciples, " came together around Jesus and told Him everything they had done and everything they had taught". But Jesus had not authorized them to teach and also what they did was not what Jesus had instructed them to do. We saw already last time how these disciples did not do that for which Jesus had sent them. So they did and taught and Jesus was not very happy of their relationship and in fact he says "Come aside". This 'aloofness' is a technical term used by the evangelists - we find it several times not only in Mark, but also in the other authors of the Gospel - that always indicates incomprehension or hostility, or actually, opposition to Jesus.
RispondiEliminaTherefore, every time when Jesus takes the disciples "aside" it is because on the disciples' side there is incomprehension, hostility or opposition to Jesus' message.
-->So these disciples who did not do what Jesus had commissioned them to do and even began to teaching - Jesus never authorized them to teach. There is a difference in the Greek language between 'teaching' and 'preaching'. 'Teaching' means using the categories of the Old Testament to announce the new and this will be a role that Jesus takes for Himself, only Jesus knows what of the Old is still good to announce the newness of the Kingdom. So Jesus never authorizes the disciples to teach, instead He sends them out to 'preach'. To 'preach' means to announce with new categories. So they have taught, they have taken the categories of the Old Testament and have produced a result that is a bit confused. In fact, the evangelist writes that "many were coming". Presumably these disciples announced the Messiah according to nationalist categories and this created some enthusiasm. Whereas Jesus in the synagogue of His country was greeted with skepticism, the preaching of the disciples is greeted with enthusiasm. So it means that Jesus' line and the disciples' line is not the same. "Then," the evangelist writes, "they went with the boat to a deserted place, apart." So Jesus wants to separate them from the crowd because they have created a false expectation, that of the triumphant Messiah, the victorious Messiah. And, we note this particular " He,got off the boat" - the evangelist should have written ' they got off the boat'. No, the disciples stay in the boat, Jesus distances them from the crowd. ... "Jesus saw a large crowd and had compassion". This 'having compassion' is a technical term in the Old Testament and also in the New that is used exclusively for God. Men have mercy, but it is only God who has compassion. Compassion is not a sentiment, but a Divine action by which life is restored to those who have no life. In the Old Testament it is reserved exclusively to God, in the New to God and Jesus. Well, Jesus' compassion towards these people who have no life is because they were "sheep that have no Shepherd". Moses had asked that there should always be a shepherd among his people so that the flock would not be strayed and instead the crowd is like 'sheep that have no shepherd'.
RispondiEliminaBut in reality they did have shepherds, many, perhaps even too many, but these shepherds did not care about the good of the people, but only about their own interests. They didn't care about the health, the life of the people, but they defended their own privileges; they didn't serve the flock, but they dominated it.
So Jesus, faced with the situation that had already been denounced by the prophets, takes on the role of Shepherd.
CONCLUSION From this moment Jesus will be the True Shepherd of Israel. "And He began to teach them many things." Jesus does not teach doctrines to dominate people, but, we will see, He becomes food, vital communication, which allows the people to live.