7-18-21 - 16th Sunday OT - Fr. Leo

16th Sunday OT - Fr. Leo 

The relationship between solitude and active ministry is clearly portrayed in Mark’s gospel this morning.  So busy with people’s needs, Jesus and the disciples didn’t even have time to eat.  So, to sustain themselves and their ministry, Jesus invites them to a quiet place.  So while in a boat away from the crowds, they have a bit of respite. They eat, rest, and let their inner spirits revive.  

After a short break they were back at it.  As they disembarked, they saw a vast crowd coming to them and Jesus, moved with pity, picked up his teaching once more.  

We are called to be compassionate as Jesus was compassionate, but that doesn’t mean we neglect what feeds our own soul.  Just like instructions before takeoff on an airplane when adults are instructed to put their own oxygen mask on first, and then help their children.  To live life from the heart requires self-care that is not selfish, but necessary to recharge our souls for loving and healing.

As we share in Jesus’ role a as good shepherd, like him, we will need times of rest, reflection and prayer. We may need to turn off the external stimuluses for a while and tune into the wordless good shepherd that lives deep within us.  This is the only way we can be faithful to our personal calling, and the only way to keep love as our focus, lest we become nothing but noisy gongs.

We need to act, to live out the incarnation of Christ, but doing so also requires us to live in unity of heart with God our creator, redeemer and sanctifier: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.