16th Sunday in 2015

Our Gospel which is taken from Mark 6: 30-34 is a very rich source of Christian reflections about the different ministries in the Church. The moment Catholics reflect on this, they cannot but find themselves serving the Church. To start with, the opening of the Gospel tells us that the apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. The Gospel used the word “apostles” which refers to the chosen twelve. Such word is important in order for us to distinguish them from the seventy-two disciples in seemingly similar event which is mentioned in Luke 10:17. In Luke, it is said that the seventy-two disciples returned and they joyfully reported to him declaring, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” As we compare the two events, the seventy-two are described with emotion using the word “joyfully” while the twelve are described plainly with no indication of emotion. This would give us an idea that when one is new or fresh in the ministry, there is so much emotion and passion involved in the ministry. But as years pass by, it is enough for one to sustain and remain in the ministry.

To continue our reflection, Jesus on his part invited them to settle to a quiet place to take a rest. Jesus invited them to rest because he knew they were tired. Jesus invited them to rest because they needed to regain their energy for the next day to continue their mission. Jesus invited them to rest because the apostles already completed their mission. This leads us back to the Book of Genesis where God saw everything He made was good, He then rested. God blessed the day He rested because it was the day when He rested from all His work of creation. Rest then for the apostles neither means sleeping, nor drinking wine or eating. Rather, rest for the apostles means making their day sacred. This is why all lay ministers and even the clergy have to attend retreat and recollection at least once a year. They need to recharge their Spiritual energies. They have to take care of their souls also.

Now, we go to the ending of the Gospel wherein Jesus saw the people trying to go with them. Here the Gospel states Jesus had compassion on them it is because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  My dear friends, sometimes we interpret this as if Jesus meant that there is scarcity of ministers. Not necessarily! During His time, there were many leaders such as the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, etc. There were many shepherds so to speak. But Jesus knew what kind of leaders they were. They were not compassionate! (Look at what they did to Jesus Himself!) So, when the Gospel states that Jesus had compassion on the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd, Jesus looked for the quality of His ministers. Out of the seventy-two disciples, He chose the Twelve as His apostles. These apostles were expected to be compassionate to God’s people like Jesus the Good Shepherd. We therefore my dear friends in Christ remind ourselves that being ministers of the Church, it is not our personality shall prevail but the compassion of Jesus over everything. We are only caretakers of God’s people and we need to show compassion to people as God has been compassionate in choosing us.   

To end, I would like to share to you my experience the first time I stayed at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 2005. I left the province at that time to enroll at Asian Social Institute as Msgr. Manny Gabriel’s student (Institute for Priests Renewal and Studies). Because I did not know where to reside in the city, a friend of mine recommended me to the parish priest of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to have my temporary shelter. I did not know who the parish priest then but it was only through text that I learned that he was expecting me to be in his parish. When I arrived at the National Shrine, I immediately looked for him. Then a man approached me smiling and asked me if I am Fr. Jude. When I said yes, he took my baggage and brought me to my designated room. It was only there that he revealed himself as the parish priest of the National Shrine. The two months I stayed with him in the Shrine were memorable; I witnessed how compassionate he was to his parishioners. He always tried to listen to his assisting priests, guest priests and priests-companions. He would pray with us in our morning and evening prayers. He would always attend to our needs too. I could not forget the night when he invited me to join their community of priests to dine in a fine restaurant and then watched a movie with them. He was never tired smiling in dealing with people. At that time I learned that people go to church because they could feel God’s compassion through him. He was not tired in doing his ministry well because he was always at the Adoration Chapel to pray and get his energy. Verily, he is one of the priests with a good quality to shepherd God’s people. This kind of minister is what we need in our church. So pray for more ministers who could show God’s compassion to people. Amen.