Divine love is not mere feeling; it is the love that manifests itself by deeds.1
—Thomas Keating
Year B, Proper 11, July 21, 2024
First Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6
Psalm: Psalm 23
Second Reading: Ephesians 2:11-22
Gospel: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Sermon - The Compassion of God Unleashed
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall no longer fear longer or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD. Jeremiah 23:1–4
“Nor shall any be missing…”
Jesus embodies this message to the fullest. Throughout his ministry, Jesus demonstrated compassion for multitudes of people. Like the shepherd in the parable in Luke 15, Jesus was willing to leave the ninety-nine to recover the one.
In our gospel reading for today, a large group of people were following Jesus from place to place. When he saw them, Mark reports “he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34).
This compassion led Jesus to teach them many things and give them physical nourishment as well through the miraculous feeding of the five-thousand.
Following this demonstration of the compassion of God, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to Gennesaret. Here, God’s compassion was unleashed once more. Jesus healed people in villages, cities, and farms. Those who touched the fringe of his cloak, like the woman in an earlier story, were healed.
How do we embody this compassion in our life as a church? Do we act as good shepherds, seeking to find and recover every last lost sheep? Do we show compassion for people’s spiritual needs as well as physical needs?
If we are to truly be followers of Jesus, this is the kind of life to which we have been called. In a sense, we are all pastors, priests, and shepherds.
But our role as shepherds in the kingdom of God does not give us reason to lord it over others. Writing to those who held the office of a shepherd within local congregations of believers, Peter said,
Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it, not for sordid gain but eagerly. Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock.
Be examples, not lords.
We have the privilege of being compassionate towards others so that we may help with their spiritual or physical needs, but just as we can’t force people to beat their addiction, get a job, or take care of themselves, we also can’t force someone to follow Jesus.
The compassion of God needs to be unleashed in our churches and communities. How this looks may vary from place to place depending on the needs of that situation, but as Christians we should be seeking to fulfill the vision of Jesus in Luke 4:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18–19
Second Reading: Life in Christ
The entire story of the Bible is about reconciliation. With the knowledge of sin came separation. Adam and Eve were separated from God in the garden. Adam and Eve, in a sense, were separated from each other (Genesis 3:16). Brother murdered brother, which fractured the family even more. As human tribes began to interact with each other, sin brought even more separation.
Early in Paul’s life, he felt that it was his duty to maintain these boundaries of separation which are a byproduct of sin. As a Pharisee who was faithful to God, he learned how to distinguish between the clean and unclean. When the church began to pop up here and there, the boundaries were threatened, and Paul felt that it was his duty to put an end to this sect.
But when Paul came face to face with the risen Jesus, everything changed.
Instead of being an agent of separation and boundary keeping, Paul became a minster of reconciliation. In Ephesians 2, Paul wrote, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us…” (Ephesians 2:13–14).
Jesus is our peace. Jews and Gentiles were no longer two separate people, but Jesus brought them into one body. Jesus’s sacrifice, in other words, didn’t just reconcile man and God; he tore down the divisions between different groups of people as well.
When Jesus transforms an individual, they become a minister of reconciliation and peace. We have an obligation to build bridges, to bear with each other, and to love one another. Let’s not build again the walls of hostility.
Thanks so much for keeping up with this blog. If you have any suggestions, recommendations, or critiques, you can always comment here or reach out through my website: https://danielr.net.
Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.