July 21, 2024: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

1st Reading – Jeremiah 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 prophet Jeremiah lived in Judah during a tumultuous period leading up to and including the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC.

In the chapters preceding today’s reading, Jeremiah prophesied the impending Babylonian exile, attributing it to the kings’ failure to uphold God’s covenant. Their leadership was characterized by injustice, idolatry, and a disregard for the Mosaic Law, leading to national calamity.

In today’s reading, Jeremiah shifts his focus to the future, employing the familiar metaphor of shepherds to envision a new era. He condemns the unfaithful monarchs who have led their people astray and announces God’s judgment upon them. Yet, amidst this indictment, Jeremiah also offers a message of hope.

Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD.

The term “woe” is a prophetic announcement of impending doom or judgment. Here, it is directed at the leaders of Judah.

When Jeremiah first became a prophet, Josiah, the great reformer, was king. Josiah aimed to return Judah to the worship of Yahweh and to eradicate idolatry and other abuses (2 Kings 22-23). However, after Josiah’s death in 609 BC, his successors quickly abandoned his reforms, leading to a resurgence of the very practices Josiah had sought to eliminate.

These kings are generally understood to be the “shepherds” that Jeremiah is condemning here.

Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people:

The judgment that follows is not from Jeremiah, but directly from God himself.

Invoking the title “Lord, the God of Israel” underscores God’s authority to judge them.

You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.

The leaders have failed to protect and guide the people.

The reference to scattered sheep is widely interpreted as a reference to the Babylonian exile, but it can also be understood more broadly to include various forms of dispersion and social disintegration experienced by the people of Judah due to their leaders’ failures.

You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.

Prophets are often called to remind the unfaithful that God will hold them accountable for their actions.

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.

Prophets are also often called to offer hope. Here, Jeremiah deepens the shepherding theme by contrasting the notions of scattering and gathering. In light of the monarchy’s failure, God personally intervenes.

God is faithful to his covenant even when the people are not.

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.

God promises that after he has personally regathered the people, he will appoint new, faithful leaders who will properly care for them.

Pope Saint John Paul II referred to this passage to stress that the new people of God, the Church, will always have pastors to guide it:

“In these words from the prophet Jeremiah, God promises his people that he will never leave them without shepherds to gather them together and guide them: “I will set shepherds over them [my sheep] who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed (Jeremiah 23:4).

The Church, the People of God, constantly experiences the reality of this prophetic message and continues joyfully to thank God for it. She knows that Jesus Christ himself is the living, supreme and definitive fulfillment of God’s promise: ‘I am the good shepherd’ (John 10:11). He, ‘the great shepherd of the sheep’ (Hebrews 13:20), entrusted to the apostles and their successors the ministry of shepherding God’s flock (cf. John 21:15ff.; 1 Pt 5:2)” (Pastores Dabo Vobis, 1).

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,

Jeremiah pivots and declares a prophetic vision of the future.

when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; 

Jeremiah, like other prophets before him, foretells the restoration of the Davidic dynasty (Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:1-10; Hosea 3:4-5; Amos 9:11-12; Micah 5:2-5). The term “shoot” signifies new growth from an old root or stump, a powerful image which is best understood in light of Judah’s history.

When Judah fell to Babylon in 586 BC, King Zedekiah’s sons were executed before he was carried off to prison, where he died (2 Kings 25:1–7; Jeremiah 32:4–5; 34:2–3; 39:1–7; 52:4–11; Ezekiel 12:13).

This marked a tragic end to the Davidic monarchy, seemingly contradicting God’s covenant promise that the house of David would be secure forever (2 Samuel 7:1-17). The exiled Israelites were left to wonder if their covenant with God remained intact. How could they still be God’s chosen people with Jerusalem in ruins, the population exiled, and the Davidic kingship destroyed?

Jeremiah’s prophetic vision of a shoot rising from the mowed-down stump of the Davidic monarchy offered hope for a restored Israel and a future king who would embody righteousness, pointing to a fulfillment of God’s promises beyond their immediate circumstances.

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 promised king will not be like the others; his reign will be marked with wisdom, justice, and righteousness. This is the Messiah, who will fulfill all kingly ideals.

Note how both kingdoms of Judah and Israel will share in this salvation. This is quite shocking because the northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians hundreds of years earlier, in 722 BCE, and its people were exiled and scattered.

The idea that the Messiah would somehow reunify and restore both shattered kingdoms was a truly radical vision of hope.

This is the name they give him: “The LORD our justice.”

Even the name of the future king will attest to his righteousness.

2nd Reading – Ephesians 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.

This week we continue our seven-week study of the Letter to the Ephesians. The main theme of today’s reading is unity — the unity accomplished in Christ.

Brothers and sisters: In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.

A change has taken place. Through the blood of Christ, the Gentiles to whom Paul is writing have been brought into God’s covenant of love.

The verse just before this passage is helpful for context: Remember that you were [formerly] separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (Ephesians 2:12).

For he is our peace,

Christ has not merely brought peace to humanity, he is peace. In Christ, we are all one people.

he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity,

The writings of the historian Josephus describe a low stone barrier that separated the outer court of the temple from the inner courts, which were restricted to Jews (The Wars of the Jews, 5.5.2§193-194, 5.5.3§194-195). This wall, known as the Soreg, had inscriptions warning Gentiles not to proceed further under the threat of death. In Acts 21:28-31, a crowd of Jews tried to kill Paul because they thought he had defiled the temple by bringing Trophimus, an Ephesian Gentile, into the temple.

Paul’s “dividing wall of enmity” may be an allusion to the Soreg, which was a tangible expression of the separation between Jews and Gentiles.

through his flesh,

Certainly a reference to Christ’s death, and possibly a Eucharistic reference as well.

abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,

The “dividing wall of enmity” might have also referred to the various Jewish regulations that forbade association with non-Jews, or perhaps even the entire Mosaic Law, which set the people of Israel apart from all others.

Initially, Jewish Christians saw no need to relinquish the traditions and practices that were so inherent to their culture, but when Gentiles began to receive the gospel and convert, the role of these traditions (e.g., circumcision, dietary restrictions) came into question. Would Gentile Christians need to adopt Jewish customs? The issue was ultimately settled (see Acts 15), but the early Church was seriously divided on this topic.

“The law that He abolished was that which had been given to the Jews concerning circumcision and new moons and food and sacrifices and the Sabbath. He ordered it to cease because it was a burden. In this way He made peace” (The Ambrosiaster (366-384 AD), Commentaries on Thirteen Pauline Epistles, Ephesians 2:15).

that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace,

Neither group is assimilated into the other; instead, they become “one new person in place of the two,” in Christ. He has brought them together in himself.

“Don’t you see? The Greek does not have to become a Jew. Rather both enter into a new condition. His aim is not to bring Greek believers into being as different kinds of Jews but rather to create both anew. Rightly he uses the term ‘create’ rather than ‘change’ to point out the great effect of what God has done. Even though the creation is invisible it is no less a creation of its Creator” [Saint John Chrysostom (392-397 AD), Homilies On The Epistle To The Ephesians, 5,2,13-15].

and might reconcile both with God,

Christ has reconciled each group with God, and therefore, with each other.

in one body,

We are now one Church, one faith, one body of Christ.

through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it.

Paul reiterates the role of Christ’s perfect sacrifice in establishing this peace.

He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near,

This echoes Isaiah 57:19b: Peace, peace to the far and the near, says the Lord; and I will heal them.

Paul draws on this prophetic tradition to emphasize the inclusive and reconciling work of Christ, fulfilling this Old Testament promise of peace and extending it to both Jews and Gentiles.

for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Here we see the Trinity: our access to God involves the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Greek word prosagōgē, (“access”) was used in various contexts, including legal and courtly settings, to denote the introduction or approach to someone of high status, like a king or a high official.

In many ancient courts, an ordinary person could not gain access to the court without some form of introduction, which was often provided by someone of influence or status. Christ Jesus now provides that introduction, providing us access to God.

Placing this reading in context with our readings for this Sunday, we see that Jesus is the good shepherd for the whole flock, not just part of the flock.

He truly “is our peace.”

Gospel – Mark 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.

In last week’s gospel, Jesus sent out the apostles in pairs; in today’s reading, they return.

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.

This is the only time in Mark’s gospel that the twelve are called apostles (apostoloi, “ones who are sent”) instead of disciples (mathētai, “learners”).

Although the two terms are often used interchangeably, “apostle” indicates one who is commissioned with the full authority of the sender, whereas “disciple” merely refers to a student.

The distinction is fitting: the twelve are accountable to Jesus for the use of his authority, and so they report their words and deeds. Their ministry is not their own but an extension of Jesus’ ministry.

He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” 

Jesus acknowledges the need for the apostles to rest from the physical and emotional toll of their work.

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.

Mark often pictures the crowds causing a problem for Jesus. Here, they press on him and the apostles so much that they cannot even pause to eat. This prompts them to escape in a boat.

Jesus takes them to a deserted place (erēmos), the kind of place where he himself withdrew for periods of prayer (e.g., Mark 1:35).

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.

Undeterred, the crowds figure out where Jesus and the apostles are going and arrive ahead of them.

This shows the eagerness of the crowds to be with Jesus, seeking his teaching and healing, and highlights Jesus’ popularity.

When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,

This is not a small gathering but a “vast crowd.” The people are hungry for spiritual nourishment.

Either the apostles were very successful on their mission, news of Jesus has spread abroad, or both.

his heart was moved with pity for them,

Given all this build-up by Mark, we might expect to find Jesus annoyed with the crowd. He could have explained to the crowd why he and the apostles needed some time away.

Instead, he is moved with splanchnízomai, profound inner emotion. This term is used only by or about Jesus and has messianic significance (see Mark 1:42, 8:2, and 9:22).

for they were like sheep without a shepherd;

A clear connection with our first reading.

The people were following Jesus so earnestly in part because there was no one else to follow. Their desperate hunger for instruction and lack of any dependable leadership triggered his intense response.

This statement by Mark is a bold criticism of the leadership of his time.

and he began to teach them many things.

Jesus’ compassion for the spiritually lost compels him to not only teach them but teach them “many things.”

Connections and Themes

The theme of today’s readings is leadership, seen through images from the world of shepherding.

• The need for leadership. Like the crowds that desperately followed Jesus, the exiled Israelites of Jeremiah’s time needed strong leaders. The same is true for us: we need guidance and direction, healing from our sicknesses and sins, and clarity in our search for meaning and direction.

• To whom should we listen? Many potential leaders are competing for our attention. Jeremiah warns us about who not to follow: those who mislead, scatter, and prioritize their own interests over those they lead.Thankfully, Jeremiah also illuminates the qualities of righteous leaders who uphold justice and safeguard their followers, fostering inclusivity and unity. Paul underscores this in our second reading by portraying Christ, the “righteous shoot to David” Jeremiah predicted, as preaching peace and reconciliation without division, breaking down barriers to forge unity among all.Authentic leaders are inclusive, not divisive.

• Servant leadership. Jesus directs his apostles to rest and restore themselves, away from the jostling crowd. When the people press their needs upon him, he is moved with deep emotion and tends to them. The needs of his apostles (for rest) and the people (for guidance and instruction) take primacy over whatever needs he may have. This is servant leadership at its finest.