Gospel: Mark 6:30-34
30 The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.
31 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.
32 So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.
33 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.
34 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.
Reflection:
The gospel today is from Mark 6:30-34 which is all about Jesus being the shepherd to His people. The gospel reminds us of Jesus being the great teacher, teaching His people a lot of things. This symbolizes of His care about us all.
Jesus told His disciples to give time for themselves at a deserted place for them to rest. Yet, the people who recognized them went ahead of them and gather before them to learn. When they arrived, they saw the crowd. Jesus instead welcomes them and become the shepherd they needed. The crowd is like a sheep with no shepherd so Jesus becomes the shepherd we needed.
There are two things to remember in Mark 6:30-34, the first one is our need to rest for a while from all the worldly things. We have to give time to our spiritual being as what it means to go to a deserted place to rest. The place wherein we can focus on our spirituality and cleanse our souls, a place for reflection. Somehow, we need this especially nowadays when our world is very chaotic. We need time and space for our spiritual being.
The second thing to remember is that we are the sheep that Jesus is looking after. Jesus is our shepherd and we have to follow His voice to not get lost. If ever time will come that we follow the wrong path and we lose track of life, Jesus will always find us. He will never abandon us as long as we keep our faith in Him.
In this time of pandemic, let us follow the good shepherd even if we are in distress. Our present situation is tough but we can survive this as long as we follow Jesus. The gospel in Mark: 30-34 is a reminder that Jesus will always be a good shepherd. – Clea | Helpline PH
