PAPAL HOMILIES - 16th Sunday of Year B

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2024

16th Sunday of Year B

July 21, 2024 Holy See

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PAPAL HOMILIES

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SOURCE: Vatican News – English

16th Sunday of Year B

YEAR B

Gathering

Gathering. This is the key concept of today’s liturgy. “But the remnant of my flock I myself shall gather,” says Yahweh (first reading). Jesus sees the crowd with compassion and exclaims, “they are like sheep without a shepherd” (Gospel), but he, the Good Shepherd, will gather them in only one flock (Jn 10:16). Jesus, the Good Shepherd, also gathers into one single flock those who were far (pagans) and those that were near (Jews) by means of his blood shed on the cross (second reading).

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Doctrinal Messages

16th Sunday of Year B

YEAR B

Doctrinal Messages

Like Sheep without a Shepherd

From its beginnings, humankind has been in a similar situation, although circumstances may have changed: sometimes shepherds abandon their sheep, sometimes sheep abandon their shepherds. In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah makes mention of the shepherd-kings of Judah (a very frequent metaphor in the culture of that time), who instead of shepherding their sheep, lose, scatter and drive them away. They were shepherd-kings who had an all-too-human outlook, whereby they saw their flock exiled to Babylon. Instead, they should have listened to God, who speaks to them through Jeremiah, for the good of the sheep. Six centuries later, Jesus sees the crowds of Galileans that flock to him to hear his word of truth and salvation as sheep without a shepherd. Yes, sheep without a shepherd, because the shepherds of the people (their priests and scribes) did not seem to show any interest in them. They were looked down upon as sheep, because they know nothing about the Law (Jn 7:49). From the very beginning of time, man has needed a guide to show him the way and lead him towards the path of his genuine humanity towards the horizon of happiness and God. Where and who are these guides today? In an identity crisis like the one our society is experiencing, people no longer look to the gurus of science, of technology, to religion à la carte, but to the shepherds of the Church. As shepherds of the Church, are we up to the task entrusted to us in this dramatic but wonderful time of history?

Frustrated Shepherds

The texts of the liturgy have something to teach us. They speak to us about frustrated shepherds, who have failed in the task and responsibility entrusted to them. Many of the kings of Israel and Judah were frustrated shepherds. But not just the kings; some prophets too failed in their task as shepherds because they did not prophesy the word of God, but only their own words. Equally, among the priests there were some who led their sheep astray with their bad example. And, if those who are the pillars of the building stagger, who will be able to keep standing on their feet? This is the great tragedy of history in every generation. In ours too. A generation without shepherds lives in a state of confusion. A generation with shepherds who are not real shepherds falls prey to a lack of confidence in authority, experiences the anguish of confusion, wraps itself up in a subjectivism that is atrocious and devoid of solidarity. Every generation urgently needs shepherds who are witnesses, who with their lives show the real way forward.

The Good Shepherd

In the first reading, God presents himself as the Shepherd par excellence, the shepherd of the sheep of Judah. With the passing of centuries, the image of God as Shepherd is incarnated and reflected in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. What does a good shepherd do? Above all else, he feels a sincere compassion for the sheep that have been led astray, that are disoriented, without a guide. He must gather the sheep under his guidance, to avoid the wolves that would trap them and eat them up, and to keep them all well-fed. Then, he will make sure that they grow and multiply, prolonging his kindness to man throughout the history of the world. Finally, he will choose other shepherds to help him in his task as a guide, and with them he will continue to lead the sheep to green pastures and fresh waters (a pure Gospel, a healthy philosophy, dogmatic and moral doctrine of the Church, powerful actions and signs of God by means of them). The Good Shepherd needs many and good shepherds.

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Pastoral Suggestions

16th Sunday of Year B

YEAR B

Pastoral Suggestions

In Search of Orientation

Sociologists who take the pulse of the society in which we live agree that humanity has come to the end of a historical journey. At the present time, humanity has the best means to undertake a phenomenal and grandiose journey for the future, but the pilots have no idea which way to go. They run, fly, sail the sea of history, with no direction. This is why our time is a magnificent moment, an extraordinary opportunity for the Church. For two thousand years, the Church founded by Jesus Christ has known where it comes from and where it is going. The Church has the roadmap to help humanity to reach its destination, which can be no other but God. As Cardinal Ersilio Tonini says, we have come to a time in which in international get-togethers and in Parliaments, people are willing to speak about Christ, the origin, guide and destination of humankind. Not just in major get-togethers, but also in the small get-togethers of the diocese, the parish, groups and movements, Christ and Christian values are gathering a momentum. They are a guide for the disoriented.

United under the same Shepherd

Before a society that anxiously seeks some form of guidance, it is urgent for all of us Christians to unite under the same Shepherd, the Good Shepherd. The first guidance that Christ offers us is precisely unity in truth and in charity. There are many centuries in which divisions have prevailed, and so the path towards full union among Christians is long and difficult. This should not surprise us. With God’s help, the experts and those in charge of the various Christian communities will mark the boundaries of discussion and offer the solutions that best respond to God’s plan. We should bear in mind that although there is a lot to divide us, there is a lot more to unite us. Let us promote with word and deed unity in the truth, but to an even greater degree unity in love among all Christians. We can do this by respecting members of other Christian communities and by fostering and defending fundamental human and Christian values... In this joint effort, may we always be guided by Christ the Shepherd, the only Shepherd of all. United under the same Shepherd we will more easily and more effectively be true guides for our society.

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Pope Francis

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Homilies

Rest

18 July 2021 | Saint Peter’s Square

Jesus’s attitude that we observe in the Gospel of today’s liturgy (Mk 6:30-34) helps us to grasp two important aspects of life. The first is rest. To the Apostles returning from the labours of the mission who enthusiastically begin to relate everything they had done, Jesus tenderly directs this invitation to the Apostles: “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while” (v. 31). An invitation to rest.

In so doing, Jesus gives us a valuable teaching. Even though he rejoices on seeing his disciples’ happiness due to the wonders of their preaching, he does not spend time giving them compliments or asking questions. Rather, he is concerned about their physical and interior tiredness. And why does he do this? Because he wants to make them aware of a danger that is always lurking there for us too: the danger to be caught up in the frenzy of doing things, to fall into the trap of activism where what is most important are the results that we obtain and the feeling of being absolute protagonists. How many times this happens in the Church: we are busy, we run around, we think that everything depends on us and, in the end, we risk neglecting Jesus and we always make ourselves the centre.

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The First Mission of the Apostles

22 July 2018 | Saint Peter’s Square

Today’s Gospel passage (Mk 6:30-34) tells us that after their first mission, the Apostles returned to Jesus and told him “all that they had done and taught” (v. 30). After the experience of the mission, which was undoubtedly thrilling but also arduous, they needed to rest. And understanding this well, Jesus wished to give them some relief and said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest for a while” (v. 31). But Jesus’ intention could not be fulfilled this time because the crowd, guessing the location of the lonely place where he would take the disciples by boat, ran there and got there ahead of them.

The same can happen today. At times we are not able to complete our projects because something urgent and unexpected occurs, disrupting our plans and [this] requires flexibility and being available to the needs of others.

In these situations, we are called to imitate what Jesus did: “As he landed he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things” (v. 34). With this brief sentence, the Evangelist offers us a flash of singular intensity, taking a snapshot of the eyes of the divine Master and his teaching. Let us observe the three verbs in this frame: to see, to have compassion, to teach. We can call them the Shepherd’s verbs. The gaze of Jesus is not a neutral one — or worse, a cold and detached one because Jesus always looks with the eyes of the heart. And his heart is so tender and filled with compassion, that he is able to understand even the most hidden needs of people. Moreover, his compassion does not simply suggest an emotional response toward people in situations of distress. It is much more. It is God’s attitude and predisposition toward mankind and its history. Jesus appears as the fulfillment of God’s concern and care for his people.

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