SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

7/19/09 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Mark 6:30-34

“They were like sheep without a shepherd.”

A cartoonist depicts a father besieged with demands. His boss is on the phone demanding the report that was due at 10 that morning. Someone is pounding on the front door. The family dog is barking. His little daughter is planting her front teeth deep into Daddy’s leg. The final blow comes from outside the frame – a voice calling from another room, “Honey, when’s dinner?”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus retreats to get away from the crowds but instead is overwhelmed by the crowds who have followed Him. Things get worse. It is dinnertime and the crowd is hungry. Mark tells us that instead of getting upset, Jesus’ heart was filled with pity for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

Deacon Dick Folger