16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Good Shepherds and Bad Shepherds

Many times as I walk around the Baclaran shrine after the services at night, I could see devotees deep in prayer and silence. What catches most intensely my attention is the number of people who are crying, pouring their hearts out to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. For many devotees, the shrine has become a channel for pouring out their sorrows and woes, an outlet for catharsis, if you will. They see the shrine as a very important channel where they could pour out their sufferings and agonies and turn to the Lord and Mary which in many cases is their only hope. Many times, I could not help but be moved with pity trying to feel the crisis and struggles they are undergoing in the present moment.

In the gospel today, the crowds, mainly poor and suffering from all kinds of ailments, relentlessly pursued Jesus and the disciples. They do not even give them time to rest.

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.

But Jesus was moved with compassion upon seeing the crowd. Jesus responds to the crowd as their healer. But more than just healing their ailments, he reveals himself to be their Shepherd and Teacher who not only respond to their material needs but to their deepest hunger and thirst.

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.

Our readings for this 16th Sunday in ordinary time is about our calling to be shepherd. In the Bible, the term “shepherd” is used for God. For example, in the responsorial psalm today, we sing Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.  In the New Testament, Jesus, called himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11). Thus, the calling to be a shepherd is to follow the example and model of being a good shepherd in Jesus:

I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).

Jesus distinguished his being a good shepherd because Israel had a record of bad shepherds. In the First Reading from the prophet Jeremiah, God’s anger flames up against bad shepherds during Jeremiah’s time. They are uncaring shepherds who would lessen their burden by driving the sheep off. They led the sheep in wrong directions. They scattered the sheep, so that instead of being one flock, the sheep were divided against each other into diverse small groups. Sheep feared and trembled and many went missing. In this time of disarray and suffering of his people, Jeremiah foresees the coming of a good and righteous shepherd.

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.”

God’s words in the First Reading had come true in the coming of Jesus as the Good Shepherd:

I myself will gather the remnant of my flock …
and bring them back to their meadow.

As Christians, followers of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, shepherding is an important part of living and practicing our faith. We are all called to shepherd to one another especially those who are scattered, the weak and vulnerable, those who are abandoned, abused, deprived and oppressed.

As in the time of Jeremiah and Jesus, the call to be good shepherds is doubly challenging today because there are more bad shepherds today who do injustice, oppress, rob the poor and the small people. They do not protect the innocent, the strangers, and the vulnerable, they instead hold on to their power, protect the rich and well-off in society. They project an image of strength and power showing no compassion and pity on the weak and marginalized, they instead instill fear and their brand of discipline to maintain order and the status quo. This is epitomized by the rise of strongmen in our world today who are a dangerous threat to the image of good shepherd which Jesus has set as an example for all who wish to follow him.

Today, Jesus challenges us to be good shepherds to each other. Let us not be seduced by those who claim to be shepherds of our people today. The true measure of a shepherd is Jesus. Like Jesus, the true shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep not the sheep laying down their lives for the shepherd. To be good shepherd is to go without food and drink to be available and of service for the sake of others. To be good shepherd is to open our hearts and moved with pity for the scattered and fear-filled sheep-folk of our own time. Can we love them and each other, with Jesus’ love? Can we be good shepherds?

I am passionate about the intersection between new media and technology. I continue to research and apply new media in theology and vice-versa. I am also a fan of Our Mother of Perpetual Help and her continuing relevance in today's digital world.
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