Crowds Without a True Shepherd

Gospel Commentary for 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

ROME, JUNE 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).- In this Sunday’s Gospel we have the official presentation of the apostolic college: "The names of the 12 apostles are these: first Simon, called Peter."

There is a clear suggestion of Peter’s primacy in the apostolic college. In fact it does not say: "First Peter, second Andrew, third James," as if it were just a question of a number in a series. Peter is named as first in a stronger sense, as leader of the others, their spokesman, the one who represents them. Jesus will specify later, also in Matthew’s Gospel, the meaning of "first" when he will say, "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church."

But it is not on the primacy of Peter that I want to reflect on now but rather Jesus’ reason for choosing the 12 and sending them out. It is described thus: "Jesus, seeing the crowds, felt compassion for them, because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd." Jesus sees the crowds, he feels compassion for them: this is what moved him to choose the 12 and send them to preach, heal, liberate.

Here we have some valuable information. We see that the Church does not exist for herself, for her own end or her own salvation; she exists for others, for the world, for the people, above all for the afflicted and oppressed. The Second Vatican Council dedicated an entire document -- "Gaudium et Spes" -- to bringing to light this being "for the world" of the Church.

It begins with the famous words: "The joys and the hopes, the grief and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the grief and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts."

"Seeing the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd." The shepherds of today, from the Pope to the last village priest, appear to us in this light, as the deposit and continuation of the compassion of Christ. The late lamented Vietnamese Cardinal, François-Xavier Van Thuan, who spent 13 years in the communist prisons of his country, in a meditation before the Pope and the Roman Curia said: "I dream of a Church that is a ‘Holy Door’ that is always open, that embraces all, full of compassion, that understands the pain and suffering of humanity, a Church that protects, consoles and guides every nation to the Father who loves us."

After the Master’s departure, the Church must continue his mission in the world. Jesus says: "Come to me all who labor and burdened and I will give you rest." It is the most human face of the Church, that which reconciles souls and forgives them their many deficiencies and miseries. Padre Pio da Pietrelcina wanted to call the hospital that he founded at S. Giovanni Rotondo "House of Relief from Suffering": a beautiful name, and it applies to the whole Church. The whole Church must be a "house of relief from suffering." Unless we close our eyes in a sectarian way to the enormous charity and aid work that the Church does throughout the world for the most needy, we cannot help but see that she is indeed a house of relief from suffering.

To those of us who live in wealthy countries the crowds that we see about us do not appear to be "troubled and abandoned" as in Jesus’ time. But let us not deceive ourselves: Behind the carefree and opulent façade, beneath the roofs of our cities, there is often much weariness, solitude, confusion, and sometimes even desperation.

They do not even seem to be crowds "without shepherds," given that in every country so many fight to be shepherds of the people, that is, bosses, holders of power. But how many of them are disposed to put into practice the command of Jesus to freely give what they have been given freely?

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

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Father Raniero Cantalamessa is the Pontifical Household preacher. The readings for this Sunday are Exodus 19:2-6a; Romans 5:6-11; Matthew 9:36-10:8.

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The message from the Sacred Scriptures for this Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary time is rather simple and to the point. God has moved toward us – and has loved us. God has reached out to nurture us, free us and heal us through Jesus. We are lovable and good because we are chosen by our God as Jesus chose his apostles. Since he loves the leaderless people, he chooses and sends the twelve apostles to wake people up. He reminds the apostles that the harvest is very plentiful but the laborers are few. He instructs them to pray that the Lord would send laborers into His harvest.



1) Be Jesus Presenters.

From this body we get guidance and encouragement and discipline and inspiration, to project the same person- Christ Jesus and his “Good News.” Jesus continues to be active in our lives through the Bible and the sacraments, promising that he will do whatever we ask in his name, meaning that he will answer us when we ask for help in revealing the power and character of God. In addition, the Lord God gives us the Holy Spirit, the one who teaches us, and reminds us of all that Jesus has said to us. We don’t need to acquire the clothes of a first-century Palestinian. We aren’t even required to travel the country and spread our message to millions of people. Instead, we are invited to become one with God and Jesus, and to let the Holy Spirit work through us. We are asked to perform the works of Jesus, and through these works to reveal the power and character of God to the world. If we accept this invitation, people will look at us and say, “Jesus in our midst”

2) Be healers in the modern world.
As Christian’s sharing Jesus’ mission, we can bring healing and wholeness to people whom we come into contact. Although we cannot raise the dead, we can help people to recover an interest and zest for living. People can be physically alive but dead in many other respects. Cleansing the lepers means rehabilitating and bringing back fully into our communities all those who, for one reason or another, are marginalized, rejected, despised, In our day, demons are all those suffocating and enslaving forces which dominate, manipulate and restrict our freedom to live in truth and love. They include many elements of our contemporary lifestyle, the pressures to conform to what is in fashion, whether it be clothes, food, drugs of all kinds - prescribed and non-prescribed, extreme individualism, violence of all kinds. Our abortion culture is simply one of the symptoms and effects of all this. We have to start by casting these from our own hearts first before helping others to true liberation.

3) "You received without payment; give without payment." Every thing we have is a gift of God. God's gifts to us are literally price-less. They are meant to be used freely and liberally for the benefit of all. We are not in the business of sharing our faith for the money or the admiration it brings. But God's freely given gifts must be used with care, with responsibility. Exercised wisely, they can bring great joy and peace in life. They can be a means to care for others. We must always remember that our good works, the things for which we take pride, ultimately find their source in Christ, not in us. What gifts, both material and spiritual, have you received from God? How have you passed those gifts onto others? How have you thanked God and given him the credit for those gifts? The passages from Matthew's gospel present us with a challenge. Pass along grace. Jesus gave his followers this key to evangelization. (For details confer CCC 2006-2011)