Homily: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

“What Shepherd Are You Hurrying to Follow?”

by Fr. William Holtzinger

June 22/23, 2006

 

Clearly today is a hot day and I imagine that we all would like to rest instead of work.  In the Gospel, the disciples are invited to rest by Jesus.  So, that is a very good thing for us all.  This was the desire of their Shepherd, the one who was leading the Apostles in ministry.  Additionally, a group of people were following Jesus.  The word in the Greek means “to run.”  So they were running to follow the Shepherd.  Both groups listened and obeyed Jesus the one true Shepherd.

We are all busy about many things.  We often can be found running about from one task to another.  The struggle we all must face and the question these Scriptures ask of us today is, what Shepherd are you hurrying to follow?”  Is it the one of money?  Career?  Entertainment?  Music?  Drinking? 

What Shepherd is guiding your life?  What is guiding your life?  Whom do you listen to?  We all struggle to listen to the one true Shepherd.  Indeed, that is why we are hear:  to listen to THE Shepherd.  Let us, therefore, spend a moment of silence asking God to keep the focus of our lives on Christ, the one true Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, for there is nothing else we should want more.