Saturday of Week 4 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Mark 6:30-34

The Twelve came back from their mission full of excitement at all they had done and taught. Jesus now told them to withdraw for a while for reflection and rest. This is what Jesus himself used to do. Large crowds were still mobbing Jesus and perhaps some of the Apostles too, so much so that they did not even have time to eat. This could have been a real time of temptation as the Apostles began to glory in their new-found power and the resultant fame and popularity.

We also see here once more the balance in Jesus’ life. He was so available to all those in need, the poor, the sick, the outcasts, but there was a limit to his availability. He knew when he needed to get away, to renew contact with his Father and to recharge his batteries (see Mark 1:35-37).

Some people are too self-centred. They have a very poor awareness of other people’s needs and do not bother to meet them. On the other hand, there are those who need to be needed. Their need is to have people looking constantly for them, but the result can often be ‘burnout’ or breakdowns. There are times when we have to learn to be able to say ‘No’ without feeling guilty.

So Jesus and his disciples take off in a boat to a solitary place where they will be left to themselves. Rather, that is what they thought they did. But the people saw them leaving and had a good idea where they were headed. While Jesus and his disciples crossed the lake in a boat, the people hurried along the lake shore. When Jesus stepped out of the boat, he was again faced by a huge crowd.

Jesus quickly decides that this is a time for availability. He is deeply moved by the people’s need; they were like lost sheep in need of a shepherd’s guidance. The people’s persistence in coming out to a desert place echoes the people of Israel in their wanderings. Here, Jesus is the Shepherd of the New Israel. So he begins to teach them. Their first hunger was spiritual. They needed to understand what Jesus stood for and why he did the things he did. There is a Eucharistic connection here and in what follows (the multiplication of loaves), and the teaching corresponds to what we now call the Liturgy of the Word during the Eucharist.

The story illustrates well the balance in Jesus’ life. As he did himself, he urges his disciples to retire and reflect on the meaning of what they are doing. Otherwise they may become active for activity’s sake, or for other less worthy motives. At the same time, in this particular situation, Jesus sees that a response is called for. The day of reflection is abandoned, and the people in their great need are served.

Let us learn, through careful discernment, to do likewise—to do the right thing at the right time.

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Saturday of Week 4 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Hebrews 13:15-17,20-21

Today we conclude our reading of the Letter to the Hebrews. The first part of the reading gives some more instruction on how the Hebrew Christians ought to behave.

First, they are to offer God an unending sacrifice of praise, not now a sacrifice of animals, but a verbal offering of praise that is made every time they acknowledge God’s name. Second, they are to keep doing good works and sharing their resources, for instance, with other Christian communities in need of assistance and support.

Both of these “sacrifices are pleasing to God”. And, in fact, they are a good summary of what the Christian life should be—a combination of prayer and worship, together with a never-ending love and service of brothers and sisters.

Third, they are to obey the leaders of their Christian communities who are pastorally responsible for them, and have to give an account of how well they carry out their responsibilities. Here the author is speaking of their present leaders and not those ‘first leaders’ he mentioned earlier and who are already dead. Clearly, dictatorial leadership is not condoned by this command. Respect for authority, orderliness and discipline in the church are taught throughout the New Testament.

This obedience should be given willingly and joyfully and “not with sighing”. Their cooperation should make following the leadership a source of joy for them rather than something burdensome—in which case all are the losers. The purpose of obedience is not to dominate people, but to get all to work together in commitment to a common goal.

The letter ends with a really beautiful prayer and blessing:

Now may the God of peace,
who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great shepherd of the sheep,
by the blood of the eternal covenant,
make you complete in everything good
so that you may do his will,
as he works among us that which is pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ,
to whom be the glory forever.
Amen.

These verses constitute one of the most beautiful blessings in the New Testament. It is the only place in the Letter where the resurrection of Jesus is explicitly mentioned, although the author also speaks of the “exaltation” of Jesus and of his presence before the “heavenly one”.

It is a fitting end to this uplifting letter—a letter written to a community weighed down by discouragement and tempted to go back to their ancestral ways. Let us also find in it encouragement for the difficulties we face.

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