Saint Paul Miki, Priest and Martyr, and His Companions, Martyrs

Theme and Title

Shepherd and sheep are reciprocal: the shepherd sacrifices himself out of love for the sheep, the sheep make sacrifices out of love for the shepherd

Good Sheep of the Good Shepherd

Outline

I have been around more cattle and pig farmers than shepherds, although in Austria our Hausmeister had some sheep

Sheep take a care or they will scatter and die

This makes them unlike goats, which are independent

The shepherd needs to know his or her sheep, to care for them

In turn the sheep return to the shepherd a type of animal love and, less willingly, their wool and meat

Let us look at this in our readings

The readings are clear that Jesus shepherds us

Now, that is no compliment to us, for it means that we need care and protection and do dumb things

Jesus and his disciples are tired, so he shepherds his disciples: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”

But boats were slow and the people saw them and guessed where they were going, so “When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd”

Jesus is a shepherd and he is teaching his disciples to be shepherd, so he does not send them away, but “his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.” Sheep are hungry; feed them.

Hebrews goes a step farther when it says, “brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord” - Jesus gave his life for his sheep, those then and us now

We need to keep this in mind when we are dealing with people: this is the type of heart and strength that we cry out for - naturally we want to feed ourselves

But we have a return to give to Jesus

We recognize and worship our Shepherd, for through Jesus “let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise”

It is not that God needs the praise, but as a mother needs her children to relate to and focus on her for their good, so God needs our eyes focused on his reality

We also should “to do good and to share what you have,” which we may think has to do with others, not with God, but it is God who is pleased with this

Finally, there is the command to follow the under shepherds: “Obey your leaders and defer to them” Make their job easier, make it so that they can do it with joy. I suspect that the author of Hebrews knows from personal experience how important this is.

Sometimes, of course, we may sacrifice our lives in imitation of Jesus like St Paul Miki and his companions, but not all have that privilege

Sisters, now I doubt that any of you will say, “I never heard that before” - I preach it because it is in the text

We come here to participate in the great sacrifice of Christ and to respond to it with the offering of ourselves joined to Christ’s

Yet we need to constantly remind ourselves about how much Jesus cares for his sheep, how he is still feeding us and binding up our wounds

And we need to reflect on how well we are making those first sacrifices of praise and doing good and how well we are obeying and supporting our leaders, for there is a tendency to want to make a great sacrifice like a martyr while overlooking the daily return we could be making to our gracious Shepherd.

Readings

Catholic Daily Readings 2-6-2021: Saint Paul Miki, Priest and Martyr, and His Companions, Martyrs

FIRST READING

Hebrews 13:15–17, 20–21

15 Through him [then] let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind.

17 Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account, that they may fulfill their task with joy and not with sorrow, for that would be of no advantage to you.

20 May the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, Jesus our Lord, 21 furnish you with all that is good, that you may do his will. May he carry out in you what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever [and ever]. Amen.

Catholic Daily Readings 2-6-2021: Saint Paul Miki, Priest and Martyr, and His Companions, Martyrs

GOSPEL

Mark 6:30–34

30 The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. 32 So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. 33 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.

34 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.

Notes