WORD 2day: Saturday, 4th week in Ordinary time
February 8, 2025 - Hebrews 13:15-17,20-21; Mark 6: 30-34
That the Lord is our shepherd, we need to have no doubt, it is the choice of the Lord. And we have nothing much to do about it. But there is something that we have to worry about entirely, that we need to become the sheep of the flock that belongs to the Lord - that does not happen automatically.
The way to become the sheep of the Lord's flock, is to endlessly do good. Do good without any reason, without any hesitation, without any expectation, without any discouragement.
The Gospel presents a picture of frenetic activity today. The disciples are all intent on doing good, as their master himself who went around doing good. At times we can be at a loss deciding what is God's will at a point of time. The readings today seem to suggest one simple criterion: do good to others; do good to as many as possible; do good to all!
Three qualities are needed by all means to do this: first of all, faith with which we accept this challenge from the Lord; secondly, endurance with which we withstand all disheartening factors that surround; and thirdly, sensitivity with which we learn to know what the other needs without the other even expressing it.
God is the shepherd who knows our needs and cares for them, but God does it through God's sons and daughters who become shepherds in turn. We are called to be the sheep of God's flock but at the same time to grow to be shepherds to each other, doing as much good as we could to each other. Our Divine Shepherd is an epitome of the qualities we just mentioned... because he accepted the challenge of being good, endured all that worked against it and treated everyone around him with utmost sensitivity.
Are we on our way to becoming the sheep of the Lord's flock?