Sixteenth Sunday of the Year

Our gospel story today implies how excited the apostles were as they recounted to Jesus all that they had accomplished on the missionary journey on which he had sent them. The Lord’s reaction was to take them apart for a period of rest and reflection. In so doing, he was instructing them in the need to combine their busy active life with space for relaxation and prayer. As human beings we are composed of body and spirit and both of these dimensions of our make-up must be catered for. Otherwise our lives become one-sided. The frenetic pace of the modern world, with its emphasis on material possessions and bodily satisfaction, can blind us to our spiritual needs, the needs of the heart where in silence and stillness we encounter the presence of the indwelling God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The long Christian tradition of the interior life has its roots in Jesus calling his disciples apart from the busy daily round.
Speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord God laments the lack of good government among his people, a government which in this passage are called shepherds. Instead of placing the interests of God’s people above their own, these so called rulers were responsible for them being scattered and sent into exile. Almighty God demands ethical behaviour of the highest
standard in those who have been entrusted with responsibility for the common good and welfare of others. That demand on those who govern is as valid today as ever it was. The prophet goes on to speak of the day when God himself will send a truly just and impartial leader to this people, whom we now know and believe to be his only Son, Jesus Christ.
That righteous ruler, St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians, would bring peace, justice and unity to the divided nations of the world through the sacrifice of himself on the cross. By offering himself in obedience to the Father, the Lord Jesus broke down the seemingly insurmountable barriers that separated the Jewish people from the gentile world. Through his blood he has made atonement for the sins of the whole world and conferred on us all the dignity of adopted sons and daughters of God his Father. Each one of us believers really does need to take up the invitation of Jesus Christ, come apart, and ponder the wonder of it all.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)