17B24.    2 Kings 4:42-44.    “Elisha, the man of God, brought God’s presence to this human world.  In sharing the abundant beneficence of God, Elisha showed in a tangible way the love God had for his people.

Psalm Response: “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.”

John 6:1-15.  Jesus performs miraculous ‘signs’ of God’s caring for his people.  The people did not seem to understand that Jesus wanted them to come recognize God’s love for them and so to worship God even more.  They wanted to make him king because they were only looking for more earthly benefits from Jesus’ miracles.  “The Jewish feast of Passover was near” when Jesus was to be crucified but the people would then forget the miracles Jesus had worked and let him be crucified.

Ephesians 4:1-6.  Paul wrote: I “urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,” “striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body, and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”  Because we are so inextricably bound to the same one God, that binds us to one another.

17B21.      2 Kings 4:42-44.  “A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God, twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits and fresh grain in the ear.”  When Elisha ordered the offering to be given to the people, his servant objected that it would not be enough for a hundred people.  Elisha responded that he is to give it to the people anyhow because the Lord says, “They shall eat and there shall be some left over,” and there was.  God provides and will always provide in abundance.

John 6:1-15.  Because he was performing many miracles to cure the sick, a large crowd followed Jesus.  Philip says that a large sum of money “would not be enough for each of them to have a little.”  Andrew said to Jesus, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”  Jesus had the crowd of about five thousand men and those accompanying them recline.  After they ate their fill, “twelve wicker baskets with the fragments from the five barley loaves” were collected.  “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ‘This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.’   Since Jesus realized that they were going to try to make him king, he fled to the mountain alone to escape them.  He had come to be the Messiah of a spiritual kingdom and not of an earthly one.   The miracle of the multiplying of the earthly food was to proclaim that he would feed all people of all times with a spiritual food that gives life for all eternity.

Ephesians 4:1-6.  While in prison, Paul calls upon the Christians of the Church of Ephesus to bear “with one another through love so to be one body that breathes its life through one Spirit in “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” having one God and Father of all.”  He “is over all” and lives “through all and in all.”  When we live in Christ, we live in Christ together.  We are still each unique, united though different, diverse yet not divided.  Our life is God’s love for us; his love is the life that binds us to one another.

17B18.    2 Kings 4:42-44.   “Elisha insisted, ‘Give it to the people to eat.’  For thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’” The Lord provides abundantly.  Spiritually, if we try to live on our own efforts with little or no support from God, we will starve to death.

John 6:1-15.  “Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.  A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.”  He feeds them all, five thousand men plus at least as many women and children, from five barley loaves and two fish.  “When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.’  So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragment from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.”  The power of God is infinite and he is always ready and willing to use it out of love for use.  However he wants nothing to be wasted, never using his power uselessly as just a way of flexing his divine muscles. He wants to see results or fruit that will benefit us eternally.  The people wanted to make him an earthly king but he wanted them to get to heaven where he would be their eternal king.  He had given them the bread of this world so that they would put their faith in him so to seek the spiritual life on earth that would give them a life in heaven.  He filled their stomachs for a day so to fill their souls for all eternity.

Ephesians 4:1-6.  If the bread of our spiritual life is God, then we are bound to one another in the one God who is the same source of spiritual life, common to all who find life from Him.  He gives us the love to bear with one another, since we all find that love in the “one God and Father of all.”  We are made one united by all going to the same table to feed our spiritual lives, Jesus, who keeps us in communion with him by sharing his divine life with us.  In Romans 12:4-5 Paul wrote: “For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.”  In Ephesians 4:15-16 Paul writes: “Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love.”  In Colossians 1:17 Paul wrote: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”  We receive him Body and Blood so to have him as the source of the body’s life, the unity that is the Church, over which he is the head.

16B24.   Jeremiah  23:1-6.  The leaders of Israel had done poorly but now the God of Israel said: “I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble.” Continuing, the Lord said, “I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely.”

Mark 6:30-34.   After the apostles had returned from the mission on which Jesus had sent them, he invited them to go “to a deserted place and rest a while.” However, when Jesus disembarked, he saw a vast crowd.  “His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd.”  Jesus cares for us, his flock.

Ephesians 2:13-18.  The Gentiles “once were far off,” since they were not a part of God’s Chosen People.  However, Jesus shepherded the two flocks into one, reconciling “both with God, in one body, through the cross.”  “We both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

16B21.    Jeremiah 6:1-6.   The leaders or shepherds of God’s People had not led the people well.  The Lord says, “You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds,” “I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble.” “I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely.”  “This is the name they give him: ‘The Lord our justice’.”  As Christians, we understand that shepherd to be Jesus.

Psalm 23.   “The Lord is my shepherd.”  He cares for us so that we live securely in his gracious love.  “Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come” in heaven.

Mark 6:30-34.  His disciples had just returned from a very demanding but wondrously fruitful mission.  Now Jesus wants them to retreat to a restful place so to grow spiritually in prayer.  However, people arrived there on foot ahead of them.  “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 began to teach them many things.”  We must be hungry for what only the Lord has and not lost in the consumerism of this world.  What this world gives does not satisfy and is only good to the grave.

Ephesians 2:13-18.  Through Jesus’ sacrificing himself on the cross both Jews and Gentiles are united in Christ.  Jesus “came and preached peace to you who were far off (the Gentiles of Ephesus) and peace to those who were near (the Jews), for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”  Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:13: “For in the Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” The same God who created us so that we may a life of love in him wishes us to be all united to one another in love of him.

16B18.   Jeremiah 23:1-6.  Jeremiah prophesies that God will appoint shepherds who will lead God’s People in God’s ways and not mislead them as past shepherds had.  Jeremiah goes on to write, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David, as king he shall reign and govern wisely; and on to: “In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security.”  It seems to me that Jeremiah is thinking of an earthly king; whereas, we as Christians apply this to Jesus, the spiritual king, who will shepherd his people wisely.

Mark 6:30-34.  This gospel reading picks up from last Sunday’s reading after Jesus had sent the Twelve Apostles out to be the new shepherds of Israel, preaching repentance and validating and reinforcing their mission by curing the sick and driving out demons.  After that very demanding work, he says, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.”  Jesus felt that they needed to retreat from the intense busyness of this world to nourish themselves interiorly with prayer.  However, the people were in such great need for what Jesus had to offer they hastened to that deserted place on foot.  “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.”  He is the One to save them from being lost spiritually, and likewise us too.

Ephesians 2:13-18.   “In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.”  The Gentiles have been brought near to their salvation by the redemption he has given them by offering himself as a sacrifice on the cross.  Paul also wrote in Colossians 1:20, “and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross [through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.” Jesus made Jew and Gentile one “through his flesh, abolishing the law” “that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it.” “Through him we both have access to one Spirit to the Father.”  Paul wrote in Colossians 3:11, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.”  Jesus shepherds his flock together to the gates of heaven.

Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6.  “The Lord is my shepherd.” “He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake,” for he is true to who he is, the God of righteousness.  “I fear no evil; for you are at my side.”  God is a fatherly, all powerful God who uses his strength to care for me.  “You spread the table before me;”  “my cup overflows.”  God provides generously for all our needs. “In verdant pastures he gives me repose; besides restful waters he leads me.”  In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, “Come to me you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Caring for us as a mother cares for her young; he looks to see that we are refreshed to face the challenges that are to come.  He neither overwhelms us with his demands nor allows us to be overwhelmed.  He is the awesome God using his might to protect us, yet at the same time a God so meek and humble of heart looking after us in the smallest details.

15B24.    Amos 7:12-15.  Amos answered, “The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”  God actively directs and shepherds his people through us who choose to belong to him and his Will.

Mark 6:7-13.  “Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.”  Jesus empowered his Apostles to drive out demons and cure the sick.  In turn they were to receive what they needed for their physical needs from the people they aided and welcomed them.  “So they went off and preached repentance.”  By driving out demons and sickness, the apostles were encouraging the recipients to repent from their sins so to be spiritually healthy.   God was using those who chose to belong to him and his Will to direct and shepherd his people to heaven.

Ephesians 1:3-14.   God “chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ.”  God from all eternity chose us to be holy in his image and likeness as his adopted daughters and sons.  As people who belong to God’s Will, he has chosen us to do the work he wishes us to do.  We, who “have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.”

15B21.     Amos 7:12-15.   Amaziah, priest of Bethel, rejects Amos as a prophet.  Nevertheless, Amos declares that, even though he was only a humble shepherd, the Lord said to him, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”  Likewise, Jesus and his followers found that, though chosen by God, they too would be rejected by some.

Mark 6:7-13.  In last Sunday’s gospel Jesus had brought his disciples to his own hometown of Nazareth but was rejected by the people who knew him in the days before he started his public ministry, when he was still just a carpenter.  In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus sent out his Apostles “two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.”  They were to bring almost nothing for their personal physical needs but be dependent on the accommodating hospitality of those who welcomed them.  For those who rejected them, Jesus told them to “shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.”  They “preached repentance,” “drove out many demons,” and “anointed with oil many, who were sick, and cured them.”  For using the spiritual power that Jesus gave the Apostles, they were to be justly compensated, “for the laborer deserves his payment.”  (Luke 10:7b)   Those who reject the spiritual grace that God gives in his paternal care will be without any resources whatever after death.

Ephesians 1:3-14.  God the Father chose us “to be holy and without blemish,” that is God chose us to be saints by living our lives in Christ and not as people buried in the ways and spirit of this world.  We were chosen from all eternity to be saints “so that we might exist for the praise of his glory.”  In baptism we “were sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.”  May our lives be living acts of praise and worship of the God who has lavished us with the riches of his infinite love!   Accepting God’s love daily we are rich because of his infinite care for us.

15B18.   Amos 7:12-15.   Amos tells Amaziah, priest of Bethel, that he had a way to earn bread as a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.  The reason why he is a prophet was not to earn bread, but that God himself called him to be a prophet.

Mark 6:7-13.  As God had sent out Amos, Jesus sends out the Twelve, representing his founding the new Israel, to preach repentance to bring the people into his new People of God.  He sends them out with the spiritual authority over unclean spirits but with little material resources.  Those who accept the invitation to follow Christ are to supply for the material needs of the Apostles; those, who do not, will have testimony given against them.

Ephesians 1:3-14.  This text is incredibly rich.  We have been blessed because God the Father has chosen us in Christ, “before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.  In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with  the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved” Christ.  To be the sons and daughters of the Father, God’s People, we have been called to be holy as he is holy so that we may live with him who is our Father in our new family home, heaven.  To become holy as he is holy is the work of the Spirit in us through the grace that our Father has lavished on us.  In accepting his redemption of us, we gain our inheritance to become “God’s possession, to the praise of his glory,” God’s holy People made new in Christ.” Life on the way to heaven is a daily experience of growing in our friendship with God by cooperating with the Spirit.  Every day is a wondrous joy because more and more Christ becomes our life, helping us to live a little more of heaven even while we are here on earth.

14B24.    Ezekiel 2:2-5.   The Lord spoke to his newly appointed prophet Ezekiel of the Israelites: “Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you.”  Nonetheless, the Lord continued: “They shall know that a prophet has been among them.”

Mark 6:1-6a.  Jesus returned to Nazareth where he grew us and lived until he left to begin his ministry.  After having left on his ministry on his return to his hometown, he appeared to the local people to have changed radically and no longer seemed to be the same person they grew up with.  The gospel passage says, “And they took offense at him,” which I think means that they refused to accept Jesus in his new role as Messiah.  As a result, Jesus “was not able to perform any mighty deed there,” since the objective of his miracles was develop their faith in him.  They refused to put any faith in him.  Jesus said in John 10:38, “If I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize [and understand] that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” We are given the number of years we live on this earth as an opportunity to deepen and mature our faith and life in Jesus as our Savior.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10.  Paul wrote, “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”  For God to be the God of the lives that we live daily, we must live out of his dwelling within us, as the one who enables us to do the good we do.  It is only out of his resources and not our own that we are the people we ought to be.  Jesus said in John 15:5b, “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”