THE 16TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR B 2018
THE 16TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME
By Rev. Fr. Casmir Odundo
The Classical Movie Sister Act 1
ends with Whoopi Goldberg conducting a choir of nuns singing the beautiful
melody “I will follow Him” to a
packed audience in a church where the Pope was among those present. The beautiful lyrics of the song I will follow him, are as follows:
I will follow him
Follow him wherever he may go
And near him I always will be
For nothing can keep me away
He is my destiny.
I will follow him
Ever since he touched my heart I knew
There isn't an ocean too deep
A mountain so high it can keep
Keep me away
Away from his love
(I love him) Oh yes I love him
(I'll follow) I'm gonna follow
True love, he'll always be my true love
(Forever) From now until forever
I love him, I love him, I love him
And where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow,
I'll follow
He'll always be my true love, my true love,
my true love
From now until forever, forever, forever
There isn't an ocean too deep
A mountain so high it can keep
Keep us away
Away from his love
The video can be watched in the
following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPpd-6X3tEo
. I have to admit that this song has always left a deep impression on me since
I first watched it. I couldn’t think of better way to introduce the Gospel for
this Sunday than the Lyrics of this classic song.
The Evangelist Mark tells us in
the Gospel tells us of the diligence with which the crowds followed Jesus and
the Apostles: They were coming and going
in great numbers such that Jesus and the disciples had no opportunity to eat. This
occasioned Jesus to ask they go off by themselves by a boat to a deserted place
to rest for a while. Here we observe the following:
1.
The proposal to go to a lonely place for a rest originated from Jesus himself. It
shows us the concern of Jesus for his Apostles. Jesus was indeed a Good Shepherd.
Similarly, it reminds us of the story in the first creation account in Genesis;
where after God created everything he rested on the seventh day. All work and
no play make jack a dull boy. Christians should always bear in mind the
importance of the Rest and Leisure. Likewise, Christian employers should make
sure that all their employees be they, house helps or cooks e. t. c have time
for sufficient rest.
2.
The fact the disciples went to rest with Jesus
in the boat reminds us that a Christian should rest in a Christian way (with Jesus
always in the boat). Secondly, there is no rest as far as matters of the soul
are concerned. St. John Bosco used to
say, “You tell the devil to rest, then I will rest too.”
3.
The fact that Jesus took the Twelve apart to
a deserted place, can also be interpreted theologically to show how the true
life of a Christian must always be. While remaining firmly on earth, a Christian
should sometimes find moments to be away
in a deserted place. “A Christian must be,” as St. Josemaria loved to say, “a contemplative in the world.”
4.
Just where
should a Christian go for vacation and for how long? Jesus did not take his
disciples to a five star hotel for rest but rather to a deserted place. Perhaps
a place fitting for prayer. And he was categorical that they were only to be
there for a while (pusillum). The Greek
adverb used here is ‘Oligos’ which means very brief. Therefore, while rest and leisure is important, they
have their limits. All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.
But did Jesus and his Apostles
really rest? They arrived on the other side, only to find a crowd packed who had
followed them on foot. This is interesting: Jesus and the disciples had crossed
the sea via a boat but the people had circumvented on foot arrived there before
them. How fast they must have walked! One of the Church Fathers, Theophil
posses: “So do you not wait for Christ
till he Himself call you, but you outrun him and come before him?” Indeed as the Sister Act song explains, “They followed him…because there is neither an
ocean too deep nor a mountain too steep that could keep them away, away from
his Love.” When one has fallen in love, one always seeks the company of the
beloved. These people must have simply fallen in love. When one is in love
distance means nothing.
We would expect that Jesus would
dismiss the crowds, send them away or perhaps tell them that they should come
another time as it was the disciples and his day off. However, St. Mark tells us that when he saw them his heart was moved with pity…and he began
to teach them many things. He did not give them a summary. He taught them
many things. Jesus is the good shepherd. He does not scatter and drive the
sheep away like the Bad shepherds mentioned by Prophet Jeremiah in our first
reading but gathers them, brings them
back and causes them to increase and multiply. He is indeed the good shepherd,
the Righteous Shoot of David and the King prophesied by Jeremiah and other
prophets.
Is Jesus the Shepherd of your
life? If yes, what is preventing you from following his voice? Could it be sin,
Pride or wealth? May we break all barriers that are preventing us from finding
Him as St. Paul in our Second Reading is inviting us to do. Let us break down the dividing walls so that
we who are far off mat become near by the blood of Christ. Perhaps we can ask
ourselves: Do we love Christ to the point of seeking him diligently like the
crowds in the gospel passage? As St. Josemaria
Escriva fondly expressed: May we seek
Christ, May we find Christ, May we Love Christ. Once we have found Christ,
the source of our peace (2nd Reading) may we seek to be united with Him.
The disciples were so united to Christ
that they gathered and reported everything to him. May we also strive to always
put Christ in our midst and may we gather the courage to tell him everything
just like the disciples: our sorrows, our achievements and all.
The easiest well to find
Christ is via Maria, i.e. through his
Mother Mary. May she lead us to Jesus her loving Son!
The author is Parochial Vicar:
St. Veronica Keringet, Email: casmirthomas28@gmail.com
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