2024-07-21 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Jeremiah prophesied in the final years of the Kingdom of Judah, through the reign of the final king, Zedekiah.

Shepherds are responsible for protecting and providing sustenance for their flocks, keeping peace within the flock, defending against attackers, searching for sheep that have gone astray, and rescuing those in danger. Yet the opening verse of Jeremiah 23 accuses the shepherds of destroying and scattering God’s sheep!

Shepherds in Jeremiah 23:1, are the kings — specifically the kings of Judah. God’s anger is aroused by the “evil doings” of the descendants of good King Josiah (640-609 BCE) who “judged the cause of the poor and the needy”, unfortunately, ruled Judah for dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practising oppression and violence
  • Shallum/Jehoahaz (ruled 3 months in 609 BCE)
  • Jehoiakim (ruled for 11 years from 609-598 BCE)
  • Jehoiachin (ruled 3 months in 597 BCE)
  • Zedekiah (ruled for 10 years from 597-587 BCE)

More about the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel

After the death of King Solomon, the kingdom was divided in two. The southern kingdom consisted only of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and thus became the kingdom of Judah (also poetically as Zion), with Jerusalem as its capital. The northern kingdom consisted of the remaining tribes and was called Israel (also poetically as Ephraim, Jacob, and Isaac) with the capital as Samaria. 

Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E., whereas Judah, though severely damaged, narrowly escaped the dreadful onslaught of the Assyrian war machine but Jerusalem eventually fell to the Babylonian Empire and was destroyed in 586 B.C.E. 

Reference

Solvang, E. (2020, November 11). Commentary on Jeremiah 23:1-6. Working Preacher From Luther Seminary. Retrieved July 18, 2024, from https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-16-2/commentary-on-jeremiah-231-6-3


Mark 6:30-34

A lot happens in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Mark. 


Jesus is rejected in his hometown (Mark 6:4-6). He sends the twelve on a mission of healing and evangelising (Mk 6:6-13). John the Baptist is killed by Herod (Mk 6:14-29). As John’s mission came to an end, Jesus’ own mission had just begun.  


Following as it does the narrative of John’s beheading, this passage serves as an indictment of Herod. The people of God have become precisely what Moses and Ezekiel warned against, sheep without a shepherd, weakened and scattered and vulnerable. Jesus fed common people (Mk 6:35-44), meanwhile their “shepherd,” Herod, threw a banquet “for his courtiers, officers and leaders of Galilee” (verse 21), at which he killed the herald of God’s coming kingdom. 


The people are longing for, even chasing after, the true shepherd who will bring them into that kingdom - and Jesus is moved with compassion - the Greek word splagchnizomai denotes sympathy, mercy, and loving concern. They were like sheep without a shepherd.


These verses emphasize Jesus’ identity as the true, divine shepherd, who will guide his sheep into the kingdom; and the nature of that kingdom, through healings that disrupt the economy of this world.

References

Webb, E. (2020, November 11). Commentary on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56. Working Preacher From Luther Seminary. Retrieved July 18, 2024, from https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-16-2/commentary-on-mark-630-34-53-56-3


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